Photo caption: Dr. Stewart was notified by phone of the award, pictured here with (from left) Mohave County Superintendent of Schools John Warren, BCSD director of educational services Jennifer Lott, GCU assistant vice president Dr. Cherryl Paul, BCSD English language director and hearing officer Amanda Amann, and long-time Pima Unified School District Superintendent Sean Rickert, ARSA president.
FLAGSTAFF – Bullhead City School District (BCSD) Superintendent Dr. Carolyn Stewart has received a top honor from the Arizona Rural Schools Association (ARSA) at its annual conference in Flagstaff. Stewart was surprised with the Elsie Toles Rural Women in Educational Leadership award, named for the first woman elected as Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1920. Toles was also the first woman elected to a statewide Arizona executive branch office.
“Dr. Stewart’s work has been marked by innovation and compassion—expanding technology access, advancing mental health supports, and building career readiness pathways,” said Dr. Cherryl Paul, Grand Canyon University’s assistant vice president of academic alliances for K-12 educational development. “Most importantly, she listens deeply, builds consensus, and elevates the voices of those who might otherwise go unheard.
“In the same way that Elsie Toles broke barriers and lifted rural voices,” Paul continued, “Dr. Carolyn Stewart has lived a life of leadership, advocacy, and service. She exemplifies the values this award represents and inspires all of us to continue investing in rural students and communities.”
Photo caption: GCU assistant vice president Dr. Cherryl Paul (left) announces Dr. Carolyn Stewart as the recipient of the Elsie Toles Award, named for a prominent former Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction. At right are BCSD English language director and hearing officer Amanda Amann, and BCSD director of educational services Jennifer Lott.
Stewart was unable to attend the conference award presentation but was surprised on the phone as it was being read. Stunned, her first thought was to quote another Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, Carolyn Warner, who followed Toles in office by more than a half century. Stewart recalled Warner saying, “as educators, we have to peep or get off the perch.”
Faced with the academic, fiscal and enrollment obstacles of many districts, Stewart was credited with improving student opportunities and strengthening community engagement, even with persistent geographic and economic challenges.
Stewart joined BCSD in 1989, retiring more than 25 years later after serving as principal of Coyote Canyon, Desert Valley (then Intermediate) and Bullhead City Junior High (now Middle) Schools. She previously was a principal in the Kayenta Unified School District. She also taught education classes on the Bullhead City campuses of both Mohave College and Northern Arizona University. In 2019, she came out of retirement after being unanimously selected by BCSD’s governing board as Superintendent. The COVID pandemic and its challenges hit during her first year in that role.
