Gilbert Public Schools

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Gilbert Public Schools (GPS), previously known as Gilbert Unified School District #41 (GUSD), is a school district based in Gilbert, Arizona, United States. GPS covers most of Gilbert and parts of Mesa and Chandler.

Schools

Schools in the district include: twenty-seven elementary schools which accommodate grades kindergarten through sixth; six junior high schools (seventh and eighth grades) and five high schools (ninth to twelfth).[1]

High schools

Name Campo Verde Desert Ridge Gilbert Highland Mesquite
Location Gilbert Mesa Gilbert Gilbert Gilbert
Opened 2009 2002 1918,
1987 (current building) 		1993 1998
Colors Dark green,
copper 		Cardinal red,
black 		Black,
gold 		Teal,
black 		Royal blue,
silver
Mascot Coyote Jaguar Tiger Hawk Wildcat
Principal Jared Ryan Dan Coombs Chris Stroud Domonic Salce Ken Fetter
Athletic
conference[2]		 4A 5A 5A 5A 5A
Enrollment
(2013-2-25)[3]		 1971 2606 2526 2991 1957
Website(s) Official Official Official Official Official

Junior high schools

Name Desert Ridge Gilbert Greenfield Highland Mesquite South Valley
Location Mesa Gilbert Gilbert Mesa Gilbert Gilbert
Colors Purple,
teal,
black 		Black,
gold 		Green,
gold 		Maroon,
gold,
blue 		Blue,
silver 		Red,
white,
black
Mascot Rattler Tiger Grizzly Hurricane Mustang Sabercat
Principal Jean Woods Kevin Rainey Brian Yee Marcie Taylor Ron Izzett Brian Jaeger
Feeder
for (HS)		 Desert Ridge Gilbert,
Mesquite,
Highland 		Gilbert,
Highland 		Highland,
Desert Ridge 		Mesquite,
Gilbert 		Campo Verde,
Mesquite
Enrollment
(2013-2-25)[3]		 1329 626 969 1289 786 1248
Website(s) Official Official Official Official Official Official

Award Schools

Playa del Rey opened in 1994. April 2011 was the second time the school has received the A+ 'School of Excellence' award. The Principal Robyn Conrad was named Arizona's principal of the year in October 2010.[4]

Neely Traditional Academy is an elementary school in Gilbert, Arizona, United States. The school was opened in 1981, and became a traditional academy in 1999. Neely received the National Blue Ribbon School award in 2009.[5][6]

Academies and alternative education

  • Canyon Valley School (Grades 7-12)
  • Distance Learning Online (Grades 7-12) — Gilbert Public Schools offers its own online schooling program through its Distance Learning Center. Classes range from History to Physical Education. Gilbert accepts credits earned from major online schools, such as Primavera.[7]
  • Gilbert Classical Academy (Grades 7-12) — opened August 2007; replaced the Tech & Leadership Academy
  • Neely Traditional Academy (Grades K-6) — also known as Neely Elementary

Controversies and Challenges

Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board faces numerous challenges from a public charging the board is divided ideologically.[8]

Residents asked board member Helen Hollands to step down after she took a position with the adjacent Mesa Public Schools district as director of communications and marketing, claiming this paid position was an irreconcilable conflict with her fiduciary duty as a board member of Gilbert Public Schools.[9]

The school district also struggles with complying with open meeting laws. Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board established a procedure in September for placing topics on future meeting agendas without violating the Open Meeting Law, ending months of discussion, accusations and complaints about the board.[10]

In a similar controversy over the Arizona Open Meeting law, the President of the Governing Board, E.J. Anderson, following the advice of Superintendent Dave Allison and Assistant Superintendent Clyde Dangerfield, Esq., signed and submitted a "Maintenance and Operation Budget Override Pro Statement" to the state elections board without the knowledge or votes of other members of the board. "Board member Staci Burk argued that this should have been a board decision made in a public meeting, and filed an open-meeting law complaint Monday to the Attorney General's Office..." As a result, the agenda was amended and the statement's approval was added to the board agenda. After the agenda was amended, Burk withdrew her complaint.[11]

Enforcing new anti-bullying laws provoked controversy. Parents of a child reported for bullying filed a complaint against the teacher who made the report. That National Board Certified Teacher, who also reported racial discrimination at Meridian Elementary School, was been placed on administrative leave pending a public hearing on 20 charges against her. After almost six months, the Governing Board voted unanimously to withdraw all charges and reimbursed $12,000 that the teacher had incurred for legal fees while charges were pending. The teacher retains all of her legal claims against Gilbert Public Schools and she received a positive letter of recommendation from the Associate Superintendent for Human Resources.[12]

Most recently, a principal at Highland Junior High School was investigated after 11 anonymous complaints were filed against him.[13] The investigator concluded that sexual misconduct allegations against Highland Junior High School Principal Brian Yee were "inconclusive." At least five teachers at Highland Junior High School were reported to have resigned following the release of the investigation report.[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "School Listing / GPS Schools". Gilbertschools.net. Retrieved 2011-10-19. 
  2. ↑ 2011‐2012 2012‐2013 Conference Placement, Arizona Interscholastic Association, 2010-10-1
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://gilbertschools.net/Page/129
  4. ↑ Hayley Ringle (16 April 2011). "Higley celebrates district's first A+ school award". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 6 June 2011. 
  5. ↑ Saunders, Diane (11 October 2009). "Jack Daley School named national Blue Ribbon School". Eastern Arizona Courier. Retrieved 5 February 2010. 
  6. ↑ Gersema, Emily (6 November 2009). "Traditional school a big hit in Gilbert". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 5 February 2010. 
  7. ↑ "Primavera Online High School". Primaveratech.org. Retrieved 2011-10-19. 
  8. ↑ Hayley Ringle (7 February 2012). "Gilbert Public Schools Board Divided Some in Survey Suspect". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 16 February 2012. 
  9. ↑ Hayley Ringle (11 January 2012). "Gilbert School Board Changes Meeting Dates for Member". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 12 January 2012. 
  10. ↑ Hayley Ringle (11 January 2012). "Gilbert's top stories of 2011: big changes, controversies". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 12 February 2012. 
  11. ↑ Hayley Ringle (8 August 2012). "Gilbert governing board OKs voter-pamphlet statement after complaint". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 13 August 2012. 
  12. ↑ Hayley Ringle (8 June 2012). "Gilbert teacher loses job in settlement". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 22 June 2012. 
  13. ↑ Hayley Ringle (23 February 2012). "Gilbert school principal focus of investigation". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 23 February 2012. 
  14. ↑ Hayley Ringle (31 May 2012). "Investigator: No evidence of sexual misconduct involving Highland Junior High principal". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 22 June 2012. 

External links

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