Peoria Unified School District

Public school district in Maricopa County, Arizona

Peoria Unified School District

Address

6330 West Thunderbird Road

Glendale

, Arizona, 85306
United States
Coordinates| 33°36′42″N 112°11′42″W﻿ / ﻿33.611613°N 112.195135°W﻿ / 33.611613; -112.195135
District information
Type| Public
Motto| Every Student, Every Day, Prepared To Shape Tomorrow
Grades| PK–12[1]
Established| 1889; 136 years ago (1889)
Superintendent| Kenneth Christopher Somers [2]
Schools| 44[1]
NCES District ID| 0406250[1]
Students and staff
Students| 35,466 (2023–24)[1]
Teachers| 1,871.48 (FTE)[1]
Student–teacher ratio| 18.95[1]
Other information
Website| www.peoriaunified.org

Peoria Unified School District #11 (PUSD) is a school district headquartered in the District Administration Center (DAC) in Glendale, Arizona.[3][4] It provides both primary and secondary education for most of Peoria, some areas of Glendale and Youngtown, and a small area of Surprise, and numerous unincorporated areas of Maricopa County.[5] The district has 44 schools.[1]

## History

[edit]

Peoria Unified School District #11 began in 1889 in an abandoned grocery store, covering 49 square miles (127 km2).[6] During the first school year, the class size expanded from 5 to 15 students.[7]

The following year the district opened with a class size of three students.[7] Maricopa County was considering merging Peoria District #11 with Washington Elementary School District #6. According to William Bartlett:[7] One day early in July, Mr. Mann, stopped a covered wagon along Grand Avenue; the wagon had several children inside. Mann discovered that the driver had 9 children and was heading to Phoenix or anywhere else that would provide employment, and told the driver "You have got a job right here". Eight of the Bills children enrolled in Peoria School and District 11 survived.[7]

In 1905, the first building was destroyed by fire; a bond election to build a new school passed by only one vote. A controversy arose about how many rooms the new school should have; many residents claimed that Peoria would never need more than two rooms in a school. A $3,200 two-room school was finally built on 83rd Avenue and Madison Street.[7]

In 1942, during World War II and Executive Order 9066, the Peoria Unified board voted to allow Japanese American students who were allowed to stay in their homes and had been driven out of other districts in the area to attend.[6]

In the early 1950s, the school board voted to integrate classes once again when they desegregated their classes and allowed black and white students to attend classes together. That same year, Peoria began an integrated English learning program, where non-English speaking Latino students would attend general classes.[6]

Today, Peoria Unified School District contains 32 elementary schools, seven comprehensive high schools, an online school and a transitional high school. There are about 37,000 students in the district. Over the past twenty years, the district has built at least one school each year because of increased urban sprawl in Glendale and Peoria.[citation needed]

In January 2005, the Marshall Ranch Jazz Band, under the direction of Jill Mahoney, was selected to perform along with Joey Sellers at the International Association for Jazz Education in Long Beach, California.[8]

In May 2007, the PUSD Governing Board voted to close all high school campuses during lunch entirely by taking away parental choice. A number of other metro Phoenix districts have made similar changes recently.[9]

The PUSD Governing Board instituted a closed campus for the 2006-2007 school year. Despite a walkout,[10] continuing rancor and conflict at the board meetings,[citation needed] and a petition signed by over 2600 parents and students,[11] the governing board has stood firm on this, and students are now required to remain on campus during lunch time.[12] Despite the new policy appearing to be a reversal of a policy approved in the 2005-2006 year, which permitted juniors and seniors with C averages to leave with parental permission forms signed,[13] district spokesman Jim Cummings said the new rules do not alter past policy.[11] The closed campus policy has remained in high schools throughout the district in the 2007-2008 year, and is scheduled to continue.

In March 2009, Peoria's Superintendent announced that up to 900 teachers may lose their positions in the district. Only teachers who have worked in the district for at least two years are likely to be affected. In addition, teachers who are eligible for retirement or those who have previously retired and are working under contract may be next on the chopping block. "We are preparing for the worst, but hoping for the very best," said Dr. Denton Santarelli, the Peoria Unified School District superintendent.[14]

## Schools

[edit]

High schools in the Peoria Unified School District  School  | Cactus | Centennial | Ironwood | Liberty | Peoria | Raymond S. Kellis | Sunrise Mountain

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Location  | Glendale | Peoria | Glendale | Peoria | Peoria | Glendale | Peoria
Year opened  | 1977 | 1990 | 1986 | 2006 | 1922 | 2004 | 1996
School colors  | Columbia blue, silver | Red, white, navy blue | Red, gray | Red, black | Green, gold | Vegas gold, navy blue | Purple, white, gold
School mascot  | Cobras | Coyotes | Eagles | Lions | Panthers | Cougars | Mustangs

## List of elementary schools

[edit]

* Alta Loma
* Apache
* Canyon
* Cheyenne
* Copperwood
* Cotton Boll
* Country Meadows
* Coyote Hills
* Desert Harbor
* Desert Palms
* Desert Valley
* Foothills
* Frontier
* Heritage
* Ira A. Murphy
* Kachina
* Lake Pleasant
* Marshall Ranch
* Oakwood
* Oasis
* Parkridge
* Paseo Verde
* Peoria
* Pioneer
* Sahuaro Ranch
* Santa Fe
* Sky View
* Sun Valley
* Sundance
* Sunflower Center
* Sunset Heights
* Vistancia
* Zuni Hills

[15]

## Other schools and assets

[edit]

* Peoria Transition Center Website - Transition Center For Students With Disciplinarian Issues
* KNOW - Cable channel ran by the district in the cities of Glendale and Peoria. It displays classes, interviews, board meetings, and children's programming[16]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Peoria Unified School District (4237)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
2. ^ "Peoria Unified School District welcomed Dr. K.C. Somers". Peoria Unified. April 1, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
3. ^ "District Overview Archived 2012-07-30 at the Wayback Machine." Peoria Unified School District. Retrieved on October 18, 2012. "Address 6330 W. Thunderbird Rd. Glendale, AZ 85306"
4. ^ "DAC and Cholla Maps." (Archive) Peoria Unified School District. Retrieved on October 18, 2012.
5. ^ "Municipalities and Schools within the PUSD." (Archive) Peoria Unified School District. Retrieved on October 18, 2012.
6. ^ a b c Peoria Unified School District, Every Student, Every Day, Prepared to Shape Tomorrow., retrieved August 12, 2023
7. ^ a b c d e "History About Peoria Elementary". Peoria Unified School District #11. November 4, 2003. Archived from the original on October 10, 2006. Retrieved November 14, 2007.
8. ^ "Jazz News: IAJE 2005 Conference Schedule". Archived from the original on March 13, 2006. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
9. ^ Leung, Lily (August 21, 2007). "Buckeye Union freshmen, sophomores adapting to forced stay on campus for lunch". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved November 14, 2007.
10. ^ Moravcik, Meghan (August 7, 2007). "Blanket permission slips won't circumvent policy". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved December 13, 2007.
11. ^ a b Kelly, Charles (November 8, 2007). "School district sticks to closed campus policy". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved November 14, 2007.
12. ^ Section 5.1.3.1 (Release of High School Students During the Lunch Period) of "Governing Board Policy Section 5". October 23, 2007. Archived from the original on October 29, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2007.
13. ^ Moravcik, Meghan E. (May 9, 2007). "Peoria Unified closes high school campuses during lunchtime". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved November 14, 2007.
14. ^ Liu, Cara (March 6, 2009). "Teacher Layoffs Possible in Peoria". KPHO. Archived from the original on June 14, 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
15. ^ "Schools". Peoria Unified School District. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
16. ^ KNOW 99's Website

## External links

[edit]

* Arizona portal
* Schools portal

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Peoria Unified School District #11

High schools|

* Cactus High School
* Centennial High School
* Ironwood High School
* Liberty High School
* Peoria High School
* Sunrise Mountain High School
* Raymond S. Kellis High School

Elementary schools|

* Alta Loma
* Apache
* Canyon
* Cheyenne
* Copperwood
* Cotton Boll
* Country Meadows
* Coyote Hills
* Desert Harbor
* Desert Palms
* Desert Valley
* Foothills
* Frontier
* Heritage
* Ira Murphy
* Kachina
* Lake Pleasant
* Marshall Ranch
* Oakwood
* Oasis
* Parkridge
* Paseo Verde
* Peoria
* Pioneer
* Sahuaro Ranch
* Santa Fe
* Sky View
* Sun Valley
* Sundance
* Sunset Heights
* Vistancia
* Zuni Hills

District website|

* Peoria Unified School District website

* v
* t
* e

Education in Maricopa County, Arizona

School districts|

| K-12|

* Cave Creek
* Chandler
* Deer Valley
* Dysart
* Fountain Hills
* Gila Bend
* Gilbert
* Higley
* Mesa
* Nadaburg
* Paradise Valley
* Peoria
* Queen Creek
* Saddle Mountain
* Scottsdale
* Wickenburg

|

High|

* Agua Fria
* Buckeye
* Glendale
* Phoenix
* template
* Tempe
* Tolleson

Elementary|

* Aguila
* Alhambra
* Arlington
* Avondale
* Balsz
* Buckeye
* Cartwright
* Creighton
* Fowler
* Glendale
* Isaac
* Kyrene
* Laveen
* Liberty
* Litchfield
* Littleton
* Madison
* Mobile
* Morristown
* Murphy
* Osborn
* Palo Verde
* Paloma
* Pendergast
* Phoenix
* Riverside
* Roosevelt
* Sentinel
* Tempe
* Tolleson
* Union
* Washington
* Wilson

State-operated
schools|

* Phoenix Day School for the Deaf

BIE schools|

* Salt River ES

| Closed|

* Phoenix Indian School

|

Charter|

* Arizona School for the Arts
* Girls Leadership Academy of Arizona

| Closed|

* Salt River High School

|

Tertiary|

* Arizona State University
* Maricopa County Community College District
* template

Libraries|

* Phoenix Public Library
* Burton Barr Central Library

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template