New Butterfield principal no stranger to Maricopa

Ember Conley may be new to her role as principal of Butterfield Elementary School, but she is no stranger to the city of Maricopa.

In 1988 Conley’s parents relocated a portion of their business, Simmons Lumber, to Maricopa. Through her college years at Arizona State University she lived in Maricopa, ultimately graduating from the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences with a Bachelor of Science degree.

Later, after relocating to Colorado, she earned her teaching certification in elementary education at Fort Lewis College in Durango. For the next three and a half years, she taught math to sixth and seventh graders at Cortez Middle School while earning her Masters of Arts degree from the University of Colorado during that time. For five years she served as high school and elementary principal for the Montezuma-Cortez School District.

In 2007 Conley began her doctoral degree at Argosy University, traveling to the Phoenix area once a month. Last summer she applied for a position with the Maricopa Unified district and interviewed in November. Offered a position as Director of Multiple Projects, she moved back to Maricopa in February.

Speaking about plans for the upcoming school year at Butterfield Elementary, Conley said, “Teachers are creating personal, professional goals and will participate in activities to achieve their goals during the school year. In addition, the teachers are creating individual student data, conferencing with the student and setting student learning goals built upon their strengths and weaknesses.”

“Parents are a large portion of the success of these goals, and their participation in the goal setting process is crucial,” Conley emphasized. Several evening events are planned to increase parents’ knowledge about how to help students succeed and have an exceptional learning opportunity this year, she explained.

Conley added, “My priority is to meet the needs of all students by focusing upon their individual strengths and weaknesses while supporting the teachers in their instructional delivery. Exceptional will not be the exception at Butterfield – all students will succeed.”

Conley explained she is very happy to be in Maricopa with her family, “which includes her eleven-year-old daughter, eight-month-old son, an old fat cat, a rambunctious Rottweiler and a spoiled, miniature Pinscher.”

Butterfield’s new principal can be reached at the school by calling 520-568-6100.

Photo by Brandi Stange