2025 AEF® Arizona Teacher of the Year® Nominations are now open until May 20, 2024! Do you know an AMAZING Arizona teacher?! Take time to nominate a teacher today for the Arizona Educational Foundation's (AEF®) Arizona Teacher of the Year program, presented by Desert Financial Credit Union, is the highest state-level award an Arizona public school teacher can receive. The AEF Teacher of the Year program annually honors fifteen exceptionally skilled, dedicated public school teachers. “Being the 2024 Arizona Teacher of the Year brings me immense pride and has amplified my love for teaching ..read more

AEF Tee Up Fore Teachers Golf Event & Raffle presented by First International Bank & Trust, Wealth Management April 7th, 2024 from 9:30am-1pm Top Golf Scottsdale, 9500 Talking Stick Way, Scottsdale, AZ, 85256. Show your love for Arizona teachers and public schools through this fun event supporting the Arizona Educational Foundation (AEF)! Register to play or sponsor a teacher, donate, or participate in our online raffle: RAFFLE RULES ..read more

PHOENIX, Ariz., March 20, 2024 –, ,,The Arizona Educational Foundation (AEF®) is pleased to announce Heather Todd Horrocks, Attorney at Weiss Brown, and Madeline Winney, CEO and Founder at LEO Foundation USA, will join the, ,,AEF Board of Directors.   Heather Todd Horrocks Heather Todd Horrocks practices at ,,Weiss Brown, PLLC in the fields of data privacy, corporate law, securities, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). As a data privacy attorney, her in-depth understanding of the intricate and ever-evolving landscape of privacy laws and regulations allows her to ..read more

Phoenix, Ariz., March 16, 2024 — Aliyah Alpert, an 8th grader from Alpert Home School, has out-spelled 27 other competitors to win the 2024 Arizona Spelling Bee hosted by the Arizona Educational Foundation on Saturday, March 16, 2024. Aliyah correctly spelled the word “volemic” to win the bee. Top 5 Arizona State Spelling Bee Winners for 2024 are:  1st Place - Aliyah Alpert, 8th Grade, Age 13, Alpert Home School, Homeschool, Yavapai County 2nd Place - 
 Isabelle Garcia, 7th Grade, Age 13, Kyrene del Pueblo Middle School, Kyrene Elementary School District, Maricopa Region 1 3r ..read more

Phoenix, Ariz., February 26, 2024 – Yes, they are just like any other kid. They like to play video games, hang out with friends, play musical instruments, and participate in sports. However, when they are not doing those things, the state’s top 28 spellers – ranging from grades 3 through 8 – are dedicating time to studying and practicing for the upcoming ,,2024 Arizona Spelling Bee. While Spelling Bees are a great American pastime, they are also tremendous tools for building written and verbal literacy skills. Spelling Bees begin at the classroom level and progress to grade level competitions ..read more

Phoenix, Ariz., February 15, 2024 – The ,Arizona Educational Foundation (AEF®) is pleased to announce the names of 37 Arizona public schools receiving the coveted ,A+ School of Excellence®, ,Award, for the 2023-2024 academic year. The AEF® A+ School of Excellence® Award recognition began in 1983 as a way of identifying, celebrating, and recognizing educational excellence in schools throughout Arizona. In addition to showcasing exceptional public schools, the A+ Award application process provides school teams with an outstanding comprehensive framework that serves as a basis for school self-as ..read more

AEF 2024 Arizona Spelling Bee Event Information The Arizona Spelling Bee is scheduled for Saturday, March 16th, 2024 at the Madison Center for the Arts in Phoenix. The Bee will be open to the public and is free to attend. Venue opens at 9:00am for the public, tickets are free, required to attend, and will be available at the venue the morning of the event. Please note: AEF does not recommend bringing small children to the spelling bee. In order to protect each speller's ability to compete undistracted, all attendees must be able to remain silent during the competition. PRELIMS: First round of ..read more

PHOENIX, Ariz., February 5, 2024 –, ,,The Arizona Educational Foundation (AEF®) is pleased to announce the addition of new staff. Catherine Sebesta joins the team as AEF’s Chief Development Officer. Sebesta most recently held that position at Arizona Burn Foundation. Sebesta is AEF’s first-ever Chief Development Officer. In this role, she will establish and lead a multi-faceted strategy for ensuring AEF’s future financial stability, fundraising, and growth. With 13 years in nonprofit fundraising leadership, Catherine brings expertise in diverse areas including giving, donor managem ..read more

Register now for AEF’s free workshop, Our World: Educators for Indigenous Students Workshop, on January 20th, 2024! Join AEF® on Saturday, January 20th, for the FREE Our World: Educators for Indigenous Students Workshop over Zoom! Workshop participants will be provided with tools and resources to gain knowledge about authentic Indigenous histories and communities; learn ways to connect with Indigenous students, families, and caregivers by building cultural understanding; and acquire skills to plan and implement intentional curriculum that is inclusive of an Indigenous lens. Please no ..read more

The Arizona Teacher of the Year Raffle is live from October 9, 2023, at 9am, until October 14, 2023 at 5:30pm MST. Browse fun and unique items up for raffle PRIOR to our event! Starting October 9th you can select your raffle items, choose your amount of entries, agree to terms, checkout and pay online before the event on October 14th (must be an Arizona resident). Visit https://bit.ly/AEFRAFFLE to get started! For each raffle item you'll need to select your entries amount for the following chances to win: • 10 chances to win for a $25 donation • 50 chances to win for a $100 donation • 150 cha ..read more