Exemplary Principals
The Exemplary Principal Award
Celebrating School Cultures Where Students And Teachers Thrive
Maricopa County has a teacher retention problem. Skilled educators are leaving the profession, citing poor working conditions as a top reason. Teachers choosing to stay in the profession cite a school leader who creates a culture where both students and teachers thrive as the reason. The Maricopa County School Superintendent Steve Watson annually recognizes such leaders through the Exemplary Principal Award.
Principals recognized with the Exemplary Principal award intrinsically value the opinions, experiences, and preferences of those they lead and consistently leverage those perspectives in decision-making. As a result of these safe and supportive environments, the students achieve academically and emotionally, and the teachers remain in the profession.
2024 Exemplary Principals
Chuck Rantala
“It is an honor to recognize Chuck Rantala as an Exemplary Principal. Chuck is a strengths-based and human-centered leader who inspires all those around him. He has created a culture at Hohokam where students, staff, and the community feel valued, connected, and celebrated. The joy and collective efficacy at Hohokam are palpable from the moment you step on campus.”
—Maricopa County School Superintendent Steve Watson
J.P. Ketcham
“It is an honor to recognize J.P. Ketcham as an Exemplary Principal. JP is a transformational leader who sees the potential in others and inspires and empowers them to grow. He has worked strategically to build a collaborative vision for student and staff success and the result is a culture where relationships and support are at the center of everything, and students and teachers are thriving. His passion and positivity are infectious and reflected in all the members of the Desert Meadows family.”
— Maricopa County School Superintendent Steve Watson
Angelique Saiz
“It is an honor to recognize Angelique Saiz as an Exemplary Principal. Angelique is a mission-driven leader who has developed a strong collaborative culture focused on growth. She has created an environment that is inclusive of both high expectations and high levels of support. As a result of her skilled and thoughtful leadership, Discovery is a school community where students, staff, and parents feel like family and know that they are a part of something special.”
— Maricopa County School Superintendent Steve Watson
Kristin Turner
“It is an honor to recognize Kristin Turner as an Exemplary Principal. Kristin is a positive force who has built an environment of trust, guidance, feedback, high expectations, support, and caring relationships at Kiser Elementary. She has an unwavering commitment to serving others and students and teachers are at the heart of everything she does. She is forward thinking, community minded, and incredibly resourceful. Through her skilled leadership, Kiser has grown into a thriving hub for the entire rural community.”
— Maricopa County School Superintendent Steve Watson
Seth Beute
“It is an honor to recognize Seth Beute as an Exemplary Principal. Seth is a strengths-based, transformational leader who has built a thriving community at Phoenix Coding Academy. He has worked collaboratively with his team to create a dynamic learning environment where innovation, shared leadership, and relationships are priorities, and risk-taking is highly encouraged and celebrated. He has thoughtfully and intentionally created an inclusive culture with high trust and respect. As a result, all staff know they are essential to the team and refer to each other as “our Coding family.”
— Maricopa County School Superintendent Steve Watson
Tara LeCount
“It is an honor to recognize Tara LeCount as an Exemplary Principal. Tara is a dynamic leader who has created a culture of trust, cohesiveness, and collaboration at Diamond Canyon where students, families, and staff care deeply about learning and about each other. She values shared leadership with relationships at the heart of all decisions and actions, and the result is a collective efficacy and connectedness that can be felt throughout her campus. She is data-driven and values both hard data and heart data when making decisions. Tara has a contagious passion for education and a positivity that lifts up all those around her."
— Maricopa County School Superintendent Steve Watson
Connie Wolford
“It is an honor to recognize Connie Wolford as an Exemplary Principal. Connie is a data-driven transformational leader with a strong vision for student and staff success. She has created a warm and collaborative culture at Freedom Traditional Academy that reflects high expectations and unwavering support. Connie is a true champion for education who builds capacity in all those around her, and her leadership, compassion, and commitment have resulted in a sense of connection, collective efficacy, and fun that can be felt throughout the FTA campus.
— Maricopa County School Superintendent Steve Watson
Amanda Acosta
"It is an honor to recognize Amanda Acosta as an Exemplary Principal. Amanda is a human-centered and transformational leader who has implemented systems and strategies to turn around both the academics and culture at Barbara B. Robey Elementary. She is genuinely gifted in human capital leadership, seeing the potential in everyone, and skillfully supporting and connecting people to grow individually and collectively. She prioritizes culture as a driving force in student and teacher success, and as a result of her thoughtful leadership, the staff refers to their campus as the “Hallmark” school, a happy place to come to learn and work every day."
— Maricopa County School Superintendent Steve Watson