Members of the Foundation, Ms. Moll & Ms. Malapenes with the computers

April 11, 2013, ten computers were donated to University High School by the University High School Foundation and Alumni Association. The computers have allowed more students to complete their work and alleviated stress in our library. Beth Malapanes, UHS librarian was very grateful for the computers, stating,

“The computers have been a lifesaver. The donation more than doubled the number of Windows 7 computers we had. We still have ten Windows XP computers that work for simple tasks, which brought the total computers up to 28. I can now have full classes of students come in and there isn’t a long line to use the computers to print every morning. It has alleviated a lot of stress for students.”

All in all, UHS staff, students, and teachers are thankful for the Foundation’s generous donation. Thank you, UHS Foundation and Alumni.

This class has also been accepted to 159 colleges and universities including all of the United States Military Academies, Harvard, Stanford, Duke, MIT, Colgate, Columbia, Brown, Princeton and Georgetown…just to name a few!  The complete list of schools that offered admission to graduating seniors is below:

Alma College
American University
Amherst College
Arizona Christian University
Arizona State University
Auburn University
Baylor University
Belmont University
Beloit College
Biola University
Boston College
Boston University
Brigham Young University
Brown University
Bucknell University
California State Polytechnic University
California State University, Fullerton
Calvin College
Case Western Reserve University
Colgate University
Colorado Christian University
Colorado College
Colorado School of Mines
Colorado State University
Columbia University
Creighton University
Dominican University of California
Drexel University
Duke University
Earlham College
Eckerd College
Elmhurst College
Ferris State University
Florida A & M University
Florida Institute of Technology
Fordham University
Franklin and Marshall College
Full Sail University
Gannon University
George Mason University
George Washington University
Georgetown College
Golden West College
Gonzaga University
Grand Canyon University
Guilford College
Hampshire College
Harvard University
Hendrix College
Hope International University
Hunter College
Hutt International Business School London
Iowa State University
Ithaca College
Juniata College
Kalamazoo College
Kenyon College
King College
Knox College
Lewis & Clark College
Limestone College
Linfield College
Lipscomb University
Loyola University, New Orleans
Macalester College
Marquette University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mercer University
New York University
Northeastern University
Northern Arizona University
Oberlin College
Occidental College
Oxford College of Emory University
Pima Community College – Tucson
Polytechnic University of New York
Pomona College
Portland State University
Princeton University
Purdue University
Reed College
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rice University
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
San Diego State University
San Francisco State University
San Jose State University
Scripps College
Seattle Pacific University
Seattle University
Smith College
Sonoma State University
Stanford University
Syracuse University
Texas A & M University
Texas Christian University
The Johns Hopkins University
The Ohio State University
Trinity University
Tufts University
Tulane University
Tuskegee University
United States Air Force Academy
United States Coast Guard Academy
United States Military Academy
United States Naval Academy
University of Alabama
University of Arizona
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Davis
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Riverside
University of California, San Diego
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Chicago
University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Dallas
University of Dayton
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Maryland at College Park
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
University of Miami
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of Montana, Missoula
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of New Mexico
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Northern Colorado
University of Notre Dame
University of Oklahoma
University of Oregon
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
University of Portland
University of Puget Sound
University of Redlands
University of Rhode Island
University of Richmond
University of San Diego
University of San Francisco
University of Southern California
University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Dallas
University of the Pacific
University of Washington
Virginia Tech
Washington & Lee University
Washington State University
Washington University in Saint Louis
Wesleyan University
Westminster College, Fulton Missouri
Westminster College, New Wilmington Pennsylvania
Whitman College
Whittier College
Whitworth College
Williams College
Xavier University

From left: Shelby Yuan, Kelsey Barter, and Ryan Silva at ISEF. Photo credit: Yiing Yuan.

Math:

After taking the State Math exam, the following students will be receiving plaques for having some of the highest scores in the state, according to their level:

Level 1:  Alan Parra, Judy Zhang, Micheala Sharp

Level 2:  Zhiying Shen

Level 3:  Gordie Downs, Zachary Kirch, Steven Fried, Oshadha Gunasekara, Scott Norrix, Alan Cheng

Level 4:  Sloan Kanaski, Shelby Yuan

In addition, along with Oshadha, Sloan, Zachary, and Shelby, Zimo Han and Zac Bathen were among the top 50 scores in the state regardless of their level and they will be receiving medals.

Sloan Kanaski and Oshadha Gunasekara will be traveling to Las Vegas at the end of May. They were invited to participate in the American Regions Mathematics League’s national math contest.

Science:

After competing at the Southern Arizona Regional Science and Engineering Fair  (SARSEF), the following students won awards:

Ryan Silva, Kelsey Barter, Shelby Yuan were all chosen to compete in the International Science Fair (ISEF).

Stephen Yao was chosen as an I-SWEEEP Finalist at SARSEF.  He will be competing in the International Sustainable World (Energy, Engineering and Environment) Project Olympiad this month.

Moreover, Renee Conway was awarded first place in her category and Marisol Moya was awarded third place in her category.

For the past five years, UHS’s Site Council has been responsible for appropriating the school’s budget; however, due to the $17 million deficit this year, TUSD created a formula-based budget applicable to all high schools in the district to replace the system of each site council deciding their own school’s budget plan. In addition to the reformed budget, TUSD enacted new regulations on OCR Desegregation funding, which is essentially funding to continue school desegregation for UHS. Financial cuts in both areas brewed the “perfect storm” to catalyze serious changes for UHS, says Principal Moll.

The new budget plan allots money to TUSD schools based on the previous year’s enrollment. Thus, TUSD is only providing enough funding for 854 students at UHS, even though UHS administration predicts there to be 1,000 students on campus next fall. This lack of funding necessitated the school to make faculty cuts. UHS was required to cut one Vice Principal position, one counselor, the attendance clerk, the assistant to the Vice Principal, and five teachers. First, administration decided not to refill the positions of retirees; this step fulfilled the requirement of cutting the Vice Principal, counselor, and two teachers. After numerous discussions and pleas to the district, Ms. Moll managed to keep a second counselor and the Vice Principal’s assistant on the staff, but could not persuade the district to keep our attendance clerk.

Next, administration decided which teacher positions to cut. This step was extremely difficult given the projection that UHS will grow by nearly 200 students next year. The Chinese and German programs were both initially cut due to equally low enrollment in both language classes; however, after the numbers from newly enrolled eighth grade prospective students came in, UHS reinstated the German program. Once the school year begins and TUSD reviews the number of enrolled students at UHS, it is possible that they will re-allocate money to reinstate our Chinese program. This would still be a difficult scenario, though, because it is extremely difficult to rearrange students into different language classes once the school year has begun.

In addition, we needed to cut one math and one science teacher. Because UHS has an AP-based curriculum, the administration decided to cut all honors chemistry and physics classes and replace them with only AP courses. Many of the faculty believe that offering only AP classes for these two subjects will encourage students to study together and succeed in the advanced course material rather than drop the AP classes to enroll in lower level honors courses, as they have seen with previous students. This decision has been perhaps the most controversial change to UHS curriculum. Although it will be difficult to transition into more AP requirements, Ms. Moll is confident that our students will succeed in doing so. Again, after the school year begins and our enrollment numbers reach the district board, UHS may receive more funding, in which case Ms. Moll assures that administration will evaluate the changes and place the funding where it is most needed.

Finally, the bell schedule has undergone slight changes. UHS will still have a modular schedule of periods 1,3, and 5 on Monday and 2, 4, and 6 on Tuesday. However, the modular periods are slightly shorter and the sequential Thursday and Friday periods are longer than our current schedule.

Although some of the upcoming alterations present a challenge to UHS, Ms. Moll and other members of administration are optimistic about the future of our school and the progress that will accompany these changes.

Students and staff dress in black and white to show their support for University High School on January 17, 2013. PHOTO CREDIT: Melanie Parke.

Big changes are likely to take place at University High School in the next few years. Since the accelerated school was founded in 1976, students, teachers, and alumni have dreamed of an expanded UHS, complete with its own campus. Although the faculty has pushed for the school’s independence for decades, the dream finally seems to be becoming reality.

On December 20, 2012, the TUSD Governing Board voted to work with the UHS staff and site council to develop a plan regarding the expansion of UHS under the following provisions:

1. UHS’s exclusive use of an existing TUSD high school site, commencing in Fall, 2014.
2. Anticipated growth in UHS enrollment to accommodate more out-of-district students while maintaining priority for in-district students.
3. Assurances that the new UHS site is suitable for accommodating the creation, on the same site, of a new full magnet middle school with an emphasis on academic achievement opening no later than Fall, 2015. The middle school will have an independent name, mascot, and identity, and will be under the overall supervision of the UHS principal. Admissions will be open and subject to no test.
4. It is explicitly not the goal of this plan that students at the middle school typically matriculate to UHS. Attendance at or graduation from the middle school will confer no advantage in admission to UHS. Some middle school students will matriculate to UHS and others will matriculate to other TUSD high schools.

The staff is scheduled to bring the UHS expansion plan to the Board for a final vote no later than November 2013.

Ms. Meg Tully, who teaches AP European History and has been involved in the discussions with the district for several  months, explained the challenges of catering to two different student bodies on one campus. Although both schools and students have different needs, they have to settle for the middle ground on all issues, from mundane complaints regarding the bell schedule to bigger controversies. She says “neither school can express itself,” and moving to have our own, exclusive UHS campus would allow both University High and Rincon to have the equity they deserve.

Although the teachers and administration seemed eager and more than excited about the developing plans to move UHS to its own campus complete with a middle school, I, as a student, had more than a couple concerns. With our own campus, would UHS students still have the same opportunities to participate in successful athletics and fine arts programs? By expanding the student body, wouldn’t the standards for entering UHS be forced to drop? How would sharing a campus with a middle school be fair and equitable? And finally, with three faculty members—counselor Kirsten Cook, Assistant Principal Tammy Janik, and Principal Elizabeth Moll—retiring at the end of the 2012-2013 school year, is the future of UHS in jeopardy?

Perhaps the main concern of most current and prospective UHS students is the possibility of losing our sports and fine arts programs. The faculty, however, refuses to abandon these programs in the expansion of the school.  When the plan to expand UHS goes to the board next fall, these two student extracurricular categories will serve as potential deal-breakers if they cannot be offered at a new site. The activities UHS has to offer beyond academia are what separate the school from other accelerated learning institutions; sports and fine arts programs are what make UHS special and different.  In fact, seventy-eight percent of all athletes on the Rincon/University High School teams are UHS students, and all sports with the exception of football have a UHS-student majority.  Although our sports teams may need to move down to a lower competitive division, some teachers predict that in a matter of a few years, the teams will boost recruitment and excel. Fine arts similarly have a majority of UHS students, which illustrates how important these programs are to UHS students and how these programs could continue to thrive on a separate campus

Next on the list of concerns is the fear of lowering standards. The admissions criteria for University High school formerly included students’ GPAs in middle school and their scores on multiple tests, including the Raven’s test. Recently, the district discovered that the Raven’s test can be found on the Internet. This seriously “compromised the integrity of the admissions,” said UHS Principal Elizabeth Moll. Because of the leaked exam, UHS faculty already agreed to change the school’s admissions policy. Ms. Moll and other administrators have been researching methods that other similar high-performing, test-in schools from around the nation use for their admissions processes. Although the Raven’s test will no longer be included in the initial test for entrance to UHS, new tests will be administered and a better system will be installed to ensure that students continue to be accepted not only on whether or not they test well, but also on their work ethic too, as reflected in their middle school GPAs.

Furthermore regarding admissions, UHS has had to work with the district’s new unitary status plan. After a lawsuit regarding ethnic underrepresentation in the student body of UHS, the unitary status plan was created as a revision to ensure equal consideration for all. The unitary status plan will serve as a way to improve recruitment of underrepresented students without lowering the admissions standards. According to UHS teacher Adam Lazarewicz, parts the unitary status plan could even benefit UHS. All TUSD middle schools will be required to promote UHS as an option for high school and all students will be required to test. All in all, the plan to essentially desegregate will be beneficial for UHS’s recruitment of students. The plan also mandates that the faculty must consult with an expert to advise the admissions policy and ensure that it is equitable, but the faculty has already begun to carry out this provision of the plan. According to Mr. Lazarewicz, the teachers’ number one concern is the fear of lowering standards. Although the student population will increase, the faculty is determined  to maintain and defend high standards, regardless of the revisions in the admissions process.

The final point of concern in the expansion plan is sharing a campus with a new middle school. As stated in the plan, the middle school would not serve as an automatic feeder school for University High School. However, creating an on-campus middle school would help UHS to accomplish some of its goals. The main requirement for establishing an exclusive campus is the number of students attending the school. UHS does not currently have enough students to make having its own campus financially viable for the district. If UHS tries to expand its student body by accepting more students in the incoming freshman class each year, the pressure to lower admissions standards will also increase. However, by opening a middle school on the site, there would be a large enough total student population to justify University High School being a standalone high school on a separate campus.

The UHS Vision website (uhsvision.com) has more information about the school’s vision.

In early January amid all of this news, the Arizona Daily Independent published an article about the “exodus from UHS” in which they claimed that Ms. Moll’s retirement was just the beginning of a wave of UHS teachers abandoning the school before TUSD’s imminent fall. After speaking with Ms. Moll, I learned that her reasons for retirement are entirely personal; in fact, she has already been retired for the past four years, and only came back to work as UHS’s principal in a temporary role when the school was in need several years ago. Assistant Principal Tammy Janik and counselor Kirsten Cook are also retiring for completely personal reasons. Ms. Moll joked that the three administrators announcing retirement is “no conspiracy, [they] just got old.” While it is unfortunate that UHS is losing a few top leaders in the midst of potentially significant campus changes, Ms. Moll reassures us that she “[knows] without a doubt that [she’s] leaving UHS in good hands.” As long as the distributed leadership of teachers, students, and alumni continues to pursue and implement its vision of expansion, “we’ll find a way to get there,” says Moll. Mr. Lazarewicz agreed that “Ms. Moll is a good leader, and [her leaving] is definitely a concern, but all the faculty and staff are on board, and she’s not the only one fighting.”

Evidence of this distributed leadership could be seen on January 23^rd and 24^th, when the student council at UHS held forums to inform students of the changes taking place on campus and answer questions. The forums were a good chance for students to advocate for themselves about the issues important to them regarding UHS having an exclusive site. Students were encouraged to sign petitions advocating the UHS Vision plan, which over 600 students did, and to write statements about what UHS means to them, in hopes of sending the letters to both TUSD administration and the Arizona Daily Star. Mr. Lazarewicz strongly believes that the expansion plans are “what’s best for our students; the teachers are on board, and [he hopes] the students and parents are, too.”

If you would like to read more about the plan or add your voice to the discussion, visit the UHS Vision site at www.uhsvision.com.

Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, Tucson Council Member Steve Kozachik, and TUSD Superintendent John Pedicone praise UHS after the 2013 Senior Mock Election debate. PHOTO CREDIT: Kelly Liska.

Tucson mayor, Jonathon Rothschild attended this year’s senior Mock Election debate to deliver a proclamation declaring January 30, 2013 to be University High School Day. In his proclamation, he addressed a point brought up numerous times by the debating parties that “We are the future.” He mentioned how successful our graduating classes at UHS have become, as well as how far UHS has grown. The Mayor believed that our debating parties all had well thought out ideas and policies, and of course addressed our glorious ranking as the 4th best school in the nation. This declaration is such an honor for UHS and shows the benefits of pure hard work and dedication on behalf of our students, faculty and beloved teachers. On this day, January 30th, 2013, the teachers and students of UHS will always remember the great pride that being a part of UHS brings and will work every day to allow UHS to continue to prosper and grow.

Read the full text of the proclamation below.

The Mayor begins speaking at 2:45.

CITY OF TUCSON OFFICE OF THE MAYOR PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, University High School was established in 1976 by the Tucson Unified School District as a regional college preparatory high school; and

WHEREAS, the faculty of University High School is committed to challenging UHS students with a culturally diverse curriculum that is based on the real world experiences of a staff that includes engineers, physicians, attorneys and even an astronaut; and

WHEREAS, the faculty of University High School was recognized as an Arizona All Subjects High Performer School in 2011 and 2012; was awarded the University of Arizona Cup Scholarship for 2011-2012 and was ranked the number four best high school in the nation and number one in Arizona by U.S. News and World Report; and

WHEREAS, University High School students took 1,400 Advanced Placement exams in 27 subjects in 2011; and

WHEREAS, the University High School Foundation supports the Vertical Training Program, an outreach to TUSD middle schools aimed at promoting curriculum and adjustments geared toward the recruitment and retention of minorities at UHS; and

WHEREAS, the City of Tucson does hereby acknowledge the significant work being done by faculty, staff, students and the UHS Foundation to improve educational outcomes at University High School and throughout TUSD generally;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Jonathan Rothschild, Mayor of the City of Tucson, Arizona, do hereby proclaim January 30, 2013 to be UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOL DAY in this community, and encourage all of our citizens to celebrate these accomplishments.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have herunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the City of Tucson to be affixed this 30th day of January, 2013.

Chloe Wills also contributed to this article.

For a condensed comparison of the four party platforms, please click the table below twice to view it full screen.

Photo Credit: David Benton

University High School English teacher Christopher Nelson was recently included in Best New Poets 2012. Though some only know Mr. Nelson as an English teacher for sophomores and seniors, Mr. Nelson is also a dedicated poet. He graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona in 2011. Nelson also interviews poets on his poetry blog, Under a Warm Green Linden. In addition, Nelson has published one chapbook of poetry, Blue House.

At the end of Mr. Nelson’s graduate studies, the University of Arizona nominated him for Best New Poets 2012. Every year, the University of Virginia compiles this anthology of poems from poets who have not yet published a full-length book. Poets can be nominated by a magazine, writing program, or they can self-nominate through the Best New Poets website. This year, over 1715 submissions of 1-2 poems were submitted. Nelson’s poem, “Fidelity,” was one out of 50 poems included in the anthology.

The Perspective is reprinting “Fidelity” below with permission. For more information about Mr. Nelson, read his interview with the Perspective here.
 
—–
 
Fidelity
 
 
Night comes first to the innermost
branches of the elm, then hedgerows, then entire lawns.
 
 
My neighbor gets ready for bed, her one lit window and the red pulse
 
 
of a radio tower above the bay. Our backyards are small
and touch each other along one side.
 
 

UHS teachers talk to Principal Moll before the meeting begins.

For the last Site Council meeting of the semester, UHS was optimistic about many future possibilities. Site Council members discussed everything from school vision to new clubs.

Firstly, Secretary Danielle Richard announced the formation of R.U.S.T.I.K.—Rincon University Students Together Intiating Kindness. As a member of Superintendent Student Advisory Council, Richard helped form this club to continue last year’s kindness campaign and to bridge the gap between Rincon and University High School students.

Bonnie Klahr discussed the upcoming vertical team training that will be occurring within the UHS math departments. Vertical team training, which will occur in February, is a partnership in which UHS teachers are observed by middle school teachers from around the district. The aim of the training is to provide continuity in math classes from a middle school level to a high school level.

In addition, Klahr, as the president of the UHS Foundation, announced the upcoming holiday party fundraiser on December 27 at the home of Laura Shaffer, open to all generations of UHS.

Along with fundraising, the UHS Foundation is also in the process of writing a proclamation that mayor Jonathan Rothschild will later read. Klahr stated that the proclamation will “give the school some publicity as well as letting the city know [UHS] is here.” Moreover, the Foundation helped develop a new letterhead to represent UHS, which will appear on the website as well as any future merchandise.

AP Psychology teacher Adam Lazarewicz, the head of the UHS Charter School Exploratory Committee, discussed the potential for UHS to become a charter school. Recently, the faculty had a meeting about the implications of UHS becoming a charter school, and came up with a comprehensive list of questions. Currently, nothing is official and Lazarewicz emphasized that “everyone would need to be on board” before any final decisions are made.

On November 26, Lazarewicz along with Principal Moll met with TUSD Superintendent John Pedicone about the direction of UHS. Lazarewicz said the tone was “positive and supportive.” Ms. Moll noted that the current focus is on school closures, but she remains optimistic.

Preparations for the class of 2017 are already underway. Assistant Principal Amy Cislack announced that BOOST is scheduled for June 17-28. Twelve teachers have already volunteered. She said BOOST is “a well-oiled machine thanks to Mike Schmidt.” Assistant Principal Tammy Janik also noted that approximately 1700 students tested for UHS and there will be a celebration for accepted freshmen on January 21. This was the first year that UHS did not use the Ravens Test in the admissions test. Though the qualifying score remains the same, Ms. Janik did note that UHS is looking for recommendations to improve the entrance exam.

Lastly, the Site Council unanimously approved a grant to the UHS Science Club for $2000 to purchase electronic sensor probes for measuring oxygen and carbon dioxide. The Science Club will use the probes to visit middle schools and do science demonstrations. In addition, the Science Olympiad and Envirothon teams will also benefit from this technology.

The last Site Council meeting of 2012 was one filled with progress and displayed a continued effort by parents, faculty and students to promote the UHS Vision.