West Sedona School Principal Aaron Coleman announced at the Sedona-Oak Creek School District’s board meeting this is his last school year in Sedona.
“It’s just such a beautiful campus, scenically beautiful. But the climate and culture here, the kids here, they’re just really sweet kids,” Coleman said. “I can’t imagine working with sweeter, better-behaved children.
Three years after Coleman and his wife moved to the Sedona area for him to be the principal of West Sedona School, they decided to move back to her hometown in Connecticut to be closer to their family as they raise their two young children.
Coleman came to the district with 17 years of education experience from the Tucson area, 11 of those being in special education.
He then worked his way up to the assistant principal, followed by the principal position in the Tucson Unified School District. When he first came to Sedona, Coleman was hired as the Red Rock Academy coordinator.
After former principal Brenda Cady announced her retirement, she and Coleman swapped positions right after the 2019-20 school year’s winter break.
“He has developed a solid team with the focus of always doing what is best for students,” Sedona-Oak Creek School District Superintendent and Sedona Red Rock High School Principal Dennis Dearden said. “He has been an integral part of our District Leadership Team and his colleagues always value his input.”
While at WSS, Coleman has helped establish the Wildcat Extended Day program for before and after-school childcare educational programs for students. He has also helped head-up the school’s successful STEM program from the Northern Arizona University and Arizona Public Services’ grant.
As a former Wildcat himself graduating from the University of Arizona, Coleman felt called to education almost immediately after his time in college. He then completed all his graduate work through NAU as he worked his way up to becoming a principal.
But he says that school could not have prepared him for recent struggles in education. Specifically, the majority of Coleman’s time at WSS was marked by COVID-19 as the district worked its way through education during the pandemic.
Coleman believes the district had an incredible accomplishment of keeping up with safe in-person learning, during a time when most other districts had not figured out how to do so yet.
And although other SOCSD administrators believe he would make a great principal as he moves to Connecticut, he does not expect to go into another elementary principal position.
“I don’t see myself applying for principalships. It’s a little too emotional,” Coleman said. “I really can’t imagine being a principal anywhere else if I’m not here. So probably district-level administration in special education, I would imagine.”
Coleman spoke with every teacher individually before announcing his departure, but he is waiting until the end of the school year is closer to send out a formal thank you to the parents and families of the school.
“From the moment he took over as principal, he honored and encouraged the experience and professionalism of our West Sedona family,” West Sedona School’s gifted resource teacher Deb Sanders said. “ I always felt that he believed that I [and my colleagues] had the skills to address our students’ diverse needs.”
Coleman will finish out the school year and his contract to remain until July 1. In the next few weeks and months, the district will be looking for candidates, both internally and new hires, to replace him as principal.
“I love it here. Selfishly, I’d love to finish right here in the seat,” Coleman said. “I don’t have any further aspirations, but I am a family man and it is really the best decision for my wife and children.”
