Since moving to Tucson eight years ago, I’ve wondered why University High School (UHS) is the best, or one of the best, high schools in Arizona and an anomaly for the Tucson Unified School District. I had assumed that faculty from the University of Arizona send their kids there and thus make sure that it has high academic standards and a lot of Advanced Placement courses.
A friend of mine gave me the answer. One of the smartest guys I know, he was born and raised in Tucson, attended UHS, went on to a prestigious out-of-state university, and then moved to Phoenix as part of the brain-drain out of Tucson.
He emailed the following photo of a book he’s reading:
Unfortunately, the book is not available on Amazon and was distributed to only alumni of the school.
Along with the photo was this message from my friend:
This book arrived yesterday, and I’m having a lot of trouble setting it down. Lots of drama: mainly, UHS struggling to survive in the face of opposition by some factions — especially the Raul Grijalva diversity/equity faction — in the TUSD system. Big school choice angle: the early leaders of UHS became prime movers in the creation of AZ’s charter school system. Lots of Easter eggs for students (such as I) from the old days.
For better or worse, it got some initial funding from the 1972 federal Special Education Act, which allocated resources to the bottom 3% of students, but also to the top 3%. And early on, the UHS founders argued that TUSD could save money by consolidating advanced students and AP teachers (who were not much needed elsewhere) at UHS. They were also hoping to stop the “white flight.” But most of the time, TUSD was looking to kill the school.
No surprise. It’s a cultural and political tradition in Tucson to try to turn excellence into mediocrity. That’s why a city with so much potential keeps falling far short of that potential.
Mr. Cantoni is an author, activist and retired executive. Contact: [email protected].
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