2005 Award Winners
Intel and Scholastic Schools of Distinction Awards
Leadership Excellence
Cordova Middle School

Cordova Middle School
Phoenix, Ariz.

School Statistics
Total Enrollment: 836
Type of School: Public
Location/Size of School: Large, City School
Receive Free/Reduced Lunch: 88%
Student-Teacher Ratio: 27:1

Leadership at Cordova Middle School is not only about inspiring staff and students, it’s also about pulling, pushing, and cajoling an entire community forward. Principal Karen E. Williams does this by offering opportunities for all the stakeholders in her school to shine. Four times a year, staff, kids, and parents participate in Saturday Learning Academies. “I think the primary role of a leader is to encourage new leaders,” she says, and apparently, that’s something Williams does well. In the past six years, five Cordova staff members have been promoted to principalships and three to assistant principalships.