AJUSD changes agreement with ASU for student teachers

By Richard Dyer
Mail | X: @RHDyer

A student-teacher placement agreement with Arizona State University has been changed to allow more than just aspiring educators to practice their craft at Apache Junction Unified School District.

The Apache Junction Unified School District governing board voted unanimously Oct. 28 to approve an addendum to a student-placement agreement with the Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation to one that is university-wide.

“This name change will enable additional colleges to place their students with AJUSD for a variety of field experiences including teaching, nursing, social work and other professional placements,” Board President Dena Kimble said before the vote.

“I think the more college students we get here and be a part of us, more likely are we to be able to hire them and retain them in the future,” AJUSD Superintendent Robert Pappalardo said before the vote.

Board Vice President Cami Garcia asked how the revised agreement process works.

“When we sign this agreement, it goes out to all the colleges, they are informed. They will contact us if they have interns, student teachers or someone who wants to do observation hours. They will contact us, we’ll set it up through Meara (Verna, AJUSD’s executive director of educational services) and, depending on what it is, we will place them if they want to be here,” Pappalardo said.

AJUSD has three elementary schools; a K-5 school designed to provide students with a traditional, liberal arts education; a junior high school; and a high school. The district boundaries run from Meridian Road on the west to the town of Queen Valley on the east and from the Goldfield Mountains to the north, south into the San Tan Corridor. Communities served include Apache Junction, Gold Canyon, Peralta Trail, Queen Valley and unincorporated Pinal County land in-between.

Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on X @rhdyer. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines, https://www.yourvalley.net/civility-checklist/.

Richard Dyer
Managing Editor | East Valley

rdyer@iniusa.org

Meet Richard
Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.  

Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions. 

Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.

Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.

Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.