Staff Gather at Summit Before New School Year

As Great Hearts families begin preparations for the first day of school, the faculty and staff at all of our Arizona academies and home office are already in full swing for the new school year. This was evident at the Great Hearts Arizona Summit, the kickoff event for the year where over 1,500 dedicated staff members from 25 academies, who will serve 16,000 students throughout the Phoenix metro area, all come together to be reminded of the collective mission and purpose of Great Hearts. “We really celebrate the work that we’re doing, the service that we’re providing, and getting ready to rally for the beginning of the year,” shared Great Hearts Arizona Superintendent Brandon Crowe.

For many who attended, it is the only time set aside to see all the people with whom they work and serve with across the Valley. “That was something that occurred to us,” said Crowe. “We all have our colleagues that we’re working with in our office or at our particular campus and even maybe across the way or we know of other campuses kind of abstractly, but when you’re all together it’s really a way to celebrate, to rally, and to feel united before we go out and do that work. We will cross paths all throughout the year, but this is the single time when everyone is together. It’s kind of a reunion.”

Attendees were seated by sections with their campuses by school mascots in the large auditorium and treated to video presentations celebrating the work of teaching and cultivating hearts and minds, before the rousing spirit-filled “roll call” taken by Athletic Director Jon Rickey, where academies answered to their school’s name being called with cheers and sometimes waving flags, chants, or megaphones.

Andrew Ellison delivered the keynote address. Ellison served as the founding headmaster of Veritas Prep, the first Great Hearts academy. He has recently returned to Great Hearts as an executive director and offered encouragement to staff who have chosen the noble profession of teaching in the classical tradition. Showing his trademark wit and insight, he urged the audience to stand strong.

The two-hour program also included the 2026 Great Hearts Bard, Cora Patient, a fourth grader from Great Hearts Roosevelt, who took the stage with her winning recitation of Mr. Flood’s Party by Edwin Arlington Robinson. The fine arts continued on stage with performances from the Great Hearts Faculty Choir, consisting of administrators, teachers, coaches, and support staff.

Next, staff were treated to hear from two of their own, Archway Veritas Headmaster, Megan Opitz, who shared her personal journey as an educator and brief stint as a chef before finding her place in the Great Hearts community, and Great Hearts Anthem Headmaster, Zack Withers, who gave the exhortation address this year.

Crowe hopes attendees left the Summit encouraged and invigorated for the new school year and the important work ahead. “What’s old is new in Great Hearts, but certainly in the work that we do,” he said. “It’s not a boring thing, it’s an exciting thing, it’s life-giving. And I think what I’m just reminded of every year, and I hope that we hold close to our hearts, is that what we’re providing students is the very most useful thing in the world. Not in a kind of mundane, practical way, but what we care about the most, which is to live a life that is blessed, that is wonderful, that is full and rich, and that’s what we’re investing in right now. So, whether that is the first day or the 180th day, I’m just really excited and grateful that people have committed to that and that keeps going forward each and every year.”

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