Teachers and administrators are the public face of a school district, but the people behind the scenes play a large role in the day-to-day functioning on the various campuses.
As San Carlos Unified School District Superintendent Shawn Pietila settles into his new position, in addition to key hires in district administration he has brought in new leadership for three crucial departments: Facilities and Maintenance, Information Technology (IT), and Security.
“Our faculty and administration gets a lot of credit for what they do, but we would not be able to do it without vital support from several key departments,” Pietila says. “If our infrastructure was not stable, we wouldn't have the tools to do what we do.”
Through a combination of internal recruitment and bringing in local talent with deep connections to the San Carlos Apache community, Pietila has assembled a team of department directors who are invested in the success of the district.
Facilities and Maintenance Supervisor Tony May has been with SCUSD since 2012 and leads a team of eight employees who maintain all of the facilities throughout the District.
“We work through the whole district: From the high school, junior high, elementary and primary schools, to the district building, teacher housing, and transportation,” May says. “That is a lot of area we cover with a group of eight people.”
May brings a deep knowledge of what it takes to keep the lights on in the District, as he worked his way up through the department, starting as a custodian and then moving to groundskeeper and then maintenance. He has personally worked in every capacity in his field, including being a grade two certified water distribution operator for the District.
He spent two years as assistant supervisor of the department before taking the reins this year.
“I am familiar with everything that's involved with being a director of facilities,” he says. “I ran into every problem you could think of and have a lot of knowledge from hands-on training, so I'm self taught and self motivated.”
In addition to the years he has served at SCUSD, May is first and foremost a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, born and raised on the Reservation. Everyone on his staff is a member of the Tribe as well.
May says that recruiting within the Tribe helps his team understand the needs and background of students, and hiring people like Pietila, with deep connections to San Carlos, ensures administrators “aren't just there for the paycheck.”
“I'm here for the betterment of the school, to make improvements, to move forward,” May says. “I love working with the new administration because everybody has new ideas, something fresh, and working together as a team is what we do. I wouldn't be able to do it without the guys and the administrative team I work with.”
As important as the buildings and grounds of the District are, the heart of a modern school district is IT for teaching and communications.
New IT Director Mike Bernabe has been associated with the District since 2016.
Bernabe was hired for tech support at Rice Primary School in 2021, transferring to San Carlos Middle School in 2023. He now leads a team of five techs who maintain the district-wide information system after receiving encouragement to apply for the position from former director Robert Davidson.
“He told me he thinks I'm capable of doing the job, and it got me more motivated,” Bernabe says. “Since I'm already working here, I know the environment and everything it takes to keep things going, and that's a big edge.”
One of the challenges he faces is transitioning from a “hands-on” tech to “being the director, always in the office, dealing with paperwork and everything.”
Originally from Manila, Bernabe is part of a significant Filipino population in the region. Although it took him some time to get used to living in rural Arizona, Bernabe says he has found a home.
He's also worked with many of the District's new administrators and has become attached to the students, who are similar in age to his own kids.
“Since we got here in 2016, I told my wife I'm going to grow old here,” Bernabe says. “When we moved there, we were culture shocked at first, but we got used to it and don't even want to leave now.”
Rounding out the new hires is Security Director Joseph Hernandez, a member of the San Carlos Tribe who “grew up right down the road” from the district. A 1999 graduate of San Carlos High School, Hernandez has 18 years' experience in security, but also spent two years in IT.
“I bring experience and my connections to the Tribe,” he says of his qualifications for the job. “Most people know me as the guy who went to school here, who grew up here, and that helps.”
The security department has 14 security personnel who perform a wide range of tasks throughout the year, even when school is not in session. Six securities patrol the campuses Monday through Sunday, every day of the year. There is also in-school security working Monday through Friday, including holidays, even when students are not in attendance.
Much of what security deals with is students who have family issues they might bring to school with them. Hernandez says the programs set in place to provide help for those students—offering food, clothing, and counseling for students and their parents—have provided an alternative to focusing on enforcement.
He sees the new administration building on previous success to create an atmosphere more conducive to educational outcomes and safety for the students.
“They have the parent educator meetings throughout the week now, and I've noticed there's more and more people showing up, and it's helping the community,” Hernandez says. “I think Dr. Dennison laid the foundation, and it's working. And Shawn has the right mindset to lead.”
The most important thing Hernandez sees, though, is connections to the Tribe leading to a better understanding of what the students are going through.
“One of our main challenges might be getting the community to believe in what we're trying to achieve, and that we're not out to go after their child,” he says. “It helps to be from the Tribe to understand what the kids are going through. A lot of times the folks who are not from here don't understand, and there's a learning curve for them.”
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