Message from Our Superintendent

Superintendent’s Message

Dear Altar Valley Families,

Altar Valley School District: Celebrating Achievements, Community, and Growth

I hope this message finds you well as we come together this month to celebrate Arizona’s Birthday, The Tucson Rodeo, and the spirit of Valentine’s Day! I am excited to share some highlights and important updates with you for this month.

First, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to our students, parents, teachers, staff, and the entire AVSD community for your ongoing support. Your commitment to the Altar Valley School District is truly inspiring. Together I am confident that we will continue to Build, Grow, Flourish, and Succeed throughout this year!

Our Bobcats and Eagles of Excellence were ROARing and SOARing this past month as we celebrated our students for their academic achievements, extracurricular success, and community involvement.

Congratulations to our students and families who made the Honor Roll and Principal’s list, as well as those that excelled on our District Benchmarks for Quarter 2. Thank you for your commitment to academic excellence and growth. A special thank you to all the families that came out to celebrate our students at our Bobcats and Eagles of Excellence event!

All the Way to the Border Clean-up Project: Thank you to Student Council and National Junior Honor Society for participating in All the Way to the Border Clean-up project.

Staff Spotlight: Congratulations to middle school teacher Rica Arzaga-Benedicto for being recognized as the Three Points VFW Teacher of the Year nominee! Your dedication plays a crucial role in shaping the educational experiences of our students and we wish you the best as you move on to the state level competition!

District Updates:

February 12 – AVSD Governing Board Meeting
February 14 – Valentine’s Day / AZ Statehood Day
February 20 & 21 – Rodeo Break, No School
February 26 – Family Fun Night at Robles Elementary

In March, Altar Valley will be seeking input on our Reading/ELA textbook adoption. More information will be shared later this month.

Parent-teacher conferences are coming March 13 &14. Send your child’s teacher an email now to schedule a time to meet to discuss their academic success.

Coming Soon – AVSD Family Survey:

Your feedback is invaluable! We encourage you to share your thoughts, suggestions, and concerns with your child’s teacher, principal, or me at any time. Simply send an email letting us know you’d like to connect. For those of you that prefer a survey one will be available in March. Please keep an eye out for more details.

National Parks Pass: Attention 4th Graders get your free National Parks Pass for you and your family and visit hundreds of parks for the 2024-2025 school year. Learn more at https://everykidoutdoors.gov/fourth_graders.htm

Volunteer Opportunities: If you are interested in volunteering in your child’s classroom or our schools please contact your child’s teacher, principal, Evelyn See at esee@avsd.org or me at ddumon@avsd.org.

I am looking forward to the rest of the school year and I am confident that our efforts will lead to continued success and growth for our students and the entire AVSD family.

Happy Valentine’s Day & Arizona Statehood Day!

Together, let’s continue to show how much Altar Valley School District loves our community!

Dr. Dave Dumon

Superintendent
Altar Valley School District
ddumon@avsd.org
520-822-1484

Altar Valley Middle School Principal Search: Family Input Survey 2025

Dear Altar Valley Families,

As we prepare to welcome a new principal to lead Altar Valley Middle School, we want to ensure that your voice is part of this important process. Your insights and priorities are invaluable in helping us find a leader who will best serve our students, staff, and community to ensure that we continue to build, grow, flourish, and succeed.

We invite you to share your thoughts about what qualities, skills, and goals you believe are most important for our next principal. Below are a few questions to guide your feedback. Your responses will help us identify the right candidate to continue fostering a positive, safe, and successful learning environment for all students.

Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective. This survey will be open until February 24, 2025.

Please use this link to answer the short survey.

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.