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October 2004
Please tell us about the wonderful things happening in your
school. It's easy! Just submit a media
tip sheet online and the Public Relations department will
do the rest.
The effort and accomplishments of TUSD students and employees
never ceases to amaze me. For instance, during our September
board meeting we viewed a 30-second public service announcement
created solely by students in the Pueblo High Magnet School
media class. It was an excellent piece. In addition, our Dropout
Prevention staff presented extensive information on the data-driven
accountability plan created to address the district's dropout
challenge.
TUSD Questions on the November 2 Ballot
The district is currently asking voters to approve
a bond and two overrides, maintenance and operation (M&O)
and capital outlay. Information is available at 225-5226 and
on the TUSD web site at Detailed
Information About the TUSD Questions on the November 2 Ballot
(in Spanish, Preguntas
sobre TUSD en la boleta electoral de Noviembre 2). The
Board has created a Superintendent Bond/Override Oversight
Committee. This Committee includes prominent community leaders,
employee group representatives and others who will carefully
monitor the spending of the bond and override monies. The
former Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, Tom Zlaket,
has agreed to chair the committee. The Board has also appointed
Jan Lesher, Director of the Southern Arizona Office of the
Governor; Eddie Leon, former U of A and Cleveland Indians
baseball star and co-owner of Leon-Taylor Management; Bill
Estes, a longtime home builder and chairman of TUSD's Blue
Ribbon Committee; Martha Rothman, founder of Child & Family
Resources, a nonprofit that provides prevention and early
intervention services to lower-income families; Robin Hiller,
founder of Voices for Education, a nonprofit that encourages
parents to get involved education and pushes for legislative
educational improvements; Rex Woods, Interim Director of the
University of Arizona's School of Music and Dance; Eugene
Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer of Copper Crest;
Jim Lovelace, Senior Manager of Beach, Fleischman & Co.
Auditing; and, Kevin Larson, Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer of Tucson Electric Power. Additional members will
be added to the committee in the next few weeks.
Interest-Based Bargaining
Also at the September 14th Board meeting, Board Member
Bruce Burke made a presentation on interest-based bargaining.
This method allows the parties to look for common ground and
attempt to satisfy mutual interests throughout the bargaining
process. The Board voted unanimously to invite employee groups
to choose whether or not to participate in this type of negotiations
beginning with the next round of discussions this spring.
The employee teams that opt in will participate in training
sessions with the district's negotiating teams.
Studying the Impact of Charter Schools
At the October meeting the Board approved an application
for a TUSD/TEA partnership grant that will commission a study
of the impact charter schools have on district enrollment.
The National Education Association, parent organization to
AEA and TEA, is funding the project. The study will play an
important role in TUSD's plans to bolster future enrollment.
Elementary School Teacher-Librarians
Another notable event at the October meeting was
a presentation by the elementary school teacher-librarians.
Combining the American Library Association's Information Literacy
Standards with the Arizona State Academic Standards, they
spent time over the summer to create an integrated curriculum
for use in the library and classroom. This is an excellent
example of people working together to improve our students'
educational opportunities.
New Board Policies
Finally, over the past two months the Board has studied
over 30 new policies. This was a combination of old policies
and new policies integrated and coordinated into a consistent
set of guiding principles. If you would like to view the newly
passed policies please visit the Board
policy webpage on the TUSD website.
Again, the Board thanks you for all of your hard work and
dedication.
Joel T. Ireland
In
this issue I would like to highlight some of the many successes
that have occurred throughout our campuses, particularly those
in the area of standardized testing.
You may have heard media reports about several test results
released by the Arizona Department of Education, or ADE. Although
scores for the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards, also
known as AIMS, remained unchanged compared to last year's
results, schools did see improvement in some areas. Writing
mastery went up significantly at all major grade levels including
grades three, five, and eight. Third-grade writing went up
to 84 percent and is now higher than the state's average of
81 percent.
Of notable significance was the increased performance across
the board among last year's 10th grade class, the first to
be required to pass the AIMS to graduate. According to TUSD's
Department Accountability and Research, the number of 10th
graders who took AIMS increased to nearly 4,000 compared to
a little over 3,000 last year. Nearly 70 percent or more of
students at several high schools passed the writing portion
of the test including Palo Verde, Sabino, Sahuaro, and Santa
Rita. UHS had 98 percent of its 10th graders pass the writing
portion while 100 percent passed both the math and reading
sections.
Stanford 9 results for the district also remained relatively
unchanged but scores for schools serving large minority student
bodies improved. Cavett, Pueblo Gardens, Tolson and Roberts
elementary schools are some of the few schools that showed
growth in all three areas of math, language and reading.
Scores for Measurement of Academic Progress or MAP, indicated
increases in reading. These scores compare how students, who
have been in one school for 2 consecutive years, have scored
on the Stanford 9 from one year to the next. Schools that
saw major increases included: Cavett, Davidson, Robins, Robison,
Pueblo Gardens, Lawrence, Lynn-Urquides, and Manzo.
I'd like to commend all employees, especially those who have
been going above and beyond to make sure our students attend
class daily. The "US" in TUSD is especially crucial when it
comes to helping all students successfully achieve on these
critical tests.
Roger Pfeuffer
Here are a few of the many articles about TUSD published
since the last Focus. Check the TUSD
In the News web page for many more.
STAR-EYEWITNESS
NEWS 4 STUDENT OF THE WEEK from the Arizona Daily
Star 9/28/04
OCHOA
ELEMENTARY GETS HELP from the Arizona Daily Star
9/26/04
YOU
CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE AT OCHOA from the Arizona
Daily Star 9/24/04
KIMBLE:
STUDENTS CHRONICLE HISTORY OF CITY WITHIN A CITY
from the Tucson Citizen 9/23/04
OCHOA
NEEDS MORE BOOKS, STUDENT SAYS from the Arizona
Daily Star 9/22/04
STUDENTS'
ARTWORK TO AID PRO NEIGHBORHOODS from the Arizona
Daily Star 9/20/04
SCHOOL
REACHES OUT TO READERS from the Arizona Daily
Star 9/19/04
PUEBLO'S
PRINCIPAL A PERFECT FIT: Both teachers, students
believe she can fill void from the Arizona Daily Star 9/18/04
TUSD:
NO PLANS TO CLOSE SCHOOLS from the Arizona Daily
Star 9/15/04
STAR-EYEWITNESS
NEWS 4 STUDENT OF THE WEEK: Alexandra Phillips
from the Arizona Daily Star 9/14/04
500
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO READ from the Arizona Daily
Star 9/14/04
GARCIA:
RETIRED EDUCATOR CODA KNOWS VALUE OF EDUCATION, KNOWS HOW
TO SHARE IT from the Tucson Citizen 9/13/04
JIM
KISER: TURNAROUND IN TUSD from the Arizona Daily
Star 9/12/04
CHEF
OF THE FUTURE from the Arizona Daily Star 9/8/04
EXPERIENCES
THRILLING AS A RESULT OF SCIENCE FAIR PARTICIPATION
from the Arizona Daily Star 9/1/04
At their Community Educator Recognition Event, the Center
for Latin American Studies of the University of Arizona recognized
Obdulia Gonzalez, librarian at Pueblo, for
her commitment to promoting the teaching of Latin America
in K-12 education. She had incorporated books and knowledge
related to Latin America into her school's library, collected
Spanish materials to donate to schools in Mexico, and participated
in the Center's annual Educator Field Study program.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children
recently named Kellond Community School,
at Kellond Elementary School, an accredited program for their
high standards in childcare and early learning. NAEYC is the
leading organization of early childhood professionals. To
receive accreditation Kellond Community School was judged
in areas including curriculum, physical environment, relationships
between teachers and families, health and safety, food and
nutrition, and administration.
The National Education Association Foundation for the Improvement
of Education awarded Ft. Lowell's Jacqueline Bland
a $2,000 learning and leadership grant over the summer. Bland,
an Opening the Minds through
the Arts music specialist, used the grant to study and
become certified in the Orff Schulwerk music program at the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Orff Schulwerk is a unique
approach to music education based on the teachings of Carl
Orff. This child-centered approach combines speech, movement,
and song in a creative, playful atmosphere where students
experience the elements of music in an active way.
The Educational Enrichment Foundation recently awarded mini-grants
of up to $1,000 to 32 TUSD educators. The program provides
startup or initial funding for new creative projects originating
in classrooms and schools and offers teachers and administrators
opportunities for intellectual growth. The recipients were:
Tom Gillespie, TAPP; Kevin Kehl,
Palo Verde; Rogue Wacks, Secrist; Scott
Seidler, Booth-Fickett; Kathryn Lloyd,
Environmental Science Campus; Jan Ochoa,
Hughes; Teresa Scruggs, Cholla; Cristina
Donnadieu, Richey; Cheryl Nichols,
Erickson; Andrea Barron, Duffy; Norma
Ballesteros, Van Buskirk; Britta Montes,
Borman; Nancy Pohanic, Holladay; Elizabeth
Browne, Ford; Gloria Kauffman, Duffy;
Daniel Forrest, Pistor; Michael Salado,
Tully; Marcela Cardenas, Tucson High; Wanda
Bentley, Santa Rita; Heather McDonald,
Hohokam; Elyse Wexler, Sabino; Debbie
Teece, Ft. Lowell; Karen Fields,
Cavett; Jean Schroeder, Wright; Jacqueline
Bland, Ft. Lowell; Natalee Van Gelder,
Palo Verde; Cynthia Myron, Pistor; Chris
Mader, Howenstine; Anthony Vacura,
Tucson High; Linda Clark, Holladay; Sandi
Baker, Pueblo; and Pam Shapiro,
Pueblo.
Out of nearly 21,000 entrants, 38 TUSD students were selected
as semifinalists in the 2005 National Merit Scholarship Program
for their exemplary academic record. They are: Alexander
Fay and Wade James, Sabino; Sarah
Mills and Clara Wilch, Tucson High;
and Susannah Brown, Benjamin Brysacz, Hua Cong Chen,
Steven Contreras, Aaron Faith, Mark Godfrey, Mara Gregory,
Yuxiang Hu, Siobhan Innes-Gawn, Timur Kalimov, Sarah Lau,
Jesse Marshall, Anna Martin, Ester Matlock, Devin Mauney,
Collin Mechler, Celeste Monke, Jean Morrison, Jesse Niwa,
Gregory Nix, Cristen Olds, Lauren Peate, Katherine Plemmons,
Daniel Rau, Timothy Reckart, Grace Shigetani, Miranda Stewart,
Elise Stickles, Josephine Valenzuela, Sean Whitsitt, Klara
Wojtkowska, Shirlene Yee, and Claire Zeigler,
University High. Merit Scholarship winners will be announced
in four news releases beginning in April and concluding in
July. Pueblo's Melissa Lamberton was named
a 2005 commended student.
In September, two TUSD students were named among the 400
semifinalists in the 6th Annual Discovery Channel Young Scientist
Challenge. Tyler Woida, Booth-Fickett, and
Erika Schnaps, University High, were nominated
to participate for their exemplary performance at the Southern
Arizona Regional Science and Engineering Fair held last March.
Forty finalists will be chosen to go to Washington, D.C. for
one week in October to compete in the finals.
Timothy Reckart, UHS, was one of approximately
1,600 scholastically talented African-American high school
seniors selected as a 2005 semifinalist for the National Achievement
Scholarship Program. As a semifinalist, Timothy will have
the opportunity to compete for about 800 achievement Scholarship
awards, worth a total of $2.7 million.
During the week of July 12 through July 16, a group of 16
middle school students participated in Pharm Camp 2004, a
program sponsored by the University of Arizona College of
Pharmacy designed to expose underserved middle school students
to careers in pharmacology. Sessions were held at the university
and included tours of a large neighborhood health clinic and
a local pharmaceutical company, as well as laboratory activities
and interactive workshops. Participants included:
Patricia Reyes, Ashley Gomez, Alma Serrano, John Gonzalez,
Ignacio Reyes, Miguel Sanchez, Trinidad Guerrero, Geovanna
Garcia, Angelica Romero, Francisco Lopez, Adalberto Moreno,
Izamar Sandoval, and Tania Guerrero,
Wakefield; Joshua Arvizu, Pistor; Jaime
Sagarnaga, Roskruge; and Damian Carbajal,
Safford.
Learn Science & Have Fun—For Free:
Pima Community College will hold a free science-related workshop
titled "The chemistry (and a little physics) of soap
bubbles." This open to the public event will be held
from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Nov. 6 in the Proscenium
Theatre at PCC West Campus. No registration is required.
Golden Bell Award: The Arizona School Boards
Association is accepting entries for the 2004 Golden Bell
Award. The competition recognizes a unique program that has
been operating for at least two years and has shown to significantly
improve student achievement. Awards will be presented at the
ASBA/ASA annual conference and the winning entries and photographs
will be published in the ASBA Journal. For more information
call (800) 238-4701 or visit the ASBA website.
It's National Hygiene Month: October is
National Hygiene Month, and to celebrate, the district's Dental
Health Services department is offering dental book bags that
can be checked out by kindergarten through second-grade teachers.
The bag contains a plastic mouth model, a giant plastic toothbrush,
dental-related children's books, and a teacher's booklet with
a poster and lesson plans, all donated by the La Paz Foundation.
Interested teachers should email Susan Smedley.
Student Photography Contest: The Arizona
School Boards Association announces its annual student photography
contest. This year's theme is "Protecting Arizona's natural
resources: Arizona landscapes." Submitted prints can
be black and white or color. Winners will be recognized at
the opening ceremony of the ASBA annual conference in December
and receive a plaque. Entries must be received by Nov. 5.
For more information or to download an entry form visit the
ASBA website.
 |
Students
at Vail modeled clay beads for Ben's Bells, a nonprofit
project that teaches kindness towards others. To learn
more about the project or to become involved, read the
Arizona
Daily Star article or call Tu Nidito at 322-9155. |
Tucson Unified School District
1010 East 10th Street, Tucson, Arizona, 85719
Governing Board
Joel T. Ireland, President; Judy Burns, Clerk; Bruce Burke;
Adelita Grijalva; Mary Belle McCorkle, Ed.D.
Interim Superintendent
Roger Pfeuffer
Interim Director of Public Relations
Estella Zavala
Communications Specialist/Writer
Jennea Moore
Tucson Unified School District does not discriminate
on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual
orientation, age, religion or disability in admission or access
to, or treatment or employment, in its educational programs
or activities.
For more information contact: