As principal of Huachuca City Elementary School, Tom Yarborough is not afraid to get his hands dirty.

 It is not even one hour into the school day, and Yarborough has already met with parents, talked with students and taken care of a large swarm of bees that nested on the east field.

The can-do attitude that served Yarborough well as a member of the Air National Guard, took new meaning when he accepted the offer to leave his job as principal of Tombstone High School and take over Huachuca City Elementary School three years ago.

The small K-8 school had been labeled “underperforming” by the Arizona Department of Education and enrollment was dropping. Teachers were leaving and parents were unhappy. 

He had a lot of work to do. 

“It was a little out of control,” Yarborough said. “There wasn’t a whole lot going on. It was a challenging first year.”

Yarborough immediately addressed staffing needs created by many teachers leaving the school for other opportunities. He estimated that he replaced half of his staff over the summer.

“I’ve been real fortunate to get real intelligent, young people with a lot of energy who are willing to learn new things, work hard, and put the time and energy into our school to make it what it’s become,” Yarborough said.

Now, Huachuca City Elementary is thriving.

The school earned a “performing” label the last year and test scores have risen significantly.

“They turned a corner last year,” said Karl Uterhardt, Tombstone Unified School District superintendent said. “The school is headed in a very positive direction. It’s exactly where it’s supposed to be going and Tom’s a big reason for it.”

Under Yarborough, the 7th and 8th grade classrooms were moved to be closer to his office to curb discipline problems, which were reduced by nearly 70 percent, Yarborough said.

The school also received a three-year Reading First grant from the federal government to enable the school to emphasize reading skills from kindergarten to third grade.

Two reading specialists assist students with their reading and track their progress.

Sports were also reintroduced to the school as well as music, which had been cut because of funding issues.

Charlotte Keaton, Title 1/ English Language Learners Coordinator, has worked at Huachuca City Elementary for nine years and said that students now have more challenging schoolwork and face stricter behavior policies.

“There’s more structure,” Keaton said. “Students know what is expected of them from all their teachers. The bar has risen a great deal.”

Yarborough hopes to add an art classes and a football program to the school next year.

Even though test scores and enrollment are rising, there is still more work to be done.

As he walks to his office, he greets every teacher, parent and student he meets.

“Parents don’t want their kids to go to an underperforming or failing school. I wouldn’t want my kids to go,” Yarborough said.

“Now we literally have turned this place around. It’s a different place—a happy place to be. Kids love being here.”