Kyrene del Sureño Elementary School will become a traditional academy next year, according to an announcement by district officials. The news came during a board meeting late last month and again at a parent meeting at Sureño on Sept. 7.
Superintendent Dr. David Schauer, joined by Dr. Jim Strogen and Dr. Marianne Lescher, this year’s and next year’s principals respectively, disclosed the plan.
“I am very excited about this great opportunity because it takes a traditional concept and makes it uniquely Kyrene, and continues Kyrene’s aspects,” said Lescher, who has spent 28 years in education.
“The curriculum will stay the same—some of the instruction resources will stay the same, but other components will be added in order to enhance the implementation of a traditional concept.”
Traditional academies offer a more structured curriculum, using direct instruction from teachers, setting high standards for students and requiring parental involvement, according to Lescher.
Strogen will retire after this school year, to be succeeded by Lescher, who is this year’s principal at Kyrene de la Mariposa.
“Kyrene, as you know, is a very tested and very successful school district,” Schauer said. “As we move forward, you’re going to see continued efforts to do things differently because times are different…this is the district’s way of responding to the needs we have.”
According to Dr. Gina Taylor, assistant district superintendent, Sureño’s move to traditional-academy format results from a variety of causes, with hopes of helping to grow the school.
“Sureño has declining enrollment, as do some other Kyrene schools, despite the wonderful principal and excellent teachers,” she said.
“The school is just not as big as we’d like it to be.”
Taylor said the lower enrollment results from various factors, including changes in surrounding neighborhoods and the number of charter and private schools in which parents have the option of enrolling their child.
“One of the things we know about traditional schools that are offered around the east Valley is they have a long waiting list,” Taylor said. “It’s really our preference to grow our schools, not close our schools.”
Lescher added that combining traditional school concepts with successful Kyrene programs will give the school its own distinct place in the area’s educational mix.
“I am very excited about this new opportunity and challenge… (of) making a traditional academy that is uniquely Kyrene,” she said.
“I believe we can create something that is better, and more exciting and more relevant for students, and we’ve seen it in traditional schools in the area.”
Lescher said the school will combine concepts such as targeted instruction in math and heavy focus on mastery and acceleration in reading, blending them with existing Kyrene curriculum.
Teachers will go through a spring or summer training period to become familiar with the new concepts, she said, and others who opt not to teach at the new academy will have the opportunity to move to another Kyrene school.
Along with student acceleration and mastery of concepts, Lescher added that the traditional academy will introduce a uniform policy on attire.
“Students will have prescribed dress codes, and that does not mean uniforms – that can mean something like khaki pants and a colored shirt, so it’s not that everybody looks exactly the same,” she said.
“We know this is something that some parents are looking for.”
In addition, Kyrene administrators envision required parental involvement for Sureño.
Said Lescher:
“We also know that parents are absolutely excited about being involved with their children, and we know that students and schools where parents have a large opportunity to participate do very well.”
“For this, we are considering something like a certain amount of hours that a family or parent might contribute over the course of the year, but that might be a grandma and grandpa or older brother or sister that helps out.”
Lescher noted that the school will try to make it as flexible as possible for families to volunteer, allowing them to contribute from their home or come in on weekends.
“I plan on making it a fabulous school, and I can tell you right now that I usually do not fail,” Lescher said.
“It’s going to be the very best that it can be.”
Schauer also reported to applauding parents that Kyrene was featured on the front page of the previous Sunday’s New York Times.
“While the article probably wasn’t the most positive portrayal of what we do, it certainly wasn’t negative, but raised a lot of questions,” he said.
“The thing I felt was wonderful was that it showed that the Kyrene School District is a nationally prominent district that people should be paying attention to—and believe me, people are.”
