The campus itself was pretty rough before the fire to be brutally honest with you but our campus is beautiful now. It’s absolutely gorgeous and very simply, we’ve faced a lot of adversity but we came together stronger as a collective group, persevered through that adversity and we are back.”

Matt Patzlaff, Navajo Principal

By Josh Martinez
Twitter: @jmartinez064

It’s been two years in the making but Navajo Elementary School is back.

In the early hours of Aug. 22, 2018, a fire broke out at Navajo’s campus, 4525 N. Granite Reef Road, ravaging the facility to the point that operations had to move to the Oak Street campus at 7501 E. Oak St. The Scottsdale Unified School District later voted in October 2018 to restore the school rather than a total rebuild.

Fast forward almost two years and Navajo is ready to go but one more roadblock separates the Navajo Buffaloes community from their new campus: the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since mid-March, SUSD schools closed as a way to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. As the start of the new school year neared, Gov. Doug Ducey set an Aug. 17 goal as when students could return to in-person learning. He later shifted to a benchmarks systems, allowing districts to make choices to reopen based on if they hit the standards.

As of Aug. 14, SUSD has not indicated a date when it plans to return to in-person learning but Superintendent Dr. Scott Menzel told employees in a recent letter he plans to bring forth a recommendation at the Aug. 18 Governing Board meeting.

Navajo Principal Matthew Patzlaff said he is excited for that day to come because he can’t wait to share the renovated campus with the students.

“The campus itself was pretty rough before the fire to be brutally honest with you but our campus is beautiful now,” he said. “It’s absolutely gorgeous and very simply, we’ve faced a lot of adversity but we came together stronger as a collective group, persevered through that adversity and we are back.”

Dennis Roehler, SUSD director of facilities, said this project brought many unique opportunities because of how old the building was and the type of damage it sustained from the fire.

Despite these challenges, Mr. Roehler said he found the Navajo community and Mr. Patzlaff to be extremely passionate about the restoration while also being realistic about expectations and willing to work through challenges as they arose.

“Having that great experience with the Navajo family I just can’t wait to see them back in their building,” he said via email.

“It may sound corny but the one thing I look forward to more than anything is seeing the faces of the students, staff and parents when they walk through the buildings for the first time.

“That to me is absolutely priceless.”

A history

Navajo first opened in 1960 and features a red brick exterior, giving the school what Mr. Patzlaff calls an “old schoolhouse” feel. Since its inception, Mr. Patzlaff said Navajo has been a community school.

The community, Mr. Patzlaff said, has always been deeply involved during his four years as principal, citing examples of some students’ grandparents who volunteer with the school because they were teachers there at one point.

He also said there are many teachers and staff live near the school while many of the students are second or third generation Navajo students.

“It’s such a strong sense of community,” Mr. Patzlaff said. “Even me speaking, I’ve worked at a handful of schools in the Valley, handful of schools in Scottsdale and I’ve never had such a strong community feel than here at Navajo.”

This passion for the school led many to be devastated to learn of the fire and its damage back in 2018.

“That school holds such a special place in all our hearts,” Jill Mullen, Navajo PTO president, said via an email. “Sounds cheesy but it’s true. The thought of it not reopening even now can make me cry and I’m not a crier. We can not wait for our daughter to get back on campus when it’s safe to.”

Former SUSD Superintendent Dr. John Kriekard called the Navajo episode one of his biggest points of pride because of how well the community came together to support the school after the fire.

Dr. Kriekard pointed to those working on the district side and how much effort they put into the project. Mr. Patzlaff said he was grateful for Dr. Kriekard’s leadership at that time and for the efforts of the community in making the transition to the Oak Street campus work.

Mr. Patzlaff recalls district staff working through the night to get the Oak Street campus running, leading to students missing one day of school because of the fire.

Leadership and community members from across the district chipped in to help the school accomplish that feat. Mr. Patzlaff remembers receiving numerous donations from areas across the state and country. He also remembers a lot of school supply donations coming in from across the district.

As the district continued to evaluate the building, there was uncertainty on what the future might be for the neighborhood school. Mr. Patzlaff said he appreciated Dr. Kriekard’s honesty on the various options for the school’s future.

Many Navajo parents campaigned for Navajo to get a restoration rather than a complete rebuild. The Governing Board agreed with the sentiment and on Oct. 16, the board voted 4-1 to restore the campus.

“This has shown the resiliency of the Navajo elementary community,” Jenny Duran, Navajo PTO vice president, said via email.

“During the uncertain period after the fire, the community really came together to ensure that the building was restored so we could return. At the time, we were a newer family to the school and didn’t have many connections, but as a result of these challenges we now have lifelong friends made through the shared experience and camaraderie.”

Community backing

Ms. Duran said she toured several local schools before her oldest son started pre-kindergarten. After the various tours, she said she felt Navajo was the right fit.

That son is now in second grade and her younger son just began kindergarten. She said the fire is what really got her involved with the school community, leading her to the PTO.

Though her time with the school has been short, Ms. Duran said she is thrilled with the modernization of the school while “maintaining the charm of the mid-century design.” Navajo focuses on a STEAM learning environment, which focuses on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.

“Principal Patzlaff kept the STEAM curriculum at the forefront of the discussion so the end result is a physical space that supports an active learning environment,” she said. “We are all very excited to return to the campus when it is safe.”

Ms. Mullen, on the other hand, has had her four daughters attend Navajo with her youngest, 9, attending there for fourth grade. Futhermore, Ms. Mullen and her husband both attended Saguaro High School, which is in the same learning community as Navajo.

“Not only have our kids made amazing friendships at school (my senior daughter still hangs out with her grade school buddies) but the parents have as well and that’s pretty special,” she said.

“I seriously can go on and on about Navajo, the STEAM program, events we have had over the years. It’s the hidden gem of south Scottsdale and we have loved being apart of the community.”

Mr. Patzlaff said many of the parents and other community members share the thoughts of Ms. Duran and Ms. Mullen regarding the school. The responses he’s received have ranged from excitement to many offering help in whatever way they can to the school.

Among those expressing excitement is Mr. Roehler, who expressed his appreciation for all those involved.

“Whenever the students are able to return to campus I can guarantee they will be overwhelmed with joy,” he said. “Our Scottsdale Schools administration and Governing Board were very supportive of my recommendations to take the restoration a little further and make Navajo the best Navajo that it could be.”

To help appease the masses, Mr. Patzlaff said the school hosted virtual meet the teacher nights rather than the usual in-person events. Mr. Patzlaff has also hosted numerous tours on Facebook to showcase the new campus.

Many local churches and other community organizations offered help to Navajo with moving equipment into the school or other forms of service. Mr. Patzlaff said because of the pandemic, there hasn’t been much for community members to do.

Mr. Patzlaff also had plans for a community picnic as well as other community get-togethers such as a ribbon cutting ceremony but the pandemic tangled those plans.

“All those things got postponed but we were trying to have it be more open for a sense of community, not just for our Navajo families but truly everyone in the community and the area,” he said.

While the future is still not set for education, it looks bright for Navajo, Mr. Patzlaff said. The school will seek a national accreditation to become an official STEAM school. Patzlaff said the school expects to reach that goal by the end of next school year.

With those goals in mind, and all that the school and its community has overcome to get to this point, Mr. Patzlaff had one message for the community.

“We’re back stronger than ever,” he said. “We’re here. We’re an amazing neighborhood school. We’re a great STEAM school with our STEAM focus. Bottom line is we love kids and we just can’t wait for it to be safe to have kids back on our campus to show off our world-class facility.”