Desert Vista Elementary to add leadership emphasis; school name unchanged

Desert Vista Elementary will retain its school name but adopt a leadership emphasis for the 2025–26 school year, Principal Kelly Fant told the Apache Junction Unified School District Governing Board at its Jan. 28 meeting.

Fant said the school will not formally change its name (which would require additional steps and risks losing the current school label) but will implement a leadership focus aligned with other district site emphases such as 4 Peaks’ dual language and Peralta Trail’s STEM programming.

The plan, Fant said, includes staff training, a staff-wide book study using The 4 Disciplines of Execution, two days of teacher training at the start of the 2025–26 year, student data binders to track growth from kindergarten through fifth grade, and project-based learning to develop goal-setting, problem solving and communication. The school plans to use consistent language and behaviors across classrooms (Fant referenced “13 trust behaviors” and schoolwide expectations) and to align its positive-behavior system (PBS) with the new focus. Fant said rebranding and marketing materials are being prepared for families and staff and that training dates for teachers are under development for July when teachers return.

Board members asked whether the school name would change; Fant and superintendent Dr. Frank Papalardo confirmed it will remain Desert Vista Elementary. Board members expressed support and interest in the use of a student-facing data binder and teacher goal-setting to improve outcomes.

Ending: Staff said they will finalize training dates, complete branding materials and bring implementation updates to the board as the school’s plan unfolds.