Good morning, TCUSD!

I wanted to pass along the message below from Ms. Phillips following last night’s incredible Culture Night at THES.

Although I hated missing it while I am away at a conference, I have loved seeing the pictures, hearing the stories, and especially hearing about how many people from across our district stepped up to make this night special for our students, families, and community.

This is exactly what we mean when we say Stronger Together. Different schools, departments, and individuals saw a need and simply asked, “How can I help?” That is One Team, and that is what putting kids first looks like.

I am incredibly proud of Ms. Phillips, Ms. Navaho, the entire THES team, and everyone across TCUSD who played a part in making this happen. When we work together and keep our students at the center of our decisions, some amazing things can happen.

Please take a few minutes to read Ms. Phillips’ message below. There are a lot of people who deserve to be celebrated!

Great job, TCUSD! This is who we are. 

Scott Nedrow
Superintendent
Tuba City Unified School District No. 15
#KidsComeFirst

Good morning TCUSD

I want to take a moment to express my sincerest gratitude to every person who helped make our THES Culture Night such an incredible success last night.

The amount of positive feedback we have received has been overwhelming. Seeing our school filled with students, families, community members, royalty, guests, and so much excitement was something I will never forget. What amazes me most is how quickly everyone came together to make this event happen. What started as an idea became something truly special because so many people were willing to say, “How can I help?”

Ms. Bishop, thank you for opening your doors to us and allowing us access to pretty much anything we needed. Your generosity and willingness to help made such a difference.

Ms. Butler, the flyers were amazing! Thank you for your creativity and for your continued communication and support with facility usage and all of the details that came along with preparing for this event.

Ms. Leah Begay, thank you for your prompt assistance in helping us get everything finalized with payment. Christina, thank you for getting the PO prepared and helping us move everything forward so quickly.

Jane, I absolutely love working with you. Your attention to detail and your ability to see the things the rest of us might overlook make you a superhero in my eyes! Thank you for everything you did behind the scenes to help make the evening successful.

Ms. Clairmont, Shiyazh absolutely loved the pullover! He immediately put it on, and it was a perfect fit. Seeing his reaction made it even more special. Thank you for making that happen for us and helping us provide him with a small token of our appreciation.

To our Technology Department,  Varsh, Mack, and Hari, thank you for all of your help leading up to the event. I saw some of you out here daily making sure our Wi-Fi, technology, equipment, and setup were ready. The streaming and technology went wonderfully, and that was because of the preparation and time you put in beforehand.

To our Maintenance Department, thank you for the tremendous amount of work you put into getting our school and grounds in tip top shape for this event. From making sure our cooling was working properly to taking care of the grounds and all of the little things that needed attention, there were so many hands on deck making sure THES was ready to welcome our community.

Alex, I have to especially thank you for being such a good sport! I was teasing you yesterday that I was going to pull you out of the line to meet Mr. Pete just so you could turn our AC back on after we discovered it apparently had a timer and shut off at 6:00! We had a good laugh about it, but moments like that reminded me just how many people were standing by and willing to jump in whenever we needed something. Thank you to the entire Maintenance team for taking pride in our school and helping us put our very best foot forward. I am incredibly grateful for every set of hands that helped make our campus look and feel its best.

To our Warehouse team, thank you so much for responding to our request and making sure we had the chairs and equipment we needed for the event. Your help with getting everything loaded, transported, and delivered to THES made such a difference in our preparation.

Because of your support, we were able to go into the evening feeling prepared and ready to welcome everyone. Our guests were comfortable, we had more than enough seating, and we did not have to worry about whether we could accommodate the wonderful turnout. That may seem like a small detail, but for an event of this size, it was incredibly important.

Thank you for moving quickly, working with us, and helping our little school prepare for such a big night. Your support was an important part of the success of this event, and we are truly grateful.

To all of the TCES staff members who came out to help serve, clean, and support us, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You did not have to give your time, but you showed up for us. Your kindness and willingness to work alongside our little school meant more than you know. We are incredibly grateful to have colleagues who are willing to support one another in this way.

Mr. Nedrow, thank you for being such a strong backbone and source of support for this event. You helped make so many things happen for us and moved quickly when we needed assistance, despite being so far away! I appreciate your responsiveness, your encouragement, and everything you continue to do for our district and our schools.

Ms. Navaho, thank you for your leadership, guidance, and encouragement throughout this entire process. There were moments when I felt overwhelmed and moments when I wondered whether we could pull everything together in such a short amount of time. You reminded me that when something is being done for the right reasons, especially for our students, we keep moving forward, solve one problem at a time, and trust the people around us to come together. Thank you for believing in the vision and helping us see it through.

To our Security Team, thank you for showing up and making safety a priority. Knowing we had a team present whose focus was protecting our students, families, guests, staff, and community allowed us to focus on enjoying the evening. That peace of mind meant the absolute world to us.

And finally, to our THES team, thank you. Thank you for your patience, encouragement, hard work, flexibility, and willingness to jump in wherever you were needed. You reminded me what teamwork truly looks like. We may be a small school, but last night showed exactly what can happen when a small team has a big vision and works together to make it happen.

Most importantly, our students were able to experience something special in their own school and their own community. They saw Diné leaders, royalty, culture, education, service, and success celebrated right in front of them. That was the purpose behind this event, and seeing it come to life made every bit of work worthwhile.

There are so many moving pieces behind an event like this, and I know there may be people I have not mentioned individually. Please know that if you carried a chair, answered an email, printed a flyer, processed paperwork, served a plate, cleaned a table, worked on our grounds, fixed something, worked on technology, helped with safety, shared our event, offered advice, or simply showed up and supported us—you were part of this success.

From the bottom of my heart, Ahéhee’. To me, this event truly represented our district motto, “Stronger Together.” It meant so much to see our district come together to create such a special opportunity for our students, families, and community.

Thank you for showing our students what can happen when a school, district, and community come together for them. Last night was more than a successful event. It was a reminder that even the smallest schools deserve big opportunities, and when we work together, we can create them.

From the bottom of my heart, 

Thank you!

Corileen Phillips
Tsinabaas Habatiin Elementary School
Small School • Big Opportunities • Endless Potential