TOLLESON, AZ — University High School in the Tolleson Union High School District is receiving national recognition for its high test scores and academic rigor.
The U.S. News and World Report ranked University High 27th nationally and 5th for all of Arizona high schools. The schools are ranked on their performance on state-required tests, graduation, and how well they prepare students for college.
“When we’re investing in our students' future, we want to send them off to college and feel good that they are going to be successful, that they are prepared academically, socially, and that we know they’re going to do well,” said Vickie Landis, the principal of the high school.
University High has about 400 students. The school is located on the Tolleson Union High School campus, which has about 2,000 students.
“They have this unique experience where they are a part of a small learning community but also part of a 6A high school experience. They get the best of both worlds,” Landis said.
Students attending the school go through a bit more rigorous coursework than others their age. Landis said the students are all either taking pre-advanced placement or advanced placement coursework.
“University High School has a 95% persistence rate. What that means is when our students go to their freshman year in college, about 95% of them return their sophomore year,” she said.
All the work landed them on high ranks nationally, despite the odds that they’re a Title 1 school. A Title 1 School usually has at least 40% of students come from low-income families.
“There is a lot of poverty within our district. Our district does have below average household income levels, but our students are just as capable as students anywhere across the state, if not, more so because we know our students are resilient,” said Jeremy Calles, the superintendent of the Tolleson Union High School District.
The high school also maintained its ‘A’ letter grade given by the state from last school year to this school year. The district’s other schools have ‘B’ letter grades, which one school, Sierra Linda High, went from a ‘C’ to a ‘B’ in the past year.
While Superintendent Calles is happy about the high ranks, they still have more work to do.
“We're expecting, over the next three to five years, we're going to start to transition all our schools into As and the goal is that all the schools within the district will be at an A,” he said, adding that they’ll be working with several organizations to continue implementing new curriculum and providing more professional development for staff to help students continue to be better.
