Valentine Elementary School is a K-8 school located in Truxton, Arizona, and it is the only school within its district. The school was originally founded in 1924 and was based 10 miles away in Valentine. Our current campus was opened in Truxton in 1969. We are a very small school, with just under 100 students and 14 staff members. We haven’t experienced any teacher turnover in the last five years, and the teachers who have been making up our team have an average of 16 years of experience as educators.

Apart from the children who live within our district, many of our students come from the nearby Hualapai Reservation. Our student body population is currently 84% American Indian. In addition to teaching the Arizona State Standards, Valentine Elementary works diligently to give our students as many experiences and as much outside knowledge as possible, as our community is located in a very rural area. We have partnerships with organizations such as AZ Health Zone, PATHs, and the Mohave County Library. When their visitors come out to our school, they expose our students to topics beyond their everyday academic curriculum. Throughout the year, we also take our students on field trips. In recent years, we have visited The Discovery Kid’s Museum, the OdySea Aquarium, the hands-on CSI: Experience, the Mohave County Fair, Walnut Canyon, and the Keepers of the Wild. Valentine Elementary also has newly introduced After School Clubs and Activities. The first to be made available are an Art Club, a Gardening Club, and Strategic Games Activities. After School Tutoring is also available, and we plan on holding Math and Writing Workshops throughout the year.

Each year as long-standing tradition, Valentine Elementary hosts a Christmas Holiday Celebration for the students and their families, and we manage the Small School’s Track Meet in the Spring. Additionally, at the end of the school year, we organize a Field Day which is usually held up in the Hualapai Mountains.

Our school’s overall philosophy is centered around the fact that we spend a lot of time with our students each day. We see most of our students for a total of 30 hours each week, so it is crucial that we build positive relationships with them and conduct ourselves to be good role models. It is our ultimate goal to provide an immersive, supportive, and welcoming learning environment so that all of our students are given the opportunity and the tools to succeed.