West Valley View - North Zone - 08.03.2022

••

THE NEWSPAPER OF AVONDALE, BUCKEYE, GOODYEAR, LITCHFIELD PARK & TOLLESON

Pinky Guerrero PAGE

Maxwell Igwe

22

westvalleyview.com

INSIDE

This Week

PAGE

Great Hearts’ 1st preschool Desert Sunset ready for Buckeye students school opens West Valley View Staff Writer

Desert Thunder welcomes new administration

NEWS .............. 6 Avondale employee wins Gabe Zimmerman award

YOUTH ......... 25 Students participate in summer surgical program

OPINION ...............10 BUSINESS.............. 16 CALENDAR ............20 FEATURES ..............22 OBITUARIES ...........24 YOUTH ..................25 CLASSIFIEDS ..........27 NORTH

August 3, 2022

The Voice of the West Valley for 37 years

BY SUMMER AGUIRRE

NEWS .............. 4

26

J

ust in time for the start of the school year, Great Hearts Academies is opening its first preschool. The new Young Hearts Preschool is a private branch of Great Hearts Academies’ network of K-12 public charter schools. Located on the new Great Hearts Roosevelt Academy campus in Buckeye, the preschool will provide classes for children ages 3 to 5 that help them thrive intellectually and morally. Classes start Monday, Aug. 15. “I’ve worked for Great Hearts for a little over a year now. … I’ve really gotten an understanding of what Great Hearts values, and then taking my own experience from early childhood education and being able to apply that in such a fantastic school is truly an honor,” Young Hearts Director Taeler Scott told the West Valley View. “I’m super excited about this opportunity that they are bringing to the Buckeye commu- Young Hearts Preschool is a private branch of Great Academies’ network of K-12 public charter schools. nity by providing child care to the Hearts (Liz Renninger/Submitted) 3- and 5-year-olds.” Great Hearts is devoted to improving ed- the United States. It utilizes vigorous libucation across the country via classical pre- eral arts curricula incorporating advanced paratory K-12 academics, with a mission to math and science, an emphasis on the arts “cultivate the hearts and minds of students and foreign language, and a variety of exto pursue the true, the good and the beauti- tracurricular athletics and activities. ful,” according to the network of schools. “Children are eager to learn, and what The program serves over 22,000 stu- and how and by whom they are being dents at 37 institutions in greater Phoenix taught at the earliest stages of their moral and Texas and is the largest provider of Preschool...continued on page 3 liberal arts classical education campuses in

in Buckeye BY SCIANNA GARCIA

West Valley View Staff Writer

S

addle Mountain Unified staff and administrators, along with other dignitaries, gathered at Desert Sunset Elementary School in Buckeye on July 27 to cut the ribbon for the district’s newest facility. Located at 30919 W. White Tank Vista Drive, the 80,000-square-foot building accommodates kindergarten through eighth grade and will welcome over 600 students this upcoming school year. Buckeye Mayor Eric Orsborn thanked the families that continue to invest in the education of his city’s students and expressed his gratitude for the new facility that will contribute to the success of the students. “As our community grows, I can proudly say that Desert Sunset Elementary is another great asset for the parents of Buckeye, to provide their children with the best education possible,” he said. “This community and this district is going to grow like wildfire. This amazing new school balances a well-rounded education while fostering a sense of community. To me, these are the two most critical components of our future: ensuring our children learn all the things like reading, writing, math and science but also choir, home economics, robotics and drama at a pace that works for them to be successful, while focusing on families working together to build a foundation of excellence for the future of Buckeye.” Administrators, along with the con-

Sunset...continued on page 3