D-M team wins Chief of Staff Excellence Award

  • Published
  • By Airman Saphfire D. Cook
  • 355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  The Davis-Monthan Charter School Working Group team received the Chief of Staff Excellence Award Sept. 13 at the Chief of Staff Team Excellence Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C.

The CSEAs are awarded to teams with ideas that increase performance and advance capabilities, while creating continuous results for the mission.

In 2006, the Tucson Unified School District consolidated the two public elementary schools located on the installation, and returned the vacated property to D-M.

With an empty school building available, wing leadership decided that it was a perfect opportunity to provide military families an alternative option for middle school education.

"The off-base middle school is considered substandard due to underfunding and low test scores," said Mike Toriello, the 355th Civil Engineer Squadron deputy engineer.

The Charter School Working Group was created in 2009 in an effort to find a solution to the installation's education dilemma.

Nine Airmen were recruited from seven D-M units, and for more than a year, the CSWG worked diligently for the creation of a charter school here on base, Mr. Toriello said.

Various steps had to be taken, such as ensuring the legality of the land lease document, and evaluating the 58-year old property.

A request for proposal and a solid basis for selecting a Charter School also had to be drafted, he said.

It was a tedious process, but even throughout all the time-consuming red tape, the CSWG found time to hold town-hall type meetings with parents and potential students.

"We wanted to know what type of charter school would best suit the students and their families," Mr. Toriello said.

In August 2009, the Sonoran Science Academy was selected as the host company, and the Charter Sonoran Science Academy Middle School was opened.

The CSWG team was awarded for their initiative in the opening of the first charter school located on a military installation.

As a result, student aptitude in all three grades registered increases of 46 percent in reading, 53 percent in writing, and 60 percent in math in the first school year.

This dedicated effort ultimately led to the awarding of the new Davis-Monthan Charter School as the Arizona Charter of the Year 2009, and illustrated an embraced excellence to provide a phenomenal return on investment for the Air Force Family.

"To compete at the highest level against the best and brightest and earn such a prestigious Air Force team award is a true testament to the caliber of people who work at Davis-Monthan AFB, and highlights the strong relationship we have with the Tucson community," said Col. Brian E. Hastings, 355th Fighter Wing vice commander. "This team has been rewarded for superior ingenuity and dedication and the entire Desert Lightning Team is very proud of their accomplishment."

There were 21 nominees for the award, chosen from an Air Force-wide pool of 73 teams, and out of the nominees, five teams were chosen as winners.

The innovations presented by the recipients are projected to save the Air Force more than $198 million within the first year that they are implemented.

Other teams who won this award are the C-17 Refuel Value Stream Analysis Team at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, the Combat Safety Improvement Team at Spangdahlem AB, Germany, the Haiti Flight Operations Coordination Center Team at Travis AFB, Calif., and the Periodic Inspection Smart Operations Team at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England.

The D-M team, along with Spangdahlem, Travis and Mildenhall, was also recognized for an Air Force Best Practice Award.