Three CUSD Community Education programs earn Arizona Community Education Association (AZCEA) awards

MAY 6, 2022                                          

COMMUNITY EDUCATION NEWS – The Arizona Community Education Association (AZCEA) announced winners for the peer-nominated 2021-2022 Arizona Community Education Association Awards on Friday. The AZCEA is comprised of Community Education departments across the state of Arizona. The Chandler Unified School District’s (CUSD) Community Education department took home awards from three of the seven categories including Program of the Year, Program Leader of the Year, and Program Rookie of the Year.

“With over 28 school districts submitting nominations, our success is a testament to the dedication and hard work each person put into the programming serving Chandler students,” commented Christina Speciale, Community Education assistant director. “I could not feel prouder to lead this amazing group of educators.”

Program of the Year- Lil’ Explorers, Chandler High School

Lil’ Explorers at Chandler High School was selected as the 2021-2022 Program of the Year (Site Specific). “Our team has done a phenomenal job overcoming many new challenges this year as we blended two site staff and learned to work in new classroom environments,” explained Patricia Berry, Chandler High School Lil’ Explorers site coordinator. “Through this the staff has been professional and created a quality learning environment for the children and families we serve.  I am very fortunate to be a part of this wonderful team of teachers!” In receiving this award, Lil’ Explorers was acknowledged for showing excellence in the overall program design and delivery as well as meeting the needs of the community. The nominator for this award commented, “Lil’ Explorers at Chandler High School consistently uses innovative curriculum to provide a childcare environment where kids are learning through play.”  

Program Leader of the Year (1-5 staff supervised)- Joshlynn DeRiso, Patterson Elementary School

Joshlynn DeRiso, Kids Express site lead at Patterson Elementary School, was selected as the Program Leader of the Year award for her leadership skills supervising 1-5 staff at her site. In her role as site lead, DeRiso leads both her staff and kids. “I want to thank the Chandler Unified School District for giving me the opportunity to really show our future [leaders] lots of compassion and guidance,” commented DeRiso on receiving Program Leader of the Year. DeRiso earned this award for exemplifying what it means to lead a team of individuals to successfully implement a high-quality program. She works directly with the program staff at Patterson. DeRiso’s nominator spoke highly of her influence on her site. “She has come into her site and significantly changed things for the better. She has created structure that was not previously present in her program, which has led to a significant improvement in the quality of the program as well as an improvement in the children’s overall behavior.”

Program Rookie of the Year - Austin Alloway, Riggs Elementary School

Austin Alloway, Kids Express group lead at Riggs Elementary School, was awarded the 2021-2022 Program Rookie of the Year award. As such, Alloway was recognized for his excellence as a frontline employee who works directly with program participants. He consistently does more than is asked of him to help deliver outstanding programming at Kids Express. Alloway’s nominator described him as a true leader who is “reliable and hard working,” explaining “he goes above and beyond for all students and staff.” Upon receiving notification of his award, Alloway was proud, but humble. “I never worked with any intent of being recognized for it; instead, I just wanted to do whatever was needed to help anyone other than myself and make sure that I was making everything around me better,” explained Alloway. “I am also surrounded by fantastic coworkers that inspire me to do what is needed and I couldn't ask for a better set of people to be surrounded by. I chose Kids Express to not only further my skills in terms of childcare, but to grow as an individual – I would say this award is proof that this job has allowed me to grow in ways unimaginable.”

The goal of AZCEA is to improve and expand the Community Education philosophy as an integral and necessary part of the education process. The AZCEA serves to support high quality Community Education programs across the state of Arizona. Award winners will be recognized at the AZCEA annual conference in the spring.

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