Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) is the largest school district of Tucson, Arizona, in terms of enrollment. Dr. Gabriel Trujillo is the superintendent, appointed on September 12, 2017, by the Governing Board. As of 2016, TUSD had more than 47,670 students. As of Fall 2012, according to Superintendent John Pedicone (on the 9/14/2012 Buckmaster Show), TUSD had 50,000 students. District enrollment has declined over the last 10 years and TUSD lost 1,700 to 2,000 students per year for the two or three years prior to 2012.

Area The district boundaries encompass Tucson, South Tucson, Drexel Heights, and Valencia West. Parts of Tucson Estates, Catalina Foothills and Tanque Verde are also within the district, as well as a few unincorporated parts of Pima County that do not fall within the confines of a Census Designated Place. The district was established as "Pima County School District No. 1" in 1867, centered approximately at the latitude 32°13'15.57"N and the longitude 110°58'23.70"W (a monument now known as La Placita), and assumed its current name in 1977.

Controversy

Ethnic Studies Ban

In 2012, in response to state law HB2281, the district put into storage, or distributed to the district libraries, several books used in a course that were determined to be against state law A.R.S. 15–112, including the textbook Rethinking Columbus and the Tempest. Books were taken away while students were in class.

The dismantling of the Mexican-American studies departments and similar Mexican cultural courses has caused controversy regarding the ideas of xenophobia and racism against Mexican-American students and their heritage. However, studies demonstrated that students enrolled in these programs had higher rates of graduation and attendance.

The TUSD board meetings, in response to the proposed bill HB2281, resulted in several students and faculty who demonstrated against the legislation being arrested and/or injured. Due to the impending loss of state funding should the TUSD continue the program, the board ruled in a 4-1 decision in January 2012 to ban the program. On January 13, 2012, students walked out of class and held a protest against the banishment of the Mexican-American Studies program.

The Daily Show aired a satirical piece on April 2, 2012, concerning the banning of Mexican-American studies as voted by the school board. Michael Hicks, a voting member, said that he was concerned with the "revolutionary" aspect of the curriculum that encouraged students to take part in "bloodshed" against the "gringos." When asked if he had ever been to a class himself to support his claims, he answered that he had not visited the school but based his opinion on "hearsay from the others."

The TUSD Governing Board's resolution of this issue has been to establish a course to be taken by all students that emphasizes multiculturalism and diversity. The current program, much like the Mexican studies program, seeks to educate students on themes of identity. It is based on four pillars namely, "identity, diversity, justice and action." This program strives to "promote intercultural understanding and addresses the needs of students who have been historically marginalized or underrepresented." Some students and their parents sued the school board and government, claiming that the TUSD ban of the Mexican American studies program violated their rights under the First and 14th amendments. In August 2017, A. Wallace Tashima, a federal judge, ruled that the students and parents had had their rights violated on both counts. A US judge in 2017 also blocked an ethnic studies ban because he found the ban to be racially motivated.

Fisher v. Tucson Unified Sch. Dist. In 1974, African American and Mexican American students sued the Tucson, Arizona, school system alleging intentional segregation and unconstitutional discrimination on the basis of race and national origin. The case was closed on July 20, 2022.

Fisher v. Tucson Unified Sch. Dist., No. CV-74-00090-TUC-DCB (Lead Case) No. CV-74-0204-TUC-DCB (Consolidated Case)

"Black List" In May 2017 the long-rumored "black list" of employees blocked from future hire was discovered, first created in August 2012. Despite the TUSD's stated hiring policies, in January 2018, it was discovered that the list spanned 20 years and 1,400 entries, with about 900 of those former employees claiming that they were blacklisted wrongfully and without notice, for unfirable items such as "personality clashes" with superiors, poor evaluation scores, or using all their vacation time. Only 516 of those listings were clearly justified.

Language Education TUSD came under fire for cuts to the high school graduation requirements made in the year 2008— in years prior, senior high school students at TUSD were required to obtain at least two years of foreign language education in order to receive their high school diploma. In 2008, the TUSD School board approved to revoke the mandate that required the two years of foreign language education for each graduating student, citing budget cuts as the overarching problem. The prominent Tucson newspaper, the Arizona Daily Star, later printed an editorial addressing the new requirement, agreeing that they would rather see the budget cuts being made in the language department than in others, and stating that TUSD and the School Board did the reasonable thing under the situation. Others disagreed with the mandate, expressing their concern on the fact that most public and private universities, including Tucson's own University of Arizona, require at least two years of a high school foreign language class for admission.

Demographics As of October 2018, the demographics of the district were composed of: 63.8% Hispanic (of any race, primarily Mexican American), 20.5% non-Hispanic Whites, 6.0% Black, 3.6% Native American, 2.1% Asian, and 3.9% Multi-racial.

Schools

Traditional high schools (9)

+ TUSD high schools School Enrollment Establishment Mascot Colors Catalina 900 1957 Trojans Royal blue and white Cholla 1,786 1969 Chargers Orange and Navy blue Palo Verde* 1,050 1962 Titans Royal blue and gold Pueblo 1,800 1956 Warriors Navy blue and Columbia blue Rincon 1,250 1958 Rangers Purple and white Sabino 1,000 1972 (as 7-12 school) Sabercats Purple and Gold Sahuaro 1,736 1968 Cougars Red and Blue Santa Rita 500 1969 Eagles Green and Gold Tucson* 3,300 1892 Badgers Red and white Magnet program*

The largest high school in the district, in terms of enrollment, is Tucson High Magnet School near downtown Tucson. According to the district website, 2945 students attended Tucson High during the 2006–2007 school year. It is also the oldest high school in the district. Tucson High School was built in 1907 across the street from where it now stands. The school relocated to its present site in 1923. In 1956, the school had the largest enrollment of any high school in the United States, over 6,800 pupils. The original Tucson High building still exists as Roskruge Bilingual K-8 Magnet School. The TUSD also owns the radio station KWXL-LP.

Other high schools (7) NameEst.MascotColors ArtWorks Academy Aztec Middle College East 1981 Aztec Middle College West Howenstine Adaptive Education High School 1976HawksBaby blue and black closed in 2013 Innovation Tech High School2020DragonsBluePASS Alternative High School Project MORE Teenage Parent Alt. Middle/High School University High School (shares campus and sports teams with Rincon) 1977 Penguins Black and White

Traditional middle schools and K-8 schools

NameLocationEst.MascotColors Ida Flood Dodge Traditional Magnet Middle School 1954 (as Lizzie Brown Elementary School)Farr, John. "Tucson Youngsters Go Back To School Tuesday", Arizona Daily Star, September 5, 1954, page six. Bulldogs Turquoise and Black Doolen Middle School Doolen-Fruitvale 1942 (as Catalina Junior High School) Thunderbirds Burgundy and White Rollin T. Gridley Middle School Halcyon Acres 1974 Grizzly Bears Joseph W. Magee Middle School Carriage Hill December 9, 1963 RoadrunnersLight Blue and Red Mansfeld Magnet Middle School Drake 1930"New Junior High School – Community's Interest", Arizona Daily Star, August 31, 1930, page 21. Bulldogs Blue and White Mary Belle McCorkle PreK-8 School Casitas Del Sol 2011 Mustangs Silver and Black William J. Pistor Middle School Manzanita Manor 1970Cline, Barry. "76,500 Expected In City Schools, Up 3,300", Tucson Daily Citizen, August 12, 1970, page 19. Panthers Roskruge Bilingual K-8 Magnet School (Elementary and middle schools became one school in 2010.) West University 1914 Pumas/Cougars Turquoise, Black, Purple, Gold Delbert L. Secrist Middle School South Harrison 1973 Scorpions Maroon and Yellow Madge Utterback Middle Magnet School Sunland Vista 1959 Unicorns Alice Vail Middle School Desert Aire September 6, 1955 Falcons Valencia Middle School Drexel Heights October 3, 1994 Jaguars Black and Gold Wakefield Middle School (Consolidated into Madge Utterback, Charles Hollinger, & Safford in 2013) Reopened in 2020. Whitestone 1939"Maria Wakefield Junior High", Arizona Daily Star, October 13, 1939, page eight. Knights

K-8 schools NameEst.MascotLocationColors Booth-Fickett Math-Science K-8 School Fred W. Fickett Junior High School established 1960, Booth Elementary School established 1961, merger occurred 1984 Falcons Vista Del Sahuaro Borman K-8 School Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Astros Opened 1977, historically fed into NaylorC. E. Rose Pre-K-8 School National City Wildcats Opened 1949; Named for Clinton E. Rose, TUSD Superintendent from 1920 to 1941. Selected for 2012 NCUST Excellence in Education Award., historically fed into Wakefield Charles Dietz K-8 School 1961 (as elementary school)"Dedication For Dietz School Set", Arizona Daily Star, May 4, 1962, section C, page seven. Dragons Mañana Grande Charles Hollinger K-8 School 1931 (as Government Heights Elementary School)"Schools Open For Year With Increase", Arizona Daily Star, September 22, 1931, page four. Bulldogs Whitestone Drachman Montessori K-8 Magnet School Barrio Santa Rosa Dragons Opened 1901; Montessori school, historically fed into the junior high division of Safford Mary Louise Robins K-8 School August 15, 1994 (as elementary school) Roadrunners Agua Dulce Miles Exploratory Learning Center originally opened as an elementary in 1921 and then years later, it became a K-8 school Tucson Blue, Gold Morgan Maxwell K-8 School 1974 (as junior high) Mountain LionsBlue Roberts/Naylor K-8 School 1962 (as Naylor Junior High School) Phoenixes Carlita Village Safford K-8 Magnet International Baccalaureate World School Plaza or 1-8 School opened in Fall 1884 by October 1. Mansfield Elementary School opened to the south of it in 1904 and Plaza renamed simultaneously, making it Safford Junior High School. Safford Junior High burned down in 1917 and was rebuilt. Mansfield Elementary was renamed Safford Elementary in 1930. Merger of 2 schools occurred by 2003. Huskies Armory Park Orange and Blue

Elementary schools