Message from Our Superintendent

Superintendent’s Message

Dear Altar Valley Families,

Finding Your Gang: Lessons from Charlie Brown

As we move into the holiday season, my daughter and I have been busy catching up on our Halloween movies. We love watching holiday movies, and we are already getting our Thanksgiving and Christmas movie lineup ready!

One of the shows I made her watch for Halloween was It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. I don’t think it was one of her favorites, but she pushed through. Maybe it helped that I told her it was one of my dad’s favorites. Luckily, I own it on DVD, and yes, my DVD player still works!

As we watched Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang, I was reminded of a book that was given to me several years ago. I finally got around to reading it over the summer: You’re a Leader, Charlie Brown. I’m sure my brother gave me the book because he knew how much our dad loved the Peanuts gang, especially Snoopy. Snoopy had a great imagination and loved to have fun, just like our dad.

You’re a Leader, Charlie Brown highlights the many ways the Peanuts gang demonstrates leadership and friendship. The book focuses on their strengths and, more importantly, how they help one another.

Sometimes, Charlie Brown reminds me of my Detroit Lions. Every year, the Lions play on Thanksgiving Day, and every year, I hope they win! It also reminds me of Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. He knows Lucy is probably going to pull it away before he can kick it, but he tries anyway.

The book offers some great advice for helping Charlie Brown work toward his goal. Visualize your goal. Make a list of what you need to accomplish it. Don’t work alone; find your gang. Stay positive, don’t let setbacks (like Lucy pulling the football away) slow you down, and, most importantly, keep trying! These are simple but powerful lessons that can help all of us move forward and achieve our goals.

In It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, we see some of these same lessons. Linus remains committed to his belief that the Great Pumpkin will arrive to bring toys to all the girls and boys. Even when the Great Pumpkin doesn’t show up, Linus is ready to return next year. Sally demonstrates loyalty by staying with Linus, even though she doesn’t share his enthusiasm for spending Halloween in a pumpkin patch. And while life doesn’t always turn out the way we hope, there is something to be said for continuing to believe, supporting others, and getting back up when things don’t go our way.

As I reflect on the book and the show, I think about my daughter and her friends. It’s fun to stand back and watch her and her gang create their own adventures. I love seeing how they support one another, work through challenges, use their imaginations, and develop their own leadership skills. The holidays are such a great time for friends, family, and fun. They may not realize it, but they are learning some pretty important lessons.

As we head into November and the holiday season, I hope each of us has a gang of our own. We all need friends, family, and people who encourage us, believe in us, and stand beside us when things don’t go as planned. Sometimes we need someone to help us visualize our goals, sometimes we need someone to remind us to keep trying; and sometimes we just need someone to stand in the pumpkin patch with us. I’m especially thankful for my wife, Susan, who is always there for me. She’s part of my gang, and I’m grateful to have her by my side through all of our life’s adventures!

We may not always get the outcome we hope for, and sometimes Lucy will pull the football away just when we think we have everything figured out. But with the right people beside us, we can keep trying, keep growing, and keep finding joy in the adventure. This November, I hope you take time to appreciate your gang and let them know how much they mean to you.

Wishing you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Gobble, Gobble!

Dr. Dave Dumon
Superintendent
Altar Valley School District #51
ddumon@avsd.org
520-822-1484
#AllStarsRead

Upcoming Events:

• November 17: ROAR & SOAR Family Resource Center opens biweekly at AVMS
• November 18: School Thanksgiving Lunch at both schools during lunch
• November 26: Community Thanksgiving Dinner at Robles, 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

DR. DAVID DUMON COMPLETES AASA NATIONAL SUPERINTENDENT CERTIFICATE PROGRAM

The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) selected 30 superintendents from across Arizona to participate in the National Board Certification Program, a 20-month professional experience designed to bolster the effectiveness of superintendents across the nation. The program followed a cohort model and supported leaders with the knowledge, skills, and practices to advance, guide and support superintendents to be future-ready as they enhance learning opportunities for students. The AASA National Superintendent Certification Program provided a real-time focus on key issues that superintendents are facing today. Congratulations, Dr. Dumon!

CONGRATULATIONS, DR. DUMON!

Congratulations to Dr. David Dumon for being selected to receive ASA’s All Arizona Superintendent Award for the Small Size School Districts.

Dr. Dumon is superintendent of the Altar Valley School District in Tucson, Arizona. Dr. Dumon and the Governing Board have developed a strong rapport that centers on common goals around students achievement and an understanding that the schools are social and cultural anchors in the small community of Three Points. Within the first year, he and his board created a strategic plan that focused on students achieving both personal and academic excellence. The strategic plan has guided the district toward their goals and is revisited frequently with stakeholders.

Dr. Dumon identified, adopted, and implemented a comprehensive core reading program during the beginning of his tenure. He led the restructuring of the K–8 literacy instruction to include rigorous Tier I instruction and targeted Tier II and Tier III interventions.

He is involved with professional development, instructional coaching, and implementation of DIBELS benchmark screening for teachers and administrators. He believes data should be used to guide teaching, learning, and professional development.

The district is a key partner in the annual Three Points Community Festival where Dr. Dumon serves on the planning committee. At this annual event, the Three Points community, a rural, unincorporated area 25 miles west of Tucson come together. Board members, staff, and community partners come together each Thanksgiving to cook, serve, and enjoy Thanksgiving dinner for families in need. During the pandemic Altar Valley School District partnered with Pima County and provided fresh food boxes to more than 30 families each month.

He is guided by the word of Lewis Carroll, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Dr. Dumon cares deeply about teaching and learning. He appreciates school isn’t easy for everyone (him included) and that each child has a right to quality instruction. He visits classrooms, playgrounds, and attends extra-curricular events and enjoys taking on the role of motivator-in-chief. You may see him as Professor “Dumon”-dore from Harry Potter, reminding Altar Valley School District students that they have the magic within them to succeed, the Last Jedi inspiring students to find the force within themselves to achieve, or putting the “Super” in Superintendent as Altar Valley Man.

Altar Valley School District is a social and cultural anchor in the Three Points community. It serves nearly 600 students, encompassing nearly 700 square miles of high Sonoran Desert and mountains situated between metro Tucson and the Tohono O’odham Nation.