Phoenix Union High School District

The Phoenix Union High School District is a school district based in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is one of the state's oldest school districts and its largest high school-only district, serving 26,000 students in 17 schools and employing more than 2,800 people. Areas served by the district mostly include central Phoenix, south Phoenix, and Laveen; a variety of other school districts serve the remaining portions of the city. The district has 13 different elementary feeder school districts in its service area. It is also one of the most diverse districts in the state; over 60 languages are represented, and more than half of district students come from homes where English is not the primary language. Latino students represent over 75 percent of the enrollment, and the district currently has the largest enrollment of African American students in the state.

History

The district traces its roots to the historic Phoenix Union High School, opened in 1895 with four classrooms and 90 students. The second high school in the district opened its doors in 1926, when Phoenix Union Colored High School opened, and by 1939, North High School was operating with 1,500 students and continued growth on the way, as Phoenix Union's enrollment hit more than 5,000 students.

From 1949 to 1972, the meteoric growth of the Phoenix metropolitan area produced overcrowding (Phoenix Union set the all-time Arizona enrollment record in the 1963-64 school year, with 6,320 students) and most of the district's new schools. West opened to end the 1940s, followed by Carl Hayden in 1950; Camelback and South Mountain both were founded in 1954; 1957 brought Central; in 1962, East opened; 1963 saw the establishment of Maryvale; and the first growth boom closed out in 1964 with Alhambra. Trevor G. Browne High School was the last of the Phoenix comprehensive high schools to start up, doing so in 1972. This period saw one school closure, with the now-renamed Carver High School being closed upon the integration of schools in Arizona, and the Bostrom and Desiderata special-needs schools opening in the 1970s.

Then the Baby Boom ended, and white flight in Phoenix reversed the trend. It took just one decade to bring Phoenix Union from its 6,000-student days to a mere 1,800. Similar drops in the late 1970s and early 1980s coupled with budget issues forced the district's hand in closures. West, East, Phoenix Union (by now a 1,200-student school), and North all closed. (North reopened in 1984 due to a lawsuit, Castro v. Phoenix Union High School District, related to inner-city education.) West later was repurposed as the new vocationally-oriented Metro Tech High School in 1985.

The growth of Laveen, part of the Phoenix Union district, led to two more comprehensive high schools opening. César Chávez High School opened as the first new high school in 27 years in 1999. Betty H. Fairfax High School, named after a longtime educator in the district, opened in 2007.

More small schools also opened in the 2000s, as a unique partnership of businesses and the district created the Suns-Diamondbacks Education Academy, an alternative school for at-risk youth, which moved into its new building in January 2002. Phoenix Union Cyber High School, since folded, opened in 2006, and Bioscience High School also opened the same year. Franklin Police and Fire High School, a first-of-its-kind public safety-oriented school, began operations in 2007.

Schools

Comprehensive schools

• Alhambra High School
• Trevor G. Browne High School
• Camelback High School
• Central High School
• César Chávez High School
• Betty H. Fairfax High School
• Carl Hayden High School
• Maryvale High School
• North High School
• South Mountain High School
• Metro Tech High School

Small and alternative schools

• Bostrom High School
• Desiderata Program
• Suns-Diamondbacks Education Academy
• Phoenix Union Bioscience High School
• Franklin Police and Fire High School

Closed

• Carver High School
• East High School
• Phoenix Union High School
• Phoenix Union Cyber High School
• West High School

Feeder elementary school districts

• Alhambra Elementary School District
• Balsz Elementary School District
• Cartwright Elementary School District
• Creighton Elementary School District
• Isaac Elementary School District
• Laveen Elementary School District
• Madison Elementary School District
• Murphy Elementary School District
• Osborn Elementary School District
• Phoenix Elementary School District
• Riverside Elementary School District
• Roosevelt Elementary School District
• Wilson Elementary School District

External links

• Phoenix Union High School District