Donate On-line to Phoenix Union Schools by December 31 and Receive a Tax Credit

For the first time, Phoenix Union High School District is accepting Arizona Education Tax Credit donations electronically through the district website via PayPal.

Thousands of students and hundreds of student clubs, sports and other extracurricular activities benefit from donations through the Arizona Education Tax Credit. Donors have until December 31 to donate and receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on their 2010 tax returns.

Single taxpayers or a head of household can receive a dollar-for-dollar credit of up to $200 donated, and married couples filing jointly will get a credit of up to $400. The tax credit is available to all taxpayers, not just those with children in public schools.

Visit http://www.phoenixunion.org/taxcredit for more information, including eligible programs per school, and click the “Donate” button to be directed to the PayPal form.

Activities such as sports, band, speech and debate, as well as overnight field trips are not fully funded by school districts, and rely on fees from students. These donations help pay for those fees. Contributions are donated directly to schools, not the state, or school district. The contributions can go to a specific program or to the school’s general account that funds different types of extracurricular activities.

“These are the activities that expand student experiences and learning, whether it is in the arts, athletics, service clubs or academic competitions. At Phoenix Union, there is great need for contributions, since our students and parents don’t have the resources for booster clubs, field trips, sports camps, equipment and other expenses, such as college entrance exams,” district spokesperson Craig Pletenik said. “The untapped resource is that grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends, co-workers and neighbors can also help students they know, or the children who attend a school right in their neighborhood.”

Phoenix Union’s 16 schools collected $314,000 last year, but the amount pales in comparison with more affluent districts. That amount divided among 25,000 students is less than $12 per student.

Contributions can also be mailed to each individual school’s book store, and will be eligible for this year’s tax credit if they are postmarked on or before December 31.

Source: Phoenix Union High School District

Phoenix School of Law Mediation Clinic

What is a successful mediation?

It is important to recognize that mediation can be helpful even if the parties do not reach a full agreement on all issues. Mediation is successful if the parties achieve an understanding of each other, full agreement on some issues, but not on others, or an agreement to continue the discussion or to schedule another mediation.

Typical Cases for Dispute:

Buyer/Seller
Consumer/Business
Co-Workers
Employer/Employee
Landlord/Tenant
Neighbors

What is the process of mediation?

1. As part of the initial intake process, a mediator will listen to your dispute and determine if your case is appropriate for mediation.

2. The other party will be contacted to determine if they are willing to mediate.

3. The mediation will be scheduled at a date and time convenient for both parties.

4. At the mediation session, each party will explain his or her point of view. The mediators will assist you and the other party to discuss common interests and possible solutions.

5. If you reach an agreement, it will be written as a legally binding contract.

Source:

Phoenix School of Law
Center for Community Justices Services
Mediation Clinic
4041 N. Central Ave.,
Suite 100
Phoenix, AZ 85012
Phone: 602-464-7810
Fax: 602-682-6992
mediationclinic@phoenixlaw.edu

Clarendon Calling All Years

Everyone is invited to attend Clarendon "Calling All Years" once in a lifetime gathering. Sunday October 17th at the Lantana Grille at Point Hilton Squaw Peak Resort from 9-3. Price includes all you can eat brunch buffet $25 per person. Tell your friends, anyone and everyone who has ever attended Clarendon in ANY capacity is welcome to attend. The more the merrier. RSVP via Facebook events.

Lantana Grille; 7677 N 16th St; Phoenix, AZ 85020

Contact: Cheri F. Cramutolo chericramutolo@att.net

Please vote for Osborn Ballet to receive a $50,000 Clorox grant.

Go to our link: www.OsbornSchools.org/Programs/Ballet.htm and click on Clorox.

Sign-in first, and then return to the link to vote (they will not keep your information after Nov 1st)

Log in with your email address to vote every day through November 1st!

Please send on to anyone you know who’d like to vote!

One vote per person per day is accepted from October 5 through November 1, 2010 (must be over 18yrs old)

The program receiving most votes overall wins $50,000

The program receiving most votes in each category wins $20,000

Please don’t be surprised that we set it up as Osborn Middle School- There was another Clarendon Elementary in Syracuse, NJ already registered- with a dance program…

If you have trouble with the link, go to: www.clorox.com

Click: Vote for a program in lower right corner

Type Osborn in search box then follow instructions above

Source: Cynthia Westberg, Osborn School District, 602.670.8226

Two Phoenix Union Teachers Win Esperanza Latino Teacher Award

Maryvale’s Selina Alonzo and South Mountain’s Guadalupe Meza were selected as 2010 Chicanos Por La Causa and SRP Esperanza Award winners, honoring Latino teachers who inspire students of all backgrounds, play an active role in the school, and demonstrate a true commitment to the community.

The two received the news during surprise visits to their classrooms last week. They will be recognized at a dinner ceremony, October 21, at the Wyndham Hotel Downtown Phoenix. The teachers and their schools will receive a cash stipend, and for the first time, each winner will receive a 50 percent scholarship towards a masters or doctoral program at the Argosy University.

Alonzo has been teaching English for six years. She was named the 2009 Phoenix Union High School District Classroom Teacher of the Year. A graduate of Carl Hayden High School who benefitted from the Hispanic Mother-Daughter program, Alonzo earned her teaching degree and returned to the community where she grew up. Her background has proved invaluable in motivating and inspiring Phoenix Union students and parents. Alonzo has also served as Maryvale’s English Department chair, and volunteered on the Maryvale YMCA Board representing her students. She mentors students and is active with many student groups and clubs, including Panthertown, a program to help students positively impact change on their campus and their community.

“I am extremely proud to represent our district in this honor. I count it a blessing to do what I love in the community that raised me,” Alonzo said.

Meza is a Spanish teacher who also teaches Spanish for native speakers. She is in her fifth year at South. Born in Arizona, she attended grade school in Nogales, Sonora, and graduated from Central High School in the Phoenix Union District. She earned her B.S. in Education from ASU, and is currently taking graduate courses through a dual studies program with the Universities of Oregon and Guanajuato. Meza co-sponsors South Mountain’s MEChA and LULAC clubs. She collaborates with an Hermosillo high school to bring La Rondalla and Folklorico performances to Central High’s International Studies program each year. A few years ago, Meza was instrumental in elevating handball from a campus passion to an organized, sponsored team that competes against other schools, giving some students another reason to stay engaged in school.

Said one colleague: “She empowers her students and inspires her colleagues. She has a strong bond with the young people she works with. They respect her, value her and love her. Ms. Meza is a successful role model.”

Other 2010 Esperanza winners are elementary teachers Jose Fernandez and Josephine Salazar of Chandler and Oscar Olivas of Peoria High School. Vanessa Valenzuela of Carl Hayden was an Esperanza winner last year.

Source: Phoenix Union High School District

Seven Phoenix Union Students Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

Seven high school seniors from North and Carl Hayden High Schools have been named Semifinalists in the 2011 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Jake Cohen, Kyle Corales, Candace Evilsizor, Colin Madrid, Ryan Muller and Eric Stucky from North, and Katharyn Garcia from Carl Hayden qualified as semifinalists by being among the highest-scoring entrants in Arizona in the 2009 Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT). The six North students are in the school’s International Baccalaureate Program. Garcia is in the Hayden Computer Science magnet program.

The 16,000 semifinalists this year represent less than one percent of the 1.5 million juniors from over 22,000 high schools who take the PSAT. National Merit Finalists are highly coveted as prospective students to every college and university in the country, and the designation often leads to academic scholarships. The NMSC offers 2,500 scholarships, corporate scholarships number 1,000 and colleges and universities honor National Merit Scholars with 4,900 scholarships.

Jake Cohen’s passion is music, whether he is playing bassoon for the Phoenix Youth Orchestra, with the North Band, or entertaining challenged children as “Dr. Bassoon.” He tries “to better the lives of others with my talents.” His creativity extends to the North drama department, where he has acted and built sets. He is also the vice president of the North Film Society, an improvisational actor and a member of the International Thespian Society. Cohen, who works as an office assistant and volunteers at the Humane Society, has more interests. He has competed in fencing and diving and recently attended a leadership forum on medicine. His career interests are engineering or business. He is deciding between Harvard, Yale, Brown, Amherst, and the University of Penn.

Kyle Corales has plans for a military career, public service and becoming an active member of the community. He has been a squadron deputy commander, color guard commander and emergency services officer with the Civil Air Patrol. He has trained in leadership and search and rescue attending Civl Air Patrol encampment with other cadets each summer. He has also attended cadet officer school in Alabama. Corrales, the captain and four-year letterman on the North swim team, hopes to attend the Air Force Academy, but has also applied to Penn, Rice and Emory Riddle, studying biology, biomedical engineering or global intelligence studies.

Candice Evilsizor is a straight-A student hoping to combine a love of school with a love of people. Her favorite subjects are history and foreign language, particularly French. She is an oboist in the Phoenix Youth Symphony, and is involved in her church youth group. Her summer job was with Aquatots, teaching children to swim, and when she babysits, she brings a prepared curriculum for the children. Evilsizor’s goal is to attend a university that has Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies. She is applying to Yale, Columbia, Georgetown, American University and Notre Dame. She hopes to have a career in international peace keeping, perhaps in Africa or working with the U.N. She describes herself as having “a strong sense of justice. In a land where justice rules, peace is not far behind.”

Colin Madrid not only had an outstanding PSAT, but also scored a perfect 800 in critical reading in the SAT exam. He loves physics, understanding how things work, and how to design things in a better way for greater efficiency. He has competed for the North Swim team, and is involved in weight training, wrestling and Brazilian Jujitsu. Madrid would like to major in environmental engineering and enter the field of alternative and renewable energy. He is applying to MIT and ASU.

Ryan Muller scored a perfect 80 in the PSAT math exam and is so advanced in his academics that he took pre-calculus as a freshman, and is independently taking multi-variable calculus through MIT, online. Other classes he has tackled include linear algebra , differential equations and organic chemistry. He is the president of the Creativity, Action and Service club that performs community service, is founder and captain of the revived North Speech and Debate club, and a member of the French club. Muller has participated in cross country, swim team and National Honor Society, and has had perfect attendance. He attends the Chinese Contemporary School of Arizona, learning culture and language and was a Bio Design Research intern with ASU. His career interests are medical, research, advanced math and science. He has applied to MIT, Harvard, Johns Hopkins and Northwestern.

Eric Stucky aced his math and writing PSATs, and had a perfect 800 score in SAT Math Level 2. He is currently taking math independent studies. He says he loves math, loves talking about math, and uses it as a creative outlet. Stucky is the captain of the North Boys Tennis team, is a member of the chess team, the National Honors Society and participates in the Northtown Family of Leaders diversity camp. He works with Social Venture Partners, reading grants and fundraising and has founded his own non-profit organization, Cans Help Others. He has attended summer band camps at NAU and University of Washington. His college choices include Harvey Mudd, Williams (Mass.), Carnegie Mellon, Stanford and Washington.

Kathy Garcia has done it all at Carl Hayden, while maintaining a 4.65 grade point average. She has been a member of the Robotics team, Computer club, Gaming club, National Honor Society, and is the yearbook editor-in-chief. She scored an impressive 34 composite score in her ACT College Entrance Exam. Last year, Garcia was selected as a recipient of the National Center for Women & Information Technology Award for Aspirations in Computing. She hopes to become a computer programmer and independent game developer. She is applying to Yale.

About 90% of semi-finalists become finalists, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC.) North had five National Merit Scholar Finalists last year and six others received NMSC Letters of Commendation. Since 1990, North has had 88 National Merit Scholarship Finalists and 102 Commended students. This year’s Commended students have not yet been announced.

Source: Phoenix Central High School District

Encanto School (K-3) News

Encanto School (K-3)

Giggles, Squiggles, Squirms will meet monthly on Thursdays at Encanto 8:30-9:30am beginning on September 30th meeting in Parent Center. Giggles, Squiggles, Squirms is designed to assist parents of three and four year olds, in being their child’s first teacher. A new read-aloud book is introduced each month accompanied with activities such as counting, sorting, matching, movement, poetry and cooking. The activities are based on state and national early learning standards and include the Giggles of language development and verbal expression, Squiggles of writing and fine motor development and Squirms of physical development and activity. In addition, the program encourages good nutrition and physical activity for the early promotion of a healthy lifestyle and obesity prevention. This program is funded by a grant from First Things First to promote child readiness for school.

Source:

Please contact Kim Westfall for more information 602-707-8301.

Osborn School District News

District Information

Osborn’s after school programs have begun! These classes are supported through special partnerships, grants and tax credit donations. While classes must have academic and enrichment components to assist students with school-day skills, they are also fun and engaging. Osborn students can choose from some of the following after school classes at one or more schools this fall. AeroSpace Challenge, Archery Club, Arts & Crafts, Book Club, Boys and Girls Ballet Classes, Brophy Tutoring Club, Child's Play Theatre - Drama, Computer Club, Cooking with Math, Culinary Arts, Dance & Health Together (ASU), Family B-Ball League, Family Campfire, Fitness Club, Game-A-Rama, Gemology, Gifted Club, Girl Scouts, Girls on the Run (Running Club), Glee Club, Homework Club, Journalism/Yearbook, Kinder Skills, Lego Creations, Math Club, Moovin’& Groovin’ to Hip Hop, Newspaper Club, Open Library, Pink Ladies Careers in Cosmetology, PowerPoint, Pride Store, Reading Club, Rocket Club, Running Club, Science Club, Student Council, Tap Dance, Teen Campfire, Tennis, Tutoring, Volleyball, Yoga, and Fit Kids, a collaborative program with Dr Kristi Samaddar at St Joseph’s Hospital in which students learn hip-hop, karate, games, and tips to have fun and be healthy.

The Osborn School District in Central Phoenix offers unique programs to ensure student success. The International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (candidate status) is at Longview School. Longview offers the only IB program at the elementary level in Phoenix. Montecito School boasts an award-winning A+ Peace Program and an Out-Door Learning Lab. The award-winning Spanish Dual Language Immersion Program is offered from K-8 at Encanto, Clarendon (A+ School Award) and Osborn Middle School. The Osborn Ballet Program (Golden Bell and A+ Awards) is also offered in those schools for students in grades 3-8. Solano School is working toward a Modified Traditional academics program. A Community Garden is also hosted onsite. Osborn students continue to receive Music, Band, Choir, Art, and PE instruction and are well prepared for rigorous academics at the middle school. Osborn Middle School is the only middle school in Phoenix that offers Geometry- a tenth grade course. Please visit OsbornSchools.org or call 602-707-2000 for more information. Los Compadres Mexican Food is partnering with the Osborn School District to encourage students at Encanto, Clarendon, and Osborn Middle School to improve their reading skills. They are offering a free meal to the students demonstrating the greatest growth in reading in each classroom during each trimester. The Valdivia family, who have owned Los Compadres for more than 50 years, attended Encanto and Clarendon and are determined to do something special to make a difference in the schools and to benefit their community.

Principals Sandy Meko and Marty Makar are pleased to announce that 19 Clarendon and 4 Osborn Middle School students from the Osborn Ballet Program were selected for children’s parts in Ballet Arizona’s production of Nutcracker. Five boys were selected to dance in the opening Party scene: Udith Karthikeyan, Darryl Knighton, Isaiah Medina, James Molarski, and Orson Westberg; 17 students were selected to be soldiers and understudies: Raquel Barraza, Leslie Caldera Gomez, San Juana Cruz Escamilla, Heather Dinius, Dulce Escobar, Kalan Hansen, Charidy Hullihen, Lorena Jasso Solórzano, Trinity Lugo, Larissa Morris, Estaphany Nava, Gabrielle Padilla, Trinidad Ramirez, Bobbie Lenae Seechoma, Cinthya Sierra, Gabriela Tola, and Autumn Toms Kennerson; and one student was selected to be an Angel understudy: Anna Barajas. It was an exciting experience. The group did a great job and will be rehearsing every Saturday to prepare for the performances which begin in early December. Ballet Instructor Camden Lloyd is pleased that so many students who worked so hard last year to earn the privilege to audition were selected. Osborn Ballet Program students will be learning from both sides of the curtain-- some for the third time! The Osborn Ballet Program is supported by the Osborn Educational Foundation, AZ tuition tax credit donations to Clarendon & Encanto schools, and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers after-school grant. More information is available at www.OsbornSchools.org/Programs/Ballet.htm.

Across the district, third graders and their parents are attending monthly KidsRead events held in the libraries. Students have breakfast with their family, listen to a story read by a guest reader and go home with a new book! KidsRead was founded 14 years ago by Eileen Bailey Driscol and the Osborn Educational Foundation. The program is designed to improve literacy by modeling reading together and giving third graders books to keep in their home libraries, so that they will have appropriate level reading material in their homes. Twice a year in December and March, all third grade students are given hard-cover Dr Seuss books. KidsRead is supported through donation to the Osborn Educational Foundation. Please visit www.OsbornSchools.org/OEF for more information.

Parents who live in the Osborn School District with concerns about their 2 ½- to- 5 year- old child's development are invited to participate in free screenings. Children will be screened in developmental areas, including: cognitive, language, motor, self-help, and social. Screening will take approximately 15-30 minutes. Please call Becky McNany for an appointment or for more information: (602) 707-2017. The screening dates and locations are: October 29 at Longview, December 3 at Montecito, January 14, 2011 at Solano, February 25 at Longview, March 25 at Montecito, and April 15 at Solano.

Source:

Cynthia Westberg, EdM
Osborn School District

Phoenix Union Honors Employees of the Year

Central Teacher Maria Chacon; Metro Tech Principal Kate McDonald; Camelback Student-Parent Liaison Monica Meza; Cesar Chavez Lead Security Kevin Scroggins, and Suns-Diamondbacks Education Academy Principal Rick Beck were presented with Phoenix Union High School District 2010 Employee of the Year awards by Superintendent Kent P. Scribner at the District’s Opening of Schools Convocation, Tuesday.

Chacon is a social studies teacher who models rigor and relevance and inspires staff and students with her own life story. She has taught for four years, but is Central’s World History Professional Learning Community (PLC) leader, AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) history teacher, and has constructed her social studies curriculum to press students toward excellence in writing. Born in Chihuahua, Mexico and a Central High graduate, she has enhanced cultural awareness on the campus. She created Los Linces, a ballet folklorico group, bringing in a professional instructor, purchasing and making costumes and booking performances throughout the city. The MECHA club sponsor, Chacon is instrumental in the school’s multicultural programs, including the school’s Peace on Earth Day.

McDonald is truly an instructional leader at Metro Tech High School. The school has been Performing Plus for several years, meets Adequate Yearly Progress, and consistently turns in some of the top AIMS scores in the District. McDonald secured the largest school grant ever from Science Foundation Arizona to implement a sustainability program which was infused across the curriculum, and student-driven projects in sustainability have emerged all over campus. Metro Tech opened the state’s first student-run Credit Union on a high school campus and the school’s automotive department has reached the highest certification possible to train aspiring auto technicians. A two-time National Board Certified Teacher, she co-taught a humanities course with her administrative team last semester to stay actively involved in pedagogy and assessment. McDonald has been Metro’s principal for two years. She was the District’s Language Arts Content Specialist, and taught English at South Mountain and Alhambra during her 20 years in Phoenix Union.

Two employees were named Support Staff Employees of the Year. Meza assists English Language Learner students and families with success in school. She makes home visits, facilitates support groups and is a member of the school’s Intervention Team. One colleague says, We feel as though she is an angel on our campus. Meza began her career at Camelback in 1998 as an Instructional Assistant.

Scroggins sets the tone for campus safety, customer service and respect for students and staff at Cesar Chavez, where he has worked for six years. He demonstrates leadership, professionalism, experience and communication skills, particularly with conflict resolution. He goes out of his way to help students, even outside the school environment, working with them in the community. Says his co-workers, he mentors, mediates and guides students as they search for ways to be successful. His position is that when a student fails, he fails.

Beck, Special Achievement Employee of the Year wears all the hats at his small school, Suns-Diamondbacks Education Academy. He is part principal-part staff. He started the school 10 years ago, and has watched it grow out of its original location, as he and his staff have turned over 800 would-be dropouts into high school graduates. He never turns down an opportunity to serve our students and parents. Our school would have never become what it is without him, said one staff member. Beck has been with the District for 23 years as a special education teacher at Metro Tech and South Mountain.

Phoenix Union Certified and Support Staff Employees of the Year were selected by a committee of peers, based on nominations made up of school and site Employees of the Year. Phoenix Union employs over 2800 people, including approximately 1700 teachers. The following is a list of Certified and Support Staff Employees of the Year, by school.

Alhambra: Michelle Gutierrez, Counselor; Joe Sells, Lead Security.
Trevor Browne: Cecilia Moreno, Business Teacher -Instructional Leader; Cookie Byler, SPED Admin. Assistant.
Camelback: Michelle Charles, Nurse; Monica Meza, ELL Liaison.
Cesar Chavez: Rayna Aguilar, SPED Math Teacher; Kevin Scroggins, Lead Security.
Central: Maria Chacon, Social Studies Teacher; Patty Harris, Registrar.
Betty Fairfax: Sandra Baker, Math Teacher - Instructional Leader; Rose Hendrix, Credentials Specialist.
Carl Hayden: Tom Brewer, Science Teacher; Frances Figueroa, IMC Coordinator.
Maryvale: Robert Turley, Instructional Specialist; Sandra Aguilar, Senior Security Assistant.
Metro Tech: Sarah Endres, SPED Teacher; Lizeth Garay, Credential Specialist.
North: John Patrick Doherty, Math Teacher; Chris Montenegro, Campus Operations.
South Mountain: Shannon Sanderson, English Teacher; Rosa Noel, Library Computer Tech Asst.
Small Schools: Yunbo (Crystal) Gu, ESL Teacher, Bostrom; Natasha Foster, Senior Office Assistant, Bostrom
Plant Operations: Tony Scarfo, Quality Assurance Tech.
District Office: Russ Shaffer, Science Content Specialist; Dean Walker, Maintenance Tech.

Achievement Labels and NCLB Designations Released

Bioscience High School earned an Excelling label, North High was Highly Performing and eight of 14 Phoenix Union schools received State Achievement Profiles of Performing Plus or better, according to accountability labels released today by the Arizona Department of Education.

The No Child Left Behind federal accountability measure of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) were also released today.

The rankings are based, in part, on 2010 AIMS Spring results. The District saw a seven-point gain in 10th Grade AIMS Reading, a slight gain in Writing scores, but its Math scores, like scores throughout the state, dropped.

Five schools-Betty Fairfax, Franklin Police and Fire, Metro Tech, Bioscience and Cyber met AYP.

Bioscience earned an Excelling label for the third consecutive year, with 89 percent of its 10th graders passing AIMS Math, 99 percent passing Reading and 92 percent meeting the Writing standards. In Math, 26 percent of the students exceeded the standards.

North High School earned a Highly Performing label, climbing two rankings from last year’s Performing mark.

Metro Tech registered Performing Plus for the third year in a row and was joined by Cesar Chavez, Central, Maryvale, Trevor Browne and Franklin Police and Fire. Every other school was Performing.

The State Achievement Profiles are Underperforming, Performing, Performing Plus, Highly Performing and Excelling. Performing Plus recognizes schools that have enough students demonstrating proficiency to earn a Highly Performing or Excelling profile, but do not have a sufficient number of students who exceed the AIMS standards. Performing means that a school meets the state’s expectations with regard to student proficiency in reaching the state’s academic standards.
The Achievement Profiles are part of the state’s accountability system, Arizona LEARNS, that evaluates school performance based on AIMS results for 10th, 11th and 12th graders, five-year graduation and dropout rates. Credit is also given to schools that meet the federal government’s Adequate Yearly Progress requirement.

Meeting the federal AYP standards means that schools have met achievement targets on the 10th grade AIMS tests in math and reading, four-year graduation rates and have 95% or more test takers in each subgroup. Besides the overall 10th grade population, there are eight sub groups (Hispanic, Black, White, Asian, Native American, English Language Learners (ELL), Special Ed, and low income). For a school to meet AYP, it must meet AYP in each of 63 categories. If a school misses in one of those categories, the school does not meet AYP. The Phoenix Union schools that fell short did not meet achievement targets in Special Ed and/or ELL subgroups.

The District gained 7 percentage points in 10th grade AIMS reading to 67, and 1 point in writing to 57, but fell 9 points in math. The state average for math also dropped 8 points to 58 percent of students passing. Every school except Bioscience saw drops in math, some in double digits.

We are reflective of the entire state with our math scores. This year’s AIMS math test was a new test that was not only longer, but aligned more closely to the national core standards of math, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Accountability Deborah Gonzalez said. The bright spot is that we nearly doubled the percentage of students that exceeded math (from 7 to 13%).

The District’s reading scores moved to 67 percent, with every school making reading gains, except one, which showed no growth. Eleven of the 14 schools improved in both reading and writing scores.

Phoenix Union made modest gains in reaching the state averages in each category, improving reading by 4, math by 2 and writing by 1 point over last year.

One group of students that experienced AIMS success benefited from the AVID program, or AdvancementVia Individual Determination. The program identifies students in the academic middle and places them in an elective class that focuses on college preparation. For the second consecutive year, over 80% of 10th graders in the AVID elective met or exceeded AIMS Reading and Writing the first time, compared to non-AVID students. Reading scores were at 85 percent passing compared to 65 percent non-AVID. Writing was at 85 percent for AVID students compared to 58 percent for non-AVID. At a few schools, there was more than a 30 percentage point difference between the two groups.

2010 Arizona LEARNS Achievement Profiles
Central High School - Performing Plus

NCLB AYP
No

Click here to download the Phoenix Union High School District AIMS 2010 (10th Grade) scores.

Source: Phoenix Union High School District

Phoenix Union High School District Classes Start August 2

Betty H. Fairfax High School’s first senior class as well as over 500 incoming freshmen, Bioscience High School’s new McKinley Hall and a new location for Suns-Diamondbacks Education Academy will highlight the opening of the Phoenix Union High School District’s 2010-2011 school year that begins Monday, August 2 for over 25,000 students at 16 campuses.

Franklin Police and Fire High School will house a complete 9-12-grade school for the first time, and specialty programs will kick off at several schools, including Camelback’s School of Sustainability, Engineering and Architectural Design; Central’s School of Global Business and International Studies and Alhambra’s Medical Arts Pathways.

Betty Fairfax in Laveen will grow to over 2,000 students with a full compliment of ninth through twelfth-graders for the first time. The Class of 2011, which opened the school in August of 2007, will be the first graduating class next May.

Bioscience High School’s campus is complete with the restoration of the original McKinley School and construction of an adjacent building on the two-acre downtown campus to house a Medical Sciences school with five classrooms, a lab, conference room, technology center and student services office. The City of Phoenix provided a $2.4 million Small Schools grant to fund the project. The main school complex was completed in 2008.

Suns-Diamondbacks Education Academy moves to a new building at 2920 N. 7th Street to accommodate the alternative school’s growing enrollment. The school, beginning its 10th year, has rescued hundreds of at-risk students from dropping out with a more personalized accelerated credit recovery program. Suns-Diamondbacks began at 1505 N. Central Avenue, and has graduated over 800 students since 2001.

Phoenix Union schools follow a traditional school calendar. There are 180 instructional days, with 90 days in each semester. Students have fall break, October 4-8, a two-week winter break beginning Friday, December 17, and spring break, March 14-18. Graduation Days are May 18-19.

Students not yet pre-registered can enroll at the schools in their attendance zone. Students need a birth certificate, two proofs of address and immunization records. Incoming 9th graders who have not pre-registered will need AIMS test scores and an 8th grade diploma. Those from other high schools outside the district will need unofficial transcripts from their last school.

Students interested in enrolling in magnet programs offered at six campuses or the magnet high school, Metro Tech can contact the school, or magnet office at (602) 764-1309. Magnet programs and small schools Bioscience and Franklin Police and Fire afford open enrollment to anyone residing in the District.

Source: Phoenix Union High School District

Refugee Students to Meet with State Leaders at Capitol

WHAT:

Nearly 50 refugee students speaking 20 different languages will take a tour of the state capitol on Thursday as part of the Phoenix Union High School District’s Summer Language Institute.

The refugee students will have lunch with House Democratic Leader David Lujan, Rep. Cloves Campbell, D-Phoenix (District 16) and Rep. Ben Miranda, D-Phoenix (District 16). Pizza is being donated by Peter Piper Pizza.

WHERE:

1700 W. Washington St., Phoenix

WHEN:

Thursday, June 24 at 9:00 a.m. (tour of the Capitol) and 11:00 a.m. (pizza lunch)

WHO:

Students from various Phoenix Union High Schools. Among the native languages spoken are Karenni, Chin, and Burmese (Myanmar); Karen (Myanmar, Thailand); Farsi (Iran, Afghanistan); Swahili (Eastern Africa); Kurundi (Burundi); Tigrinya (Eritrea, Ethiopia); French, Spanish, Nepali, Arabic, and Somali.

Phoenix Union has a refugee student enrollment of over 600 (April, 2010) representing 39 languages. Most of the refugee students attend Central or Alhambra High Schools.

CONTACT:

Renee Ryon, PUHSD Community Relations, (602) 764-1528
Dr. Michelle Delgado, PUHSD Language Acquisition (602) 764-1323

Source: Phoenix Union High School District

Phoenix Union High School District Truth in Taxation Hearing Scheduled for June 22

The Phoenix Union High School District will hold a Truth in Taxation hearing on Tuesday, June 22 at 6:00 p.m. in the Governing Board room at the District office, 4502 N. Central Ave. Below is the District’s notice, as required by state law:

In compliance with §15-905.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, Phoenix Union High School District is notifying its property taxpayers of Phoenix Union High School District’s intention to raise its primary property taxes over the current level to pay for increased expenditures in those areas where the Governing Board has the authority to increase property taxes for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2010. The Phoenix Union High School District is proposing an increase in its primary property tax levy of $ 201,250.

The amount proposed above will cause Phoenix Union High School District’s primary property taxes on a $100,000 home to increase from $ 87.42 to $87.73

These amounts proposed are above the qualifying tax levies as prescribed by state law, if applicable. The increase is also exclusive of any changes that may occur from property tax levies for voter approved bonded indebtedness or budget and tax overrides.

All interested citizens are invited to attend the public hearing on the proposed tax increase scheduled to be held June 22, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. Phoenix Union High School District – Board room, 4502 North Central Avenue, 1st floor, Phoenix, AZ 85012.

Source: Phoenix Union High School District
Contact: Craig Pletenik (602) 764-1530

Refugee Students Get More than English at Summer Language Institute

WHAT:

Learning language through a variety of experiences, 48 refugee students speaking 20 different languages are taking a crash course in American culture this summer at Phoenix Union. The students, all of whom have been in the United States less than six months and are the most basic English Language Learners, classified as Literacy, or Pre-Emergent, are experiencing their new language at a Peter Piper Pizza, a Diamondbacks game, the library, a TV station, the zoo, the Science Center and the State Capitol. The three-week summer school program, in its second year, is taught by five ELL teachers with the help of five Instructional Assistants. Thursday afternoon (June 10) the students got a taste of peanuts, Cracker Jacks and baseball at Chase Field.

WHERE:

Central High School (4525 N. Central) Rms. 908, 909, 910 and various locations

WHEN:

Monday through Friday, through June 25. 8:30 a.m.- 2:40 p.m.

WHO:

Students from various Phoenix Union High Schools. Among the native languages spoken are Karenni, Chin, and Burmese (Myanmar); Karen (Myanmar, Thailand); Farsi (Iran, Afghanistan); Swahili (Eastern Africa); Kurundi (Burundi); Tigrinya (Eritrea, Ethiopia); French, Spanish, Nepali, Arabic, and Somali.

Phoenix Union has a refugee student enrollment of over 600 (April, 2010) representing 39 languages. Most of the refugee students attend Central or Alhambra High Schools.

SCHEDULE:

June 15: Channel 12 Station Tour, Barr Library; June 16: Phoenix Zoo; June 17:
Pizza Dough Day at Central Cafeteria; June 18: Science Center; June 22: Channel 12, Barr Library; June 24: Arizona Capitol tour with Rep. David Lujan; June 25: Parent Morning and root beer floats. (CALL for exact times, locations)

CONTACT:

Renee Ryon, PUHSD Community Relations, (602) 764-1528
Dr. Michelle Delgado, PUHSD Language Acquisition (602) 764-1323

Source: Phoenix Union High School District

PHOENIX UNION JOINS SUMMER FOOD PROGRAM FOR 29th YEAR

For the 29th summer, the Phoenix Union High School District, along with other agencies, will provide lunches for needy children 18 years of age and younger at various locations, Monday through Friday, June 7 – June 25. In addition, the Phoenix Union will be providing breakfast for needy children 18 years of age and younger at the Summer Food Program sites.

Funded through the U.S. Department of Education food and nutrition programs, the Summer Food Program has, for nearly three decades, prepared and served more than 3 million meals at as many as 60 sites throughout Phoenix. Summer lunches are an extension of the National School Lunch Program.

Meals are prepared at PUHSD’s various high school campuses, listed below, serving thousands of meals per day. New foodstuffs are purchased at the beginning of the program to support the nutritional needs of children in impoverished areas. Food left over at the end of the program, like that at the end of the school year, is donated to local food banks for distribution.

Meals will be made available to all children 18 years of age and under within the approved geographical area without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation or marital or family status.

Meals will be served at the following PUHSD campuses: Cesar Chavez High School, 3921 W Baseline Road; Central High School, 4525 N Central Avenue; North High School, 1101 E Thomas Road and Maryvale High School, 3415 N. 59th Avenue

Each of those school campuses will be hosting Summer School. Food will be prepared, as it is during the regular school year, at each location in the school cafeteria. Participating community members will be directed to the designated areas of each campus.

The Summer Food Program will be held Monday through Friday, from June 7 through June 25. Breakfast will be served from 7:30 A.M. until 8:30 A.M., with lunch being served from 10:45 A.M. until 12:45 P.M. Adults are welcome to accompany children and can purchase breakfast for $2 and lunch for $3.

Source: Phoenix Union High School District

Central High Hosts Teen Maze: A Game of Real Life Consequences

WHAT:

Central High School students will journey through a maze of interactive life choices to learn about the responsibilities and consequences of sexual activity; teen pregnancy; sexually transmitted diseases, abstinence, homelessness, depression/suicide; graduation; college education and future careers. Participants "choose" which track they will follow through random drawings located throughout the tracks. A female pregnancy track, for example, will put participants in a 30-pound pregnancy apron. Girls will learn what happens to their bodies, and boys will find out what financial and relationship hardships they may encounter. Coming prior to the school’s April 24 Prom, a presentation on making good decisions (i.e. drinking, driving, etc) for prom will also be featured.

WHERE:

Central High School (North and South Gyms), 4525 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85012
(602) 764-7000

WHEN:

Friday, April 9; 8 a.m. - 3:10 p.m.
About 75 students will be going through the maze each hour. There will be a lunch break 12:20 - 1 p.m.

WHO:

Approximately 500 high school students

Several community agencies volunteer to sponsor the tracks and provide staffing for the event, including Catholic Charities of the East Valley, Maricopa County Department of Public Health; South Phoenix Healthy Start; Banner Health; Abrazo Medical Group; Tumbleweed; Father Matters; Southwest Human Development and Phoenix Union community and student liaisons.

WHY:

Teens learn that they have control over the decisions they make, while experiencing the positive and negative consequences of certain behaviors. The event is part of a statewide effort to reduce teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and increase the high school graduation rate among teens.

CONTACT:

Cynthia Tercero, PUHSD Dropout Prevention Program, (602) 768-7896
Craig Pletenik, PUHSD Community Relations, (602) 764-1530

Source: Phoenix Union High School District

Phoenix Union Foundation for Education to Honors...

Phoenix Union Foundation for Education to Honor Wayne & Maureen Doran and Art Hamilton at Annual Scholarship Gala Dinner & Silent Auction on Friday, February 19, 2010

Phoenix, AZ - February 9, 2010 – The Phoenix Union Foundation for Education will hold its Annual Scholarship Gala at the Downtown Wyndham Hotel on Friday, February 19, 2010, to raise scholarship funds for students graduating from the PUHSD. In addition to the dinner and silent auction that anchor the event, the non-profit group will honor some Valley residents who have shown a commitment to Arizona’s education.

Wayne & Maureen Doran Honored as “Friends of Phoenix Union”

Paradise Valley residents, Wayne and Maureen Doran, will be honored for their commitment to providing higher education opportunities and assistance for the students of the Phoenix Union School District through their Doran Community Scholars program at Arizona State University. This program is a partnership between ASU and the Phoenix Union High School District, an area with the highest percentage of economically disadvantaged households in the Phoenix metropolitan area. It provides not only critical financial assistance for students to attend ASU, but also the tutoring and mentoring needed to ensure academic success. Additionally, the scholarship incorporates leadership skills and community service into its program.

Mr. Doran is a retired Ford Motor Company executive and graduate of Phoenix Union and ASU. He joined Ford Motor Company in 1969 and became Chief Executive of Ford Land when it was formed in 1970. Before joining Ford Motor Company, Mr. Doran served as Vice President and General Manager of the land development division of Del E. Webb Corporation, Chicago, from 1963 to 1969. He continues to serve as a director on the boards of the Arizona State University Foundation and the Arizona State University Research Park.

Scholarship Gala Details

When: Friday, February 19, 2010, 6pm

Where: Wyndham Downtown Phoenix, 50 East Adams St., Phoenix, 85001

What: Dinner & Silent Auction, entertainment provided by student music and dance ensembles from PUHSD schools

Cost: Individual tickets are $150. Sponsored tables of 10 can be purchased for $1500, $2500 and $5000 (sponsorship benefits vary according to level).

How: Visit http://www.foundation4education.org/ for details or to purchase tickets.

Phoenix Union Foundation for Education to Honor Wayne & Maureen Doran and Art Hamilton at Annual Scholarship Gala Dinner & Silent Auction on Friday, February 19, 2010

About the Phoenix Union Foundation for Education (http://www.foundation4education.org/)

The Phoenix Union Foundation for Education began in 1985 as the Phoenix Union Partnership of Business and Education, Inc. It is a 501(c)3 organization founded to enhance cooperation and collaboration between the Phoenix business community and the Phoenix Union High School District. The group’s mission statement is, "Strengthening our Community by Investing in Student Success." In order to achieve this mission, the volunteer-driven foundation orchestrates many different fundraising events and campaigns in order to provide scholarship assistance to college-going students. The Foundation is comprised up of business leaders, retired administrators, and individuals who have an interest in helping students in the Phoenix Union High School District reach their goals of attending college.

Source: Phoenix Union High School District