The forms are available on the district’s Web site, www.dysart.org.
April 15 is the deadline to apply.
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Archive for the 'Dysart School District' Category
02/26/2008 11:01:16 AM
Dysart will limit open-enrollment sign-up to online
Sherry Anne Rubiano
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 26, 2008 07:41 AM
Open-enrollment applications for the Dysart Unified School District will be accepted online only this year.
Scott Thompson, Dysart’s executive director of business services, said the district moved the process online to provide better communication and for convenience.
Open enrollment is available to Arizona students who wish to attend the public school of their choice, even if it is outside their normal attendance boundaries. Parents who want their students to attend a school outside of their boundaries can apply through this process.
Applications are approved on a year-by-year basis. Most Dysart campuses will have space for open-enrollment students, but some schools will have closed enrollment because of growing student populations, according to the Web site.
Priority status is given to siblings of students attending specialized Dysart programs, students who were granted open enrollment the previous year, and their siblings.
The district does not provide transportation to students attending a school outside their normal attendance area.
Unorganized-territory enrollment applications also will be accepted online-only starting this year. These applications apply to residents living in territories that are not part of the school district. These areas include the Sun Cities, Youngtown, and areas north of Jomax Road and east of 163rd Avenue. Limited transportation may be provided to these students.
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02/19/2008 12:44:16 PM
Dysart toots its horn over students in All-State Band
Feb. 18, 2008 07:44 AM
Dysart Unified School District
Congratulations to all Dysart students who have been chosen to participate in the 2008 Arizona All-State Band Festival. These sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students were nominated based on their talent, work ethic and positive attitudes in band classes. They will be performing challenging musical selections along with other outstanding students at Higley High School in Gilbert on March 15. They are:
• Ashton Ranch Elementary School: Melissa Martinez, Miranda Moore, Logan Woollen, Alaina Clifford and Kelechi Ejim.
• Canyon Ridge School: Brandon Himes, Derek Lowe and Alvin Thai.
• Cimarron Springs Elementary School: Christopher Bagley and Kristin Day.
• Countryside Elementary School: Alyssa Kelley and Micaella Flores.
• El Mirage Elementary School: Samantha Chase and Francisco Brito.
• Kingswood Elementary School: George Alessi and Alexiss Mailloux.
• Mountain View School: Jake Jenson.
• Parkview Elementary School: Gabriel Amato, Angela Osborn, Felicia Cain and Rachel Bieschke.
• Rancho Gabriela Elementary School: Renee Kanuri, Madison Fleming, Anjelica Dichitang, Andrew Wagner and Cheyenne Pruett.
• Sonoran Heights Elementary School: Taylor Napodano, Isaiah Maderas, Isaiah Garrett and Abby Gladnick.
• Sunset Hills Elementary School: Ariana Johnson, Martha Cheff and Angelica Santella.
• Thompson Ranch Elementary School: Emily Anderson, Robyn Finley, Christian Soto and Priscilla Molina.
• West Point Elementary School: Tayler Fish, Kirtis Mabe, Samantha Topham, Alyssa Madrid and Erik Jensen.
• Western Peaks Elementary School: Michelle Morales, Garrett Rollins and Katya Penrose.
Congratulations to the students from Cimarron Springs who were selected to participate in the Arizona All-State Choir Festival March 22 at Higley High School. Music teacher Danae Marinelle will accompany Madison Wilkins, Nathan LeNguyen, Chelsea Fleming, Taylor Davenport, Dalton Gibbons, Jim Dingman, Alexia Bivens, Bree Moffitt, Mariah Easley and Christian Tanious.
The Sun City West Rotary Club recently distributed 1,264 dictionaries to third-graders across the district, a donation they have made for the past few years. The dictionaries contain sections on weights and measures, the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution, maps and more.
02/19/2008 12:22:54 PM
Dysart district adopts new school boundaries
Sherry Anne Rubiano
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 14, 2008 04:04 PM
Dysart Unified School District has officially adopted new elementary school boundaries for next school year.
The district’s governing board on Wednesday unanimously approved the 2008-09 boundaries map, which affects 2,941 students, or 16.1 percent of the K-8 student body. Parents can view the final map online at www.dysart.org/boundaries.
Though the plan meets several of the district’s goals, such as reducing student counts and creating community schools, not everyone was pleased.
A few parents spoke out against the boundary changes during the Wednesday night meeting.
Some suggested revisiting one of the original proposals so their children could remain at their current schools and maintain stability. Other parents said they did not want to see their children change schools next year, only to have them move again to another school in the next few years.
Board member Christine Pritchard said she received numerous e-mails and spoke with parents from the Orchards community who were upset their children would not be able to attend nearby Parkview Elementary. She said she did not want to see communities split up.
However, district officials said it was the best plan under the district’s current circumstances.
Continued population growth triggered the need to build new elementary schools. The unexpected approval of a K-8 school at the Las Brisas site in El Mirage also caused several ripple effects that affected more school boundaries than was originally planned.
Superintendent Gail Pletnick said there is no perfect answer to school boundaries.
“What our community and we would want is that we never have to move any of our children, we’re able to keep all of our schools at that optimal number, and we don’t have to use buses,” Pletnick said. “Unfortunately, that is impossible for us as a district.”
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12/16/2007 5:17:55 PM
Dysart to revisit K-8 uniforms
Sherry Anne Rubiano
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 15, 2007 07:49 AM
Dysart Unified School District plans to revisit bringing back mandatory K-8 school uniforms.
The governing board unanimously decided Wednesday to include a discussion on uniforms in its strategic planning process. This includes sending out a survey to parents and teachers for their input on school uniforms.
Board President Charles Otterman added an amendment that the survey needs to be both valid and reliable, and that it would gather data to drive school-improvement planning.
The uniform issue has been debated since the district eliminated mandatory uniforms at the beginning of the school year.
The district was criticized by parents when it made the change a few days after school started.
In September, a proposal to form a committee to study uniforms was shot down 3-2. Dissenting board members said they would rather have the issue included in the strategic planning process rather than be taken up by an independent committee.
Board member Bill Lipscomb brought up the issue again at Wednesday’s board meeting.
“My real concern is that we said we would take action on this, and I believe it’s incumbent upon us that we do what we said we would do,” Lipscomb said.
Board member Christine Pritchard agreed.
“For me, I think the bottom line is, we said we were going to put this back out to the community, and it’s very important . . . that we definitely do that.”
Lipscomb emphasized that he wants to ensure the survey is sent to all stakeholders, including parents and teachers, and that it is widely publicized so the district will receive a large response.
He also suggested the district take action and inform parents as soon as possible once the issue is resolved through the strategic planning process.
“I don’t want this subject matter to get lost in the shuffle,” he said.
Superintendent Gail Pletnick said all the data will be used in the strategic planning process to identify objectives, and then action plans will be built to reach those objectives.
No timeframe was given for a final decision on uniforms to be made.
11/15/2007 2:18:12 PM
Dysart school boundaries to be reviewed
The Dysart Unified School District is forming a committee to review boundaries for the 2008-09 school year.
Parents and community members are invited to participate in the process by attending the first meeting Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the governing boardroom at the Dysart Education Center, 15802 N. Parkview Place, just west of Surprise Stadium.
As a result of Dysart’s continued rapid growth, two new elementary schools are scheduled to open next school year, which will result in boundary changes. Elementary No. 19 will serve students living in the northernmost parts of the district. Elementary No. 20 will be built for students from El Mirage.
The boundary committee will be tasked with researching boundary issues and making recommendations to the governing board. Two more meetings are scheduled Nov. 15 and Nov. 29. All meetings are open to the public. Call 623-876-7018 for more information.
Box Tops to aid school
Parkview Elementary School has launched its 2007-08 Box Tops for Education fundraising campaign. This year the school has set a goal of earning $5,000 through Box Tops to purchase incentives for school and its store.
Box Tops for Education is a school fundraising program started by General Mills in 1996. To date, Box Tops has helped America’s schools raise over $200 million to buy the things they need but cannot always afford such as library books, school supplies and playground equipment.
Collect Box Tops from hundreds of familiar, participating products and send them to Parkview Elementary School, “Attention Rebecca Lopez - Box Tops Coordinator” at 16066 N. Parkview Place, Surprise, AZ 85374.
Residents may also sign up on the Box Tops Web site at www.boxtops4education.com, and designate Parkview Elementary as the school they wish to support.
Learner Initiative is topic
Community members are invited to attend a public forum to discuss Dysart Unified School District’s New Century Learner Initiative.
The forum is scheduled for 7-8:30 p.m. Nov. 5 at the Dysart Education Center, 15802 N. Parkview Place, Surprise. The forum is an opportunity for residents to learn more about the initiative, provide input and discuss other topics of community interest.
11/15/2007 2:04:48 PM
Willow Canyon has high hopes across the board
Mark Brown
Special for The Republic
Nov. 9, 2007 08:13 AM
With improvements in each of its previous three seasons, Willow Canyon High School’s boys basketball team is prepared to take a major leap.
That would mean moving deeper into the state tournament. The Wildcats are poised to do just that.
Last season, they reached the state quarterfinals with a mark of 26-5. This year, sights are set higher and coach Bob Bohon says his team has the tools to meet this preseason expectation.
”Our goal is to get better each year,” Bohon said. “We will not be the biggest team, so we’ll push the ball up the court and play tough defense.”
If the Wildcats can limit opponents and maintain last season’s scoring touch, a trip deep into the tourney may be realistic. Last year, the Wildcats averaged 82 points, and scored more than 100 six times.
Back for Willow Canyon is 6-3 senior Mike Planeta, who averaged 17 points. He earned first-team All-Region, and honorable mention All-State. Planeta is joined by Dion Williams, a 5-11 guard (7 ppg, 4 assists), 6-5 junior and small forward Justin Chambers, and 6-4 senior forward C. J. Crockom.
Girls hoops has new coach
For the girls basketball team, coach Missy Portela points out that her Wildcats are looking to make a statement. Willow Canyon’s first-year coach came from Boulder Creek. She admits the season will be a learning experience. Last year, the Wildcats finished 16-14.
Players slated to make contributions include 6-2 senior Ashley Brown, along with Kelsey Anderson, Michelle Ciaffone, Letrol Juniel, and Claire Planeta.
Soccer seeks success anew
Last season, Willow Canyon’s girls soccer team went 9-7, 4-1 in league play, and qualified for state finals as the 16th seed.
“We lost a few key players last season, but are gaining a lot of new and young talent,” said coach Kendra Clark. “Moving up to 5AII is going to be a challenge, but it is one I feel my team is up for. This should be an exciting new season.”
Returning Wildcats include Mariah Graham and Tawnya Howard, both junior forwards; senior Sami Palmer and juniors Morgan Gartrell, Rachele Valdez and Courtney Hoogervorst as midfielders; and junior Brittany Marks and seniors Shana Shamoon and Susanna Shamoon as defensemen. Goalie/forward Jadalynn Cirilo, a junior, and senior Molly Zahn are expected to handle the nets.
Boys soccer to be high-energy
Coach Dave Wilson likes European-style soccer: attacking, attacking and attacking some more.
“I like an aggressive, aggressive style,” Wilson said. “We want to force teams to make plays to beat us. It’s like an NBA fast-break style, and we want to constantly move the ball upfield.”
The team’s attack starts with senior midfielder Radaslaw Wendvich, a native of Poland. He is considered the team’s best passer and ball handler, and a clear threat to score. Wendvich is joined by senior defender Hugo Delgado, considered the core of the defense. Watch for sophomore midfielder Dave Cluff, whom Wilson considers a skilled player.
Wrestling faces challenges
One of the biggest challenges for coaches and athletes is Willow Canyon’s jump to class 5AII. Here, wrestling coach Shawn Isler is looking for ways to better a 6-16 season a year ago while going against stronger and more competitive athletes.
“Hard work, dedication and intensity are the three areas important to us,” Isler said.
Key returnees include junior Chris Humber at 189 pounds, senior Derrick Wade at 135, senior Nate Peterson at 119, senior A. J. Henley at 145, and Joey Cota at 171.
Reach Mark Brown, a Surprise writer, at beachcomer20032001@yahoo.com
11/05/2007 1:18:10 PM
Dad wants skeet-shooting daughter cleared
Erin Zlomek
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 5, 2007 08:37 AM
The father of an accomplished Willow Canyon High School skeet shooter has filed a formal complaint with the Dysart Unified School District regarding his daughter’s suspension for mistakenly leaving shotgun shells in her car.
The complaint could be heard and decided at the district board level.
Kim Peters, a competitive shooter who attended a Junior Olympic camp for her sport, was suspended for four days after a school security guard found two boxes of shotgun shells in the back seat of her vehicle. There was no gun.
Kim’s father, Tony Peters, said he proved that his daughter regularly uses the shells for sport and never intended to hurt anyone. He said that he does not want the school’s charge, possession of a “dangerous instrument,” to mar his daughter’s permanent record as she applies to colleges.
The elder Peters appealed the disciplinary action and asked that the charge be removed from his daughter’s permanent record.
As grounds for his argument, he cites a 2007 federal education statute that excludes shotguns and shotgun shells from being categorized as a “destructive device,” as they are primarily used for sport.
Despite that statute, districts are free to take disciplinary actions when and where they see fit, according to the Arizona Department of Education.
Peters’ appeal was rejected by Willow Canyon principal Anthony Capuano and dean of students Rick Haney last week.
Now, a complaint has been filed against the two school officials.
The complaint states in part, “I found the administration’s logic, to lack logic.”
Noting that Kim has served her suspension, her father again requested in his new complaint that the charge be removed from her permanent record, as it unfairly implies that she brought a gun or bomb onto school grounds.
The complaint would likely be decided on by Dysart Superintendent Gail Pletnick, according to district policy.
If deemed necessary, the district board would be called on to make a decision within 10 days of Pletnick’s review.
Kim called her own actions “careless.”
She said her 12-hours-a-week practice schedule got so hectic that she forgot to remove the ammunition from her vehicle, and she failed to notice it as she was running late for school Tuesday morning.
11/01/2007 10:40:24 AM
Dysart posts information online
Surprise Today
October 25, 2007 - 8:18AM
The Dysart Unified School District is making it easy to see how it is spending money it receives from school bonds.
The information is available online on the district’s Web site at http://www.dysart.org/bond/index.html.
Scott Thompson, director of business and technology services, gave the annual report of the district’s bond spending at Wednesday’s governing board meeting.
The site features information on current and completed projects, along with the history of district tax rates.
Among the active projects is rebuilding Luke Elementary at a cost of $14,800,000 and the replacement of playground of equipment and addition of shade structures over new equipment at a cost of $1,400,000.
Board member Mike Planeta praised the efforts that went into getting the information available to the public on the Web site.
“It’s important to have this information out to the public,” Planeta said. “We can show the need to the public of why we need these bonds.”
“But I had no idea playground equipment is that expensive,” Planeta said.
Thompson said that all of the elementary schools have playground equipment for both kindergartners and intermediate-aged students.
“It is not cheap,” Thompson said. “And we do buy appropriate, long-lasting equipment.”
Board member Bill Lipscomb said he was pleased with the availability of the information for district members.
“It’s outstanding that it’s on the Web,” Lipscomb said. “It maintains trust.”
10/30/2007 9:45:43 AM
WestValley Editorials Blog, Education, not recall, should be focus of Dysart Unified parents
It’s long been the stance of The Arizona Republic that recalls are not the way to go. The time to remove unresponsive elective officials is when they face the public at a regularly scheduled election; not at a costly and time-consuming special election.
Two fathers, Marcus White and David Sobelman, are seeking the recall of three members of the Dysart Unified School District’s governing board because they believe the board members have gone haywire and are ignoring the will of parents. The campaign is against board President Charles Otterman; his wife and board clerk, Bridget Pauletich-Otterman; and a board member Christine Pritchard.
On the surface, their efforts may seem justified. But they ought to take a different approach.
Central to the parents’ case is the board’s absurd decision to do away with uniforms several days into the school year after parents had already shelled out money for school wardrobes. That decision continues to befuddle.
One has to wonder what were the underlying motivations for the abrupt change. It started with Otterman - whom Superintendent Gail Pletnick says instructed her to review the uniform policy - yet public input was never allowed.
Then there are the dubious circumstances surrounding the hiring of Pletnick, allegations that community input was shut out and better-qualified candidates were turned away.
The White and Sobelman case is meticulously documented, and backed up with audio recordings of the meetings, at saveourdysart.com. It’s a shame that events in Dysart have sparked a recall, although it should not come as a total surprise.
Not long ago, two board members resigned because of what they called “intolerable” or “uncomfortable” conditions, at best. One rescinded his resignation and rejoined the board.
Community members have valid concerns, particularly if their elected officials are too wrapped up in playing politics that they aren’t giving full consideration to the community’s voice.
A recall election would be an unnecessary distraction and expense, which this fast-growing district can’t afford.
There are visible signs of progress on the educational front: Four of the district’s 19 schools recently earned “highly performing” status, new ground for Dysart. Nine others received a “performing plus” rating, four a “performing” label and two fell short, being dubbed as “underperforming.”
The focus should be on giving students the best educational experience and making sure they can compete in tomorrow’s world.
For the record, Otterman and his wife are up for re-election in November 2008. Pritchard’s term expires December 2010.
If the Dysart community is so unhappy with the board’s direction, it should drum up support for candidates who would heed public voices.
10/30/2007 7:40:32 AM
Dysart school boundaries to be reviewed
Dysart reviews boundaries
The Dysart Unified School District is forming a committee to review boundaries for the 2008-09 school year.
Parents and community members are invited to participate in the process by attending the first meeting Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the governing boardroom at the Dysart Education Center, 15802 N. Parkview Place, just west of Surprise Stadium.
As a result of Dysart’s continued rapid growth, two new elementary schools are scheduled to open next school year, which will result in boundary changes. Elementary No. 19 will serve students living in the northernmost parts of the district. Elementary No. 20 will be built for students from El Mirage.
The boundary committee will be tasked with researching boundary issues and making recommendations to the governing board. Two more meetings are scheduled Nov. 15 and Nov. 29. All meetings are open to the public. Call 623-876-7018 for more information.
Box Tops to aid school
Parkview Elementary School has launched its 2007-08 Box Tops for Education fundraising campaign. This year the school has set a goal of earning $5,000 through Box Tops to purchase incentives for school and its store.
Box Tops for Education is a school fundraising program started by General Mills in 1996. To date, Box Tops has helped America’s schools raise over $200 million to buy the things they need but cannot always afford such as library books, school supplies and playground equipment.
Collect Box Tops from hundreds of familiar, participating products and send them to Parkview Elementary School, “Attention Rebecca Lopez - Box Tops Coordinator” at 16066 N. Parkview Place, Surprise, AZ 85374.
Residents may also sign up on the Box Tops Web site at www.boxtops4education.com, and designate Parkview Elementary as the school they wish to support.
Learner Initiative is topic
Community members are invited to attend a public forum to discuss Dysart Unified School District’s New Century Learner Initiative.
The forum is scheduled for 7-8:30 p.m. Nov. 5 at the Dysart Education Center, 15802 N. Parkview Place, Surprise. The forum is an opportunity for residents to learn more about the initiative, provide input and discuss other topics of community interest.
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