CHANDLER, AZ — Dr. Anna Battle has spent decades in Arizona education, and she says her first priority in leading Chandler Unified School District isn't changing anything; it's listening.
"My first and major goal, is to get to know many people. I have to develop relationships to fully understand the blessings that I have in working at this amazing district, and it starts with the people,” Battle said.
With the school year days away, Battle and her staff are already identifying areas to improve: English Language Arts scores, more elective choices for high schoolers, and better communication with families.
"And within our staff, we want to make sure that we maintain compensation and also just value the environment and culture every day in the school district,” Battle said.
Battle's resume runs through districts across the state, most recently as deputy superintendent at Roosevelt School District. She also led the Casa Grande Union High School District for just under two years, until its governing board voted 3-to-2 in 2023 to dismiss her. She declined to comment.
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Heading into the new year, Battle says CUSD is well-staffed, but retaining and recruiting teachers remain a priority, and so does enrollment, a challenge facing nearly every Arizona public district.
“People are looking for that school and community that's in their neighborhood, and or their neighbor told them about, so we are going to have to roll up our sleeves and have some empathy and to be humble and understand what we can do to recruit students,” Battle said.
Despite the headwinds facing public education, Battle's ambition isn't modest. When asked what it would take to make Chandler Unified the best in the country, she said, I would say the people that we have and the people that we recruit and those that we retain."
The CUSD school year starts on July 15th.
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