Peoria Unified School District

Peoria Unified School District
Address
6330 West Thunderbird Road Glendale, Arizona 85306
Glendale, Arizona
United States
Information
Type Public
Motto Every Student, Every Day, Prepared To Shape Tomorrow
Established 1889
Superintendent Dr. Denton Santarelli
Grades Preschool-12
Website Peoria Unified School District

Coordinates: 33°36′42″N 112°11′42″W / 33.611613°N 112.195135°W / 33.611613; -112.195135

Peoria Unified School District #11 (PUSD) is a school district headquartered in the District Administration Center (DAC) in Glendale, Arizona.[1][2] It provides both primary and secondary education for most of Peoria, some areas of Glendale and Youngtown, and a small area of Surprise, and numerous unincorporated areas of Maricopa County.[3] With 39 schools, it is the third largest school district in Arizona.

Early history

Peoria Unified School District #11 began in 1889, covering 49 square miles (127 km2). During the first school year, the class size expanded from 5 to 15 students.[4]

The following year the district opened with a class size of three students.[4] Maricopa County was considering merging Peoria District #11 with Washington Elementary School District #6. According to William Bartlett:[4] One day early in July, Mr. Mann, stopped a covered wagon along Grand Avenue; the wagon had several children inside. Mann discovered that the driver had 9 children and was heading to Phoenix or anywhere else that would provide employment, and told the driver "You have got a job right here". Eight of the Bills children enrolled in Peoria School and District 11 survived.[4]

In 1905, the first building was destroyed by fire; a bond election to build a new school passed by only one vote. A controversy arose about how many rooms the new school should have; many residents claimed that Peoria would never need more than two rooms in a school. A $3,200 two-room school was finally built on 83rd Avenue and Madison Street.[4]

Recent history

Today, Peoria Unified School District contains 32 elementary schools, seven comprehensive high schools, an online school and a transitional high school. There are about 37,000 students in the district. Over the past twenty years, the district has built at least one school per year because of increased urban sprawl in Glendale and Peoria.

In January 2005, the Marshall Ranch Jazz Band, under the direction of Jill Mahoney, was selected to perform along with Joey Sellers at the International Association for Jazz Education in Long Beach, California.[5]

In May 2007, the PUSD Governing Board voted to close all high school campuses during lunch entirely by taking away parental choice. A number of other metro Phoenix districts have made similar changes recently.[6]

The PUSD Governing Board instituted a closed campus for the 2006–2007 school year. Despite a walkout,[7] continuing rancor and conflict at the board meetings, and a petition signed by over 2600 parents and students,[8] the governing board has stood firm on this, and students are now required to remain on campus during lunch time.[9] Despite the new policy appearing to be a reversal of a policy approved in the 2005-2006 year, which permitted juniors and seniors with C averages to leave with parental permission forms signed,[10] district spokesman Jim Cummings said the new rules do not alter past policy.[8] The closed campus policy has remained in high schools throughout the district in the 2007-2008 year, and is scheduled to continue.

In March 2009, Peoria's Superintendent announced that up to 900 teachers may lose their positions in the district. Only teachers who have worked in the district for at least two years are likely to be affected. In addition, teachers who are eligible for retirement or those who have previously retired and are working under contract may be next on the chopping block. "We are preparing for the worst, but hoping for the very best," said Dr. Denton Santarelli, the Peoria Unified School District superintendent.[11]

Schools

High schools in the Peoria Unified School District
School Cactus Centennial Ironwood Liberty Peoria Raymond S. Kellis Sunrise Mountain
Location Glendale Peoria Glendale Peoria Peoria Glendale Peoria
Year opened 1977 1990 1986 2006 1922 2004 1996
School colors Columbia blue, silver Red, white, navy blue Red, gray Red, black Green, gold Vegas gold, navy blue Purple, white, gold
School mascot Cobras Coyotes Eagles Lions Panthers Cougars Mustangs

List of elementary schools

[12]

Proposed Schools

Other schools and assets

References

  1. ↑ "District Overview." Peoria Unified School District. Retrieved on October 18, 2012. "Address 6330 W. Thunderbird Rd. Glendale, AZ 85306"
  2. ↑ "DAC and Cholla Maps." (Archive) Peoria Unified School District. Retrieved on October 18, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Municipalities and Schools within the PUSD." (Archive) Peoria Unified School District. Retrieved on October 18, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "History About Peoria Elementary". Peoria Unified School District #11. 2003-11-04. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  5. ↑ http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=4943
  6. ↑ Leung, Lily (2007-08-21). "Buckeye Union freshmen, sophomores adapting to forced stay on campus for lunch". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  7. ↑ Moravcik, Meghan (2007-08-07). "Blanket permission slips won't circumvent policy". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
  8. 1 2 Kelly, Charles (2007-11-08). "School district sticks to closed campus policy". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  9. ↑ Section 5.1.3.1 (Release of High School Students During the Lunch Period) of "Governing Board Policy Section 5". 2007-10-23. Archived from the original on 2007-10-29. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  10. ↑ Moravcik, Meghan E. (2007-05-09). "Peoria Unified closes high school campuses during lunchtime". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  11. ↑ Liu, Cara (2009-03-06). "Teacher Layoffs Possible in Peoria". KPHO. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
  12. ↑ "Schools". Peoria Unified School District. Retrieved 16 March 2016.

External links

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