Stanfield is an unincorporated area between Casa Grande and Maricopa in southern Arizona, and the school district there has just one school.
There are nearly 500 students enrolled in the school, from preschoolers to eighth-graders, and they come from the surrounding 600-square-mile area. The school’s longest bus route goes to the Tohono O’Odham reservation — an hour’s drive away.
Melissa Sadorf has been the superintendent of Stanfield Elementary School District for eight years. She grew up going to school in a rural district, and she told The Show about their challenges — even before the debate over state funding.