Scottsdale Unified School District’s Anasazi Elementary School is not only the starting point for the district’s International Baccalaureate Programme continuum: it is also home to the Arizona International Baccalaureate Association’s Primary Years Programme 2024 Teacher of the Year, Angie Griffith.

Griffith, who teaches fifth grade at Anasazi, was nominated for the award by her teacher colleagues last spring. At an August staff meeting, she was surprised with news that she had been selected for the honor, according to a press release from the distirict. She was officially recognized at the Arizona International Baccalaureate Schools’ quarterly meeting in September.

“Mrs. Griffith embodies the very essence of the IB PYP,” Anasazi Elementary School Principal Jennifer Waldron Waldron said in the release. “She consistently demonstrates an unwavering commitment to nurturing students’ young minds and every day fosters a love for learning that extends far beyond her classroom’s walls.”

Griffith embraces contributing to Anasazi’s teaching and learning environment.

“I have a unique opportunity to provide my students with an authentic and enriching learning environment,” she said in the release. “I try to establish a framework designed to promote lifelong inquiry and develop globally minded citizens.”

In her classroom, the seamless integration of local and global contexts into International Baccalaureate’s units of study create meaningful learning experiences for students. Griffith is in her ninth year of teaching at Anasazi.

The district’s governing board recently celebrated the exceptional educator, conferring a district challenge recognition coin to her.

“As we celebrate Mrs. Griffith’s achievements, we also celebrate the power of dedicated educators to shape the future,” Principal Waldron said in the release. “Angie’s work reminds us of the profound impact that one passionate educator can have on countless young lives, Because Kids!”

Anasazi, located at 12121 N. 124th St., Scottsdale, officially became an International Baccalaureate World School in February 2023. It is one of just nine International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme schools in the state of Arizona. The district’s Baccalaureate Primary education curriculum continues at nearby Mountainside Middle School and Desert Mountain High School, which host Baccalaureate Primary’s Middle Years and Diploma programmes.