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About 30 minutes southeast of Tucson, along Interstate 10, resides the census-designated town of Vail, a small, close-knit desert community with thousands of young students itching to learn.

Vail Unified School District, which serves the Vail community and portions of Tucson, includes one inclusive preschool, ten elementary schools, six middle schools, four high schools and the Vail Academy and High School, which serves kindergarten through 12th grade.

This year, Vail School District became one of the first recipients of a grant from the, a statewide, nonprofit fund designed to help the state鈥檚 best schools 鈥� district, magnet or charter 鈥� expand to serve more students in their communities.

鈥淰ail is a really special and unique place,鈥� said Debbie Penn, deputy superintendent of teaching and learning at Vail. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been blessed with both stable and effective leadership, which gives us a consistent culture. We highly value relationships, and we work together.鈥�

Vail鈥檚 motto defines its culture: 鈥淲here Education is a Community Effort.鈥�

鈥淲e really live that out, and we respond to the needs of our community, and we partner with our community,鈥� Penn said.

鈥淥ne of the things that really makes this a unique district is that we have a common vision, and we have a common set of values鈥� from which we make most of our decisions,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e can count on each other; we work really well together; we depend on each other鈥� Rather than competing with each other, we work together for common goals.鈥�

Vail plans to use the Expansion Fund grant to expand its Middle College program, an extension of its that allows high school seniors to enroll in full-time coursework at East Campus, potentially earning a full year鈥檚 worth of college credit before finishing high school.

鈥淭his fund provides us the opportunity to take this year to work with Pima and partner with the other districts in the Tucson area to bring an early college experience to more students and to expand it to the other Pima campuses,鈥� said Raylee May, Vail Early College coordinator. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e able to have this opportunity for students, and they can provide that choice for students without having to build an early college program from the ground up.鈥�

More specifically, May said, the Expansion Fund gives Vail the ability to expand effectively and collaborate with other schools. The Middle College and Early College programs offer students exposure to the college campus, providing tools to be successful after high school.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a really vital part for success,鈥� May said. 鈥淥ne of my students this last year said, 鈥楾he Early College experience is like dipping my toe in without being pushed into the water.鈥� And that鈥檚 really what we want to provide to the greater Tucson area.鈥�

Vail serves nearly 14,000 students, 30 percent of whom receive free-and-reduced lunch. The district鈥檚 special education population is just under 12 percent, or about 1,700 students.

鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely been growing,鈥� said Mark Tate, a member of the district鈥檚 governing board. 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing about a 400 student 鈥� or about 2.5 to 3 percent 鈥� growth already this year.鈥�

The area south of Tucson is, with 8,000 homes scheduled to be built in the next five years, he said.

Vail is in the process of building its sixth high school, located on Mica Mountain, which Tate said should be open and ready for students by July 2020.

鈥淓very one of our schools that鈥檚 eligible for the A+ recognition has earned that from the Arizona Education Foundation,鈥� Penn said.

In fact, Vail has earned a long list of acknowledgments: two National Blue Ribbon Schools awards from the United States Department of Education, seven Golden Bell Awards from the Arizona School Boards Association, and a Sylvia Sharpe Award from the International Society for Technology in Education.

Superintendent Calvin Baker earned the Lifetime Achievement Award from Arizona School Administrators, and a number of Vail faculty have received the Phoenix Business Journal鈥檚 40 Under 40 Award and the Athletics Outstanding Faculty Award.

鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of interesting, because Vail isn鈥檛 a city, isn鈥檛 a town; it鈥檚 just a community,鈥� Tate said. 鈥淭hirty years ago, Vail was a one-school district and sort of was town square and almost was the government itself.

鈥淲e鈥檙e still kind of the center of the community. As it has grown, of course, other areas. We have a number of faith-based [institutions] in the community. Those have come alongside the district and have partnered on a number of things throughout the district.鈥�

According to Kevin Carney, assistant superintendent at Vail, the district is able to attract and retain quality teachers due to its good reputation and connection to the community.

鈥淚n terms of attracting teachers鈥� in terms of basic needs in life 鈥� food, water and shelter 鈥� there鈥檚 also another basic need we have, which is to be connected to something good and something that鈥檚 doing well,鈥� he said.

As for retaining teachers once they are at Vail, the district focuses on its leaders.

鈥淎cross industries, not just in education, it shows that people don鈥檛 quit jobs, they quit bosses, or supervisors, if you will,鈥� Carney said. 鈥淎nd we have some phenomenal leadership at our school sites that make people go, 鈥榊ou know what? I really respect my leader, I want to be a part of what鈥檚 going on here, and I don鈥檛 want to leave.鈥欌��