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The San Carlos Unified School District will see a monumental change in leadership as the school year draws to an end, when Superintendent Dr. Deborah Dennison steps down from the post she has held for nearly a decade and passes the mantle to Assistant Superintendent Shawn Pietila, a longtime fixture in the District.
Dennison leaves after nine years at the helm of the SCUSD, but feels she is leaving the District in capable and familiar hands with Pietila.
“It was very important to find someone locally that understands the systems we’ve put in place and has the ability to lead the District and continue to work with the community, the tribal council and the other components necessary to keep the forward movement,” Dennison says. “I’m really proud of the San Carlos Unified School District. I would have never, ever thought that I’d spend this much time here, but I did, and I’ve enjoyed it the whole time. It’s been good to me, and I’m glad the transition plan was approved.”
A member of the Navajo Nation hailing from Window Rock, Arizona, Dennison arrived at the SCUSD in 2016 with years’ of experience as an educator and multiple advanced degrees.
After teaching at high school and community college levels for many years, she became the superintendent of the Window Rock Unified School District in 2002 and was superintendent of the Ganado District from 2005 to 2009. She then returned to Window Rock, serving in her former position for five more years.
In 2010, she was appointed by President Barack Obama to the National Advisory Council on Indian Education and has also served on boards or as chair on the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools and the National Indian Impacted School Association, as well as the Arizona State Impact Aid Association, and the Arizona State Superintendent’s Indian Education Advisory Council.
Dennison has earned many other accolades in her nearly four decades in education, but when she started at SCUSD, she thought it would be a temporary position as she built her own business.
“I was in the middle of doing a project in another school setting in Arizona, so I thought, ‘Okay, I can come for about three months, implement my survey, and help find a superintendent that can do those things,” Dennison says “I came with the intention of being here for three months, and found out right away where some of the issues are, because San Carlos was very, very low performing at that time, and there was a climate and atmosphere that wasn’t conducive to learning.”
She eventually signed a contract for two years, then three and now she looks back on a significant portion of her career at a school district that has benefitted from her research and experience.
A big part of her success has been implementing San Carlos Apache culture into the SCUSD curriculum and entering into partnerships in the San Carlos community with agencies such as the San Carlos Apache Tribal Education Department, including Apache College, and the San Carlos Apache Health Corporation.
Through those partnerships, Dennison has implemented a dual credit program for high school students; the kindergarten Apache immersion cohort at Rice Elementary, as well as designing and implementing the middle school intervention concept.
In addition to creating a cultural space that encourages students to embrace their San Carlos Apache heritage, Dennison has also worked to identify the District as a provider of resources for its students and their families.
The Parent Educator Program offers help to parents and student guardians to learn their roles, and the Cultural Success Coaching Program, which was established as a response to the COVID pandemic that helps students who might need counseling or other resources such as food and clothing.
Her “systemic reform approach,” known as “Empowering Our N’nee People the Brave Way,” has been a guide for the District’s strategic planning and is designed to ensure student success.
The systemic reform approach focuses on changing the system, rather than the students. Her strategy is based on tools she developed through her doctoral research that designs curriculum around community feedback incorporated into external directives.
Much of it was inspired by her father’s career in education and his belief in tribal identity as a cornerstone of culture.
“Tribal sovereignty and tribal identity being the utmost important thing we need to instill in our children in schools,” Dennison says. “For them to be successful in this society, they have to have that strong foundation and not feel like they’re not as good as anybody else.”
Her departure will affect many people she has worked with over the years, including her Executive Secretary Evelyn Hinton, who has worked with Dennison in multiple districts for about 26 years.
“I’ll miss her leadership and how she’s encouraged administrators and students and pushed them to excel to where we’re at now,” Hinton says. “I’m hoping it will continue under Mr. Pietila.”
Korinne Bullock, Principal at San Carlos Middle School, has been with the District since 2011 and has seen the progress the schools have made, thanks to Dennison’s leadership style.
“One of the biggest things that has been most impactful, is that she didn’t come in with a top down approach,” Bullock says. “She came in and immediately got people from all parts of the district involved, including the community and the parents, in what we want to see for the kids here in San Carlos, and how we were going to all help them be successful.”
At its February 12 meeting, the SCUSD Governing Board approved its Superintendent and Chief Finance Officer Leadership transition plan that promoted Pietila to superintendent, but also promoted Rice Intermediate Principal Nicholas Ferro to take over as the District’s chief financial officer.
His promotion is part of the District’s goal to promote from within as a means to increase retention with people who understand the school and its mission.
Ferro, whose 9-year tenure coincides with Dennison’s, credits her with his move to an administrative position and longevity in the District. He started as a school counselor, became an associate principal and for the past five years has been principal at Rice Intermediate.
“It’s very rewarding and I credit her for the knowledge I’ve gained and her belief in me, that I can take on those expanded roles, and thank her for it,” Ferro says. “It’s weird for me to leave the building I’ve been principal at now for five years, but I know that we’re putting the right pieces in place to sustain the success that she created.”
Dennison says she will return to the Hatch, New Mexico ranch she owned with her late husband and spend more time with their children running the operation.
“I’m going to go home and see the next opportunity that opens for me, but I’m not going to force something. I’m just gonna see what happens,” Dennison says. “I’ll be available and I’ll stay connected with Shawn on a part time basis, but not physically here, because I don’t want to overshadow him.”
Pietila came to San Carlos in 2008 and spent 11 years at the high school, coaching football and track and field. He returned to the District at the beginning of the current school year after four years as Athletic Director of Miami High School and one year as principal after the departure of Glen Lineberry in 2023.
“Dr. Dennison has set programs in place that have lifted the spirits and standing of the San Carlos Unified School District and I am grateful to her for her mentorship,” Pietila says. “I am honored to be given the chance to build on her work that has benefited so many in our community.”
Journalist, writer and editor who has worked for community newspapers for more than 15 years. After four years at Davis-Monthan AFB and a few years living in Tucson, moved to California to find his fortune. He is happy to be back in Arizona, in the mountains he loves.
