The Tucson Unified School District plans to pump $100,000 into Ochoa Elementary School in hopes of revitalizing a program that at one time boosted academic achievement and attracted students from across the city.
The investment, approved by the Governing Board on Tuesday night, comes as the school is facing the possibility of losing its magnet school status โ and the extra money that comes with it โ to support the specialized programming.
The school, at 101 W. 25th St. in South Tucson, has its funds on the chopping block because it has failed to meet racial integration goals established under a federal desegregation order. The money will be used to train Ochoa teachers on the Reggio Emilia approach, which focuses on embracing studentsโ interest through exploratory learning.
Specifically it will pay for the re-establishment of what Ochoa calls studios โ learning spaces with specific themes that students from all grade levels visit on a weekly basis to expand on their interests and understand how they tie into concepts like math, science, technology, literature and music.
Three consultants will be employed as studio teachers in the rhythm and beats studio, cyberstudio and community studio, where they will work alongside classroom teachers.
They will also provide training on the Reggio Emilia approach, including classroom design, curriculum development and project development, among other areas.
Though the Governing Board approved a one-year contract for services that will end June 30, the contract states there is a possibility of four annual renewals through June 2020 at a total cost of $660,000.
The contract was awarded to Tucson Childrenโs Project โ the only vendor that responded to the solicitation. The nonprofit works to advance the study of the Reggio Emilia approach to Southern Arizonaโs communities, educators and policymakers.
Its president is a former Ochoa studio teacher who retired in May 2013 and its treasurer was the schoolโs magnet coordinator until July 2014. Two of its volunteer board members are current TUSD employees, although the organization says they have nothing to do with the Ochoa contract.
Asked by the Governing Board whether Tucson Childrenโs Project had provided similar services to TUSD in the past, district administration responded that it had not. Also, there was no mention of the Ochoa connections identified by the Arizona Daily Star.
TUSDโs director of purchasing, Kevin Startt, said the district was aware that Tucson Childrenโs Project is headed by a former TUSD employee but said there are no rules against doing business in that situation.
TUSD was unaware that two current TUSD employees serve on TCPโs board, which could be considered a conflict of interest, Startt said.
Though the Governing Board approved the contract, Startt said it has not been finalized, and the district is reviewing procurement rules and statutes to determine whether there is a conflict of interest.
goals to be met
Ochoa students have not had access to studios within the last year as key staff workers have moved on to other positions or left the district entirely.
At Ochoaโs peak, there were five studios open, during which time the school went from receiving a grade of D for two years in a row to being labeled a B-minus school.
Jeannette Gabaldon, Ochoaโs magnet program coordinator, is confident that the return of the studios will help the school continue on a positive path academically and will be the catalyst for becoming more racially integrated.
โI am hoping once the studios are up and running, integration will fall in line as well,โ she said. โI will have the ability to go out to preschools and out into the community and showcase the school, have people do walk-throughs, and help them understand what Ochoa is about and how it can extend a studentโs learning.โ
Whether Ochoa will be given the time to make that push is up in the air.
Under the desegregation order, all TUSD magnet schools are expected to meet integration goals, which prohibit a single ethnic group from making up more than 70 percent of a schoolโs population, by next school year.
For now, the campuses were asked to set goals that would show they are on their way to that 70 percent mark โ goals Ochoa and four other TUSD schools failed to meet.
A magnet school plan filed for Ochoa in July showed that by the 40th day of the year, there would be no more than 80.8 percent Hispanic kindergartners and first-graders, no less than 4.5 percent white students and the nonexistent African-American population would remain the same.
As of day 39 โ the latest data available for the kindergarten and first-grade populations โ Hispanics made up 91 percent, Anglo students made up almost 4.5 percent, and there continued to be no African-American students.
Though Ochoaโs future as a magnet school remains unclear, TUSD Superintendent H.T. Sanchez said the investment is worthwhile and was budgeted months before the possibility of losing its status was raised.
Should the federal court overseeing the districtโs desegregation case revoke Ochoaโs magnet label, TUSD would fight to retain the funding needed to support the consultant services for five years, Sanchez said.
โOn the districtโs part, we would recommend no less than what is needed to fulfill the contract and to fulfill the expectations of the parents who enrolled at Ochoa for this program,โ Sanchez said.
TUSD Governing Board member Mark Stegeman voted against awarding the contract, saying that while he supports Ochoa as a magnet school, he feels the district spends too much on consultants. Michael Hicks also cast a โnoโ vote.
โThatโs money that canโt be spent directly on teachers or in other ways,โ Stegeman said.
