Sedona-Oak Creek Unified School District Superintendent Dennis Dearden was recently recognized for his leadership skills with the Cognia Excellence in Education Award.

“The state-level award is presented in each state to one individual who has demonstrated unparalleled leadership in promoting and advancing excellence in education,” Cognia representative Dr. Krista Anderson stated via email. “Nominees may be teachers, administrators, board of education members, or community representatives … The Excellence in Education Award is a wonderful way to recognize a person who has demonstrated leadership and/or service in the field of education in Arizona, in service to the Cognia vision, mission and values.”

“I was very honored to be selected,” Dearden said. “I’ve received a lot of awards, but it’s humbling because you never do it alone. You have to have a great team to lead.”

Dearden was nominated by the president of the district’s Governing Board, Randy Hawley.

Cognia, formerly known as AdvancED, was formed in 2006 through the merger of three other regional accreditation organizations. The company aims “to impact and inspire education providers to advance and enable pathways of success for all learners.” Cognia currently accredits 36,000 schools serving almost 25 million students in more than 90 countries.

The award was presented at the Arizona School Administrators Fall Leadership Conference on Monday, Oct. 31.