White Supremacy hits Tucson High School
Read the first article here.
Specific Help Wanted
The Tucson High principal search gets a do-over—and some insiders don’t buy the district’s explanationTucson High Magnet School is the largest high school in the Tucson Unified School District—so why is the administration watering down the criteria in the search for the school’s next principal?
At the TUSD board meeting on May 8, Tucson High staffer Margaret Chaney asked governing-board members that very question during the call to the audience. Chaney said she and other staff members had recently received an email stating that the search process—which had already gone through the typical channels—was going to start all over again.
“‘Since the applicants were not what we were looking for, we will actually lessen or decrease the necessary qualifications for the position for heading the largest high school in the district,’” Chaney said, reading from that district email. “… I’m wondering what possible purpose this can have on my co-workers and my students when we are constantly hearing we must raise standards and raise expectations. How does any leader who does not meet the minimal standards take us to the next level? If local applicants did not suffice, please explain what efforts were made nationally to find someone to fill the void left behind by the honorable Dr. Morado.”
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Some sources say that a mistake was not made in the posting during the first search. Instead, the administration wanted a specific person for the job—but that person didn’t have the three years of experience as a principal or assistant principal. That person, I was told, was Dean Packard, who has been a Tucson High assistant principal for two years.
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The above article is a few weeks old, but as far as I can tell, nothing has changed. The article posted below is a little more recent, and a lot more blunt. It also explains the background in more detail. I recommend reading the whole thing, here.
Sheriff Arpaio and John Pedicone, both under Civil Rights investigations in Arizona.
White Supremacy hits Tucson High School, will begin school year without principal
Many Democrats seem to be afraid to use the R-word when describing what is happening in Arizona.
They prefer to call racists in our government ‘extremists’ or use other terms to avoid being direct. SB1070 was not racist but rather bad Republican legislation by that rascally Russell Pearce. Sheriff Arpaio is not racist, he just abuses his power, etc
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Right now Tucson HS needs a principal after the previous one, Dr. Abel Morado, was promoted to assistant superintendent.
After the applications were submitted, there was a very qualified candidate for the position, a former Badger himself with principal experience at Cholla HS.
He had only one fault, and that is that he was Latino.
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First Tucson HS had applicants in the first round that required principal experience. There was a very qualified Latino principal that was perfect for the job.
But Pedicone wanted Dean Packard, co-founder of Ben’s Bells.
So he calls a current TUSD principal who should be the next Tucson HS principal not acceptable. He did not call him ‘not qualified’ mind you, but ‘not acceptable.’
He lowers the standards for the person who will run Tucson’s largest high school.
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For more background on issues of segregation and desegregation in the Tucson Unified School district, The Real News Network has an excellent video with a transcript at this link.
(De)segregation and the Mexican American Studies Ban in Tucson, Arizona
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All too often you hear ‘oh the millennials are post racial’ it’s really difficult for students in Tucson to reconcile this nonsensical notion of a post-racial society with the very overt notion of racial politics happening in this state, it’s not even covert, it’s right there in your face, all the time.
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