On Thursday night, former Tucson Unified School District superintendent H.T. Sanchez returned to Tucson to deliver the commencement speech for University High School. Sanchez, who was forced to resign earlier this year, created a stir when it became apparent that he was not going to bow out gracefully from the invite that was issued in December.
During Sanchez’s tenure, University High School fell in national rankings, but benefited from a cozy relationship with Board member Mark Stegeman and Sanchez. In 2012, the school ranked #4 in the nation, this year it came in at #15.
| YEAR | RANK |
| 2012 | #4 |
| 2013 | #28 |
| 2014 | #7 |
| 2015 | #8 |
| 2016 | #15 |
Stegeman, a professor at the University of Arizona (UofA) has advocated, at the behest of a handful of parents and fellow UofA faculty members, for University High to be moved from its current site, which it shares with Rincon High School. The powerful interest groups would prefer that the special children of University High have a campus dedicated solely to their needs. Those special interest groups have been instrumental in Stegeman’s re-elections and the promotion of Sanchez as a rising education star.
As a result, Stegeman put up no resistance to the appearance of the controversial Sanchez at his favored school.
Good arguments can be made for having a school just for gifted or high achieving students. For too many students, who are high achieving, the pressure to not perform in order to blend-in can be overwhelming. Schools such as University High can offer a sense of normalcy as well to students who are extraordinary.
Stegeman and his supporters are not alone in recognizing the value of a dedicated campus, however the Rincon campus has also provided University students with opportunities to participate in sports and other activities that might not be otherwise available on a dedicated campus. Those positive attributes have all but been ignored by Stegeman and the isolationists.
While the Board has tried to focus on pressing issues such as the incomplete discipline plan, and a deficit caused by a large loss of students during Sanchez’s tenure, Stegeman tried just this week to steer the discussion once again to plans to move students from Palo Verde High or Catalina High to the Rincon campus, and relocating University High students to either the Palo Verde or Catalina campuses. Catalina is the preferred site for University High isolationists due to its proximity to the UofA.
TUSD parent and education activist, Betts Putnam Hidalgo, questioned the part of Stegeman’s plan that includes moving a high performing middle school to whatever campus UHS would assume. “This idea has been floating around for a very long time. In this current iteration, the UHS parents and administration are tasked with determining exactly how this will affect the students who have to be moved out to make room for UHS and its companion Ihigh quality middle school. They also need to determine exactly how this project will actually benefit the students represented by the plaintiff groups in the 40 year old desegregation case. If the USP was mentioned once – it was mentioned 10 times as a very important goal of this project. Will the so-called high quality middle school distinguish itself from the rest of the TUSD middle schools by forcing ever younger kids to take AP classes with the associated $60.00 test? Will we magically fulfill the desegregating dreams of the USP with this project that appears to separate out the best and the brightest at a younger age? I for one remain completely unconvinced and stand with Ms. Campoy and others on this issue.”
