It would appear that Arizona’s newly-elected Superintendent of Public instruction Diane Douglass is committed to the local control she ran on during her election. Taking her lazer-like focus off of Common Core standards momentarily, Douglas met with Tucson Unified School District Superintendent H.T. Sanchez to discuss local control of curriculum.
Sanchez, an expert in spin, hastily called a press conference immediately after the meeting. According to a press release issued by the District, Douglas, a staunch proponent of the mythological local control, met with Sanchez for about 90 minutes on Wednesday.
Although sources say that she made no concessions, Sanchez said he is optimistic that the District will be able to re-establish trust and communication with the Arizona Department of Education. Sanchez used the opportunity to lay the blame for the deteriorating relationship between the District and the ADE at the feet of former Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal.
Sanchez also used the opportunity to dispel the serious concerns of Board member Mark Stegeman. Stegeman wrote constituents about the deteriorating relationship and the misrepresentations made by Sanchez related to the ADE.
The press release reads:
Their meeting, held Wednesday, comes on the heels of a Jan. 2 notice of non-compliance issued in the final hours of outgoing Superintendent John Huppenthal’s last day in his post. The notice accused TUSD of violating state law in its ethnic studies courses and put some of the district’s state funding in jeopardy.
“I feel very good about the opportunities moving forward,” Dr. Sanchez said at a press conference Wednesday evening. “That doesn’t mean there will not be challenges. I’m sure there will be. But I feel very confident that we will be able to be able to work these challenges out.”
Dr. Sanchez noted that the Arizona Department of Education seems to have a new desire to work collaboratively. TUSD staff and ADE staff are creating a schedule for state representatives to visit schools and classrooms to see the ethnic studies curriculum in action, and Superintendent Douglas and her staff have committed to providing timely feedback on concerns.
Superintendent Douglas has invited Dr. Sanchez to serve on an advisory committee tasked with helping to develop standards that recognize the contributions of Latinos in Arizona and the United States and have that information be part of the Arizona College and Career Readiness standards.
Dr. Sanchez said he was impressed by the superintendent’s desire to develop standards that include Latino history and contributions.
“I don’t feel that the state agency wants to shut down our ethnic studies programs but really wants to take a look at how we can work together to address any concerns.”
To view the press conference click here.
Douglas did not issue a statement.
According to sources, Douglas was working with former Superintendent Huppenthal in the decision to find the District out of compliance. Since then, she has not reached out to any officials in the District except Sanchez. The meeting came just days after Sanchez publically complained that officials would not meet with him in December prior to the finding of noncompliance.
Contrary to his claims, his designee Deputy Administrator Steve Holmes did meet with top ADE staff in December.
In other news, students age 14 and over (with student ID card) will be treated to a showing of the testifonial “Precious Knowledge” at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 9 at the Bisbee Royale. The University of Arizona Hanson Film Institute will present the controversial docudrama, which “explores the results and effects of dropping ethnic studies from Tucson High School that occurred in 2011 thanks to the state legislature,” according to organizers.
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