Nov 16 - Dec 6, 2019 | www.santansun.com
Relentlessly local coverage of Southern Chandler and our neighboring communities
Most Chandler schools get high grades BY KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer
A handful of schools in the Chandler Unified School District dropped a letter grade this year, while a majority maintained grades from previous years. The Arizona Department of Education recently released its annual report cards; it grades schools based on academic performance, growth and readiness. Most of Chandler Unified’s 46 schools received either “A” or “B” grades – signaling a high level of performance – and none were graded as “D” or “F” schools. Bologna Elementary, Anderson Elementary, Sanborn Elementary, Willis
Junior High and Frye Elementary were graded as “C” schools, indicating an adequate level of performance. About half of the district’s schools maintained last year's grade. Basha Elementary, Tarwater Elementary, Fulton Elementary, Payne Junior High, Naverrete Elementary and Carlson Elementary all dropped from “A” to “B” grades. Terry Locke, spokesman for Chandler Unified, said these dips are bound to happen due to how Arizona grades schools. “The thing about school grades is they're really prone to variation from year to year,” he said. He highlighted how a large portion of the state’s grading formula for K-8
schools is based on academic growth over the previous year – meaning excelling schools have to sustain its performance on assessments, if it wants to keep its letter grade. “When you’ve had a really good year,” Locke said, “it can be difficult to maintain that growth the following year.” For example, Basha Elementary lost four points in the formula’s “growth” category, which was enough to drop it down a full letter grade. Federal law obligates Arizona to regularly assess school performance and the state decided to use a range of qualitative measures, including graduation rates and English proficiency. Some CUSD schools continue to
improve upon the initial 2016 grades; the year Arizona began factoring in AzMERIT scores into how the state measures school performance. Both San Marcos and Galveston Elementary schools raised grades from a “D” to a “B” over the course of the last three years. Galveston Principal Annette Addair credited this growth to her school’s focus on data-driven instructional decisions. In the four years she’s been at Galveston, the principal said her staff examines data closely and collaborates with each other to track student performance. See
GRADES on page 8
Chandler woman revving up Bondurant race school BY PAUL MARYNIAK Executive Editor
Franki Buckman has taken charge of one of the nation’s foremost performance driving schools with the energy of the 717-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcats in her stable of racing machines. Only two months in her new job as CEO and general manager of the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, the Chandler mother of three is breathing new life into a 52-year-old internationally renowned institution that nearly crashed and burned in federal bankruptcy court just a year ago, grappling with over $3.5 million in debts. Hired last month into a position occupied since May by one of the See
BONDURANT on page 12
Roping them in Franki Buckman of Chandler is adding new life to the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Chandler. (Special to SanTan Sun News)
Giles Johnson, 7, picks up some tips on roping tips during last weekend's 10th annual Chandler Chuck Wagon Cookoff from Steve Cassat. For more photos from the popular event, see page 47. (Pablo Robles/Staff Photographer)
Chandler church offers autistic-friendly mass to translate. Families are also invited to bring items like noise-canceling headphones, wiggle cushions, or toys if it helps to comfort their children. Doyle hopes these features will attract some congregants who might have felt uncomfortable in other church
BY KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer
The lights are dimmed, music is toned down, and speech is simplified. This is the mood at St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church on a recent Sunday morning as it introduces a new style of mass that’s friendly to the senses. The service is to accommodate individuals with cognitive disabilities like autism or Down’s syndrome – conditions that can be sensitive to large crowds or the sights and sounds of regular mass. “We just provided an environment where families could come and not worry about what people were gonna think about their child’s behavior,” said Kim Doyle, St. Andrew’s coordinator for
Kim Doyle helps 9-year-old Abigail Hart with a Bible lesson at St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church. (Pablo Robles/Staff Photographer)
special education. Doyle joined the parish about a year ago and helped introduce the sensoryfriendly mass earlier this month. It includes readings from a children’s version of scripture and there’s a sign language interpreter on standby ready
environments. “There are families, I’m sure, that have stopped going to church because it’s so challenging to get their child into mass,” Doyle said. Churches across the country are
F E AT U R E STO R I E S Vape stores fear ban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BUSINESS . . . . . . . . Page 25 Casteel High hires new baseball coach . . . . . . . . . .SPORTS . . . . . . . . . Page 37 Teacher appears on "Family Feud" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .NEIGHBORS . . . . . .Page 40 ImprovMANIA growing fast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . Page 50 Chocolate shop offers sweet treats. . . . . . . . . . . . . .EAT . . . . . . . . . . . Page 62
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CHURCH on page 19
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