Recently retired Alice Madar couldn’t choose just one favorite memory from her time as director at Sedona Charter School. Instead, she chose 15.

Some went back to after the Montessori school became Arizona’s first charter in 1995.

“I think when the school was founded, and when I got involved, we were just focused on providing a great educational program and building a campus,” Madar said of expanding their successful Montessori preschool, which had been around since 1976, with a K-8 elementary. “But what has struck me over the years is how much our alumni really loved their time here. You don’t think of an elementary school as an alma mater that people remember vividly and fondly, but I have learned that many of our students and families really do trea­sure our school. They love the sense of community, the amazing field trips and, of course, the Montessori way of teaching.”

Some of Madar ’s favorite memories came after some of the school’s hardest struggles, such as when the Kachina Drive campus was built in 2001 after six years of tempo­rary locations. Before the tree blessing ceremony and ground-breaking, Madar and the leader­ship team at the time had to search for a location for years while different neighborhoods rose up in protest, get a Conditional Use Permit, and approval from Planning and Zoning and then city council.

“We wanted a good relationship with our neighbors and focused on reaching out and staying peaceful. There was vociferous opposi­tion. Our students asked why people hated them,” Madar recalled. “At the permit hearings in city hall, I think every family in our school was present. Many, many parents stood up to speak. It seemed like we had 200 people there, but I can’t remember for sure.  What I do remember was the feeling of pure elation shared with [the] school supporters when our permit was approved. We would finally have a home.”

And that home has been loved to the brim by students and teachers alike through the years, with its street-side wildlife habitat area, nature trail, pond, outdoor study areas and certified historic log cabin.

“Every year, as the land­scape evolves and we add more outdoor features, it just gets more beau­tiful,” Madar said of the campus. “I like to think of it as magical and a little enchanted.”

The Montessorians like to utilize the outdoors as much as they can, and Madar recalls “walking onto the beautiful campus in the morning and hearing the laughter of kids, the old-fashioned family picnics,” and watching the kids perform a musical on the Kittredge Patio on a summer evening.

Another highlight Madar mentioned was “the day the Nickelodeon TV network filmed a segment with my son and our first office dog doing dog agility on the school lawn, with all the kids outside watching and cheering.”

Sedona Charter School has managed to balance — or integrate — having fun and learning. In 2019, the school received the only “A” rating in Sedona and the Verde Valley from the Arizona Department of Education.

Leaving on that high note was one reason Madar thought now was a good time to retire.

“After so many years of building the campus and the school culture, poli­cies, procedures, mission and vision, the school was stable and successful,” she said. “I wanted to leave when things were going well and I could celebrate my time at the school. We had a good staff in place, the school had earned an ‘A’ rating, the school fami­lies seemed happy, and we had the great honor of being invited to send our orchestra to Carnegie Hall [which was postponed due to COVID-19]. So, last year seemed like a ‘capstone’ year and a good time to prepare for a lead­ership transition.”

Madar also said that being a school adminis­trator is “immensely chal­lenging,” and she felt it was starting to take a toll on her well-being. She technically retired June 30, but has been helping new execu­tive director Crystal Hoyle with the added challenges of navigating new health and safety procedures due to the pandemic, and will continue to consult with her as needed. When it is safe to do so, Madar plans to do some traveling, and she will focus on her other job: Training her dog for sports competitions.

“The only goal I had for the school that is not yet completed is Montessori accreditation,” Madar said. “We would be the only public elementary school in Arizona to earn it. We are on track, and already we are on Level 6 of the American Montessori Society’s pathway to accreditation. That is the highest level of any public school in Arizona. Our leadership team is continuing to work on it.”

Madar said she hopes the school’s strings program — which 75% of the 1st through 8th grade student participate in under the direction of Kristina Beachell — continues to thrive and evolve, and that the school will expand into more performing arts.

“I hope our school will always focus on teaching our students to work hard, question, pursue excel­lence, be kind, take care of humanity and our planet — and play beautiful music,” Madar said.

Hoyle Takes Reins

Hoyle shares many of the school’s visions, which was one of the reasons she was chosen as director unanimously out several other candidates.

“Crystal has deep ties within Sedona, and we wanted someone who could continue to strengthen our relationships and visibility with Sedona,” Madar said. “Also, she had a strong connection to the school — her son Peter attended kindergarten through eighth grade here and she was an active volunteer even after he graduated. We really wanted someone who understood the heart and mission of Sedona Charter School. She also has skills in communica­tion and finance, which are critical to the executive director job.”

Hoyle has a background in hotel marketing and sales, most recently as a sales manager for Sedona’s Holiday Inn Express and as concierge for Sedona Summit Resort before that.

Since starting in spring, Hoyle has already had her hands full preparing the school for all the changes to come.

“We are allowed to offer a distance learning plan starting on Aug. 5, 2020 which is our regular start date,” Hoyle said. “Our principal educators and teachers have been dili­gently working this summer on a distance learning plan and we are ready to imple­ment instructing students virtually.”

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced that public schools in the state cannot open in-person until Aug. 17, but that date could be pushed back further, due to COVID-19 concerns.

“We are waiting for the governor’s latest bench­marks for opening mitiga­tion on Aug. 7 to make a decision about an official in-person instruction reopening date,” Hoyle said.

One change for when the school reopens will be a new custodian, which the school is looking for and will offer $16 an hour. The school is also looking to hire a part-time secretary and substitute teachers.

Sedona Charter School will hold its back-to-school nights on Zoom from Monday, Aug. 3 through Wednesday, Aug. 5.