In the heart of a historic mining town, a new kind of treasure is being unearthed: the potential of every student.
For years, Bisbee Unified School District—like many small, rural districts across Arizona—struggled to meet its academic goals. With a high percentage of students from low-income and minority backgrounds, the district faced persistent challenges like stagnant test scores.
At Greenway Elementary School, Principal Lindsay Vertrees remembers how hard it was to know where to begin.
“We weren’t quite getting the results we were hoping for,” she said. “We were having a hard time prioritizing and following through on our goals. It felt like we had so many things we wanted to do, but not a clear direction.”
That changed when the district got a call about Arizona LEADER, a school development program co-founded by Rose Ylimaki, the Del and Jewell Lewis Endowed Chair in Educational Leadership at Northern Arizona University, and Lynette Brunderman, Professor of Practice Emerita at the University of Arizona. Officially known as the Arizona Initiative for Leadership Development and Research (AZiLDR), the program helps schools set clear goals and make meaningful, lasting improvements based on their unique needs.
Drawing on her experience as a former school principal in Wisconsin and as co-leader of a global research initiative on school leadership, Ylimaki created Arizona LEADER to offer schools more than a top-down improvement model.
“We don’t just drop in and then leave,” she said. “We partner with schools to identify their goals and walk alongside them as they reach them.”
Since its inception, Arizona LEADER has worked with more than 100 schools across the state, most in rural or underserved communities. The program includes summer institutes, regular site visits, virtual check-ins, and coaching—each tailored to a school’s unique needs.
To date, 87% of participating schools have improved by one to two letter grades on Arizona state assessments, with all reporting stronger school culture and leadership capacity for sustained improvement.
Rather than delivering a pre-written plan, Arizona LEADER begins by listening.
“We did all the talking and they did all the listening,” said Vertrees. “Then they helped guide us to focus on a few goals we could actually follow through on.”
At Greenway, that meant reevaluating Tier 1 instruction, the daily, core classroom teaching that every student receives. The Arizona LEADER team encouraged the school to first look at the consistency and quality of Tier 1 instruction before turning to interventions or additional supports.
“We realized our interventions weren’t necessarily the problem,” Vertrees said. “We needed to look at the bigger picture.”
The shift paid off. Since joining Arizona LEADER in 2021, Greenway has seen a steady rise in student achievement, especially in early literacy as measured by the DIBELS screener. Benchmark assessments and state test scores have improved districtwide.
Just as importantly, the culture has changed.
“We’ve done surveys on campus culture, and the feedback we’ve gotten is that people feel more ownership,” Vertrees said. “There’s this feeling that we’re all working toward the same goals and that everyone has a part in making sure we get there.”
A key reason for that shift is the program’s emphasis on inclusionary leadership.
“As leaders, we used to think we needed to take things off teachers’ plates,” said Superintendent Jennifer McBeth. “But Rose helped us see that involving teachers in the process—bringing them into planning and problem-solving—actually empowers them and creates better outcomes.”
In addition to her work in Arizona, Ylimaki co-leads the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP), the world’s largest study of principal practices linked to academic achievement, well-being, and ensuring strong outcomes for all students. Her experience studying school development models in countries like Sweden, Australia, and Israel has shaped how she supports schools in Arizona.
“When I went to Sweden, I saw what they were doing and that’s actually where I got the idea for Arizona LEADER,” said Ylimaki.
Thanks to her endowed chair position made possible through the generous support of donors Del and Jewell Lewis, Ylimaki has the time and flexibility to invest in long-term partnerships like the one with the Bisbee Unified School District.
“This isn’t something you can do with a traditional research grant,” she said. “The endowment gives me time, stability, and the freedom to build relationships and do the work in a meaningful, lasting way.”
Now in their fourth year with the program, Bisbee’s schools have no intention of stepping back.
“We want to hang onto Rose for as long as we can,” McBeth said. “She has such a deep understanding of who we are and where we’re going. She pushes us, supports us, and helps us reach our full potential. The outcomes have far exceeded what we hoped for.”
