Dietz K-8 School

Beka has worked her entire 14-year educator career as a pre-kindergarten teacher, having joined the Dietz PreK-8 School two years ago. She was drawn to the eastside school because she had heard how Dietz draws from different community resources and is a strong community-oriented school. 

In the classroom, she loves he work she and her team does working with the littles. Beka also helps teach them valuable lessons, like self-regulation and how to solve problems if somebody’s not getting along. 

“I just feel like they’re just amazing little, moldable humans,” Beka said. “And it’s just such a great way to give them a firm foundation for the rest of their life and their education.”

Lenna is a 35-year employee of Tucson Unified School District and has spent the last eight years of her career at Dietz PreK-8 School – and she plans to retire from there. In fact, while retirement is on her short-term goal list, she plans to come back to Dietz post-retirement to work as an ESI. 

One of the main reasons she loves Dietz so much, and therefore wants to return to continue working there, is because of the support staff receive. 

Outside of work, Lenna stays busy tending to her 10 rose bushes, taking care of her three dogs, and hanging out with family.  

“I love teaching because I really like to see the growth in the kids,” Lenna said. “Academic growth is my big thing, my big passion.”

Adilene is in her sixth year teaching at Dietz PreK-8, and one of the aspects of the school she has come to love the most is the diversity of the students. Dietz is home to more than 100 refugee students. 

“It’s really nice to see the growth of the kids when they start [off] knowing no English or little English, and see their growth throughout the year,” Adilene said. “It’s really, really amazing.” 

When Adilene isn’t working on planning lessons or grading, she likes to daydream about her next vacation destination. She wants to travel to a bunch of different countries and just see as much of the world as possible. 

Some of her top bucket-list places to visit include Egypt, Hawaii, and Peru.