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PAGE 8 West Mesa Edition
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PAGE 14 Sunday, April 29, 2018
EV opens arms to help kids impacted by walkout BY JIM WALSH, WAYNE SCHUTSKY AND COLLEEN SPARKS Tribune Staff Writers
School uncertainty NEWS ............................. 6 EV lawmakers differ on raising vehicle registration fees, fines.
COMMUNITY ......... 11
Chandler nonprofit helps families with cancer-stricken kids.
Gov. Ducey may be close to a deal he hopes will get teachers back to work but parents need to watch their school district's website this weekend. p. 10.
A
s the historic statewide teacher walkout began last Thursday, East Valley nonprofits and educators began rallying behind a simple concept – that no child should go hungry because schools are suddenly closed. A coalition of teachers, school districts, cities and food banks launched a crazy-quilt of See
SPORTS ..................... 17
KIDS on page 4
Mesa teacher never envisioned his leading role in protest BY JIM WALSH Tribune Staff Writer
Mesquite High alum sizzles in Pennsylvania snow.
J
DINING ................... 20 Mexican seafood dishes served up in Chandler.
COMMUNITY.......... 11 BUSINESS.....................14 OPINION.................... 16 SPORTS......................... 17 CLASSIFIEDS............. 25
(Kimberly Carrillo/ Tribune taff Photographer)
Maria Ahumada, left, and Gabriela Gutierrez manned the kitchen for breakfast at Frye Elementary in Chandler. Teachers, district officials and community leaders throughout the region helped feed kids during the walkout.
(Kimberly Carrillo/ Tribune taff Photographer)
As president of the Mesa Education Association, government/economics teacher Josh Buckley led the April 11 "walk-in" in the district.
osh Buckley found his calling after he graduated from college in Michigan and moved to Arizona, following his grandfather’s advice that teaching jobs were available. But what the Mesa teacher never envisioned was that he would play a central role in the historic walkout of teachers and support staff in a statewide effort aimed at forcing Gov. Doug Ducey and the state Legislature to improve school funding after a decade of cuts. That walkout has impacted him in several ways: As presidentof the Mesa Education Association, he’s a leader of the Mesa contingent of the #RedforEd movement; he’s married to someone in management (a high school assistant principal) and his two children attend public schools shut down by the walkout. A Gilbert resident who teaches govern-
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ment and economics mainly to seniors at Red Mountain High School in Mesa, Buckley, 36, knew the classroom was where he belonged from his experiences as a student teacher. After 12 years on the job and obtaining a masters degree, he knows he made the right choice. “I love my job. When I went into the classroom, that was the best part’’ of his college experience at Saginaw Valley State University, he said. “Working with kids, there’s a real sense you are doing something, that you are making a difference every day.’’ Moving to Mesa and starting his job at Skyline High School only verified his choice of a career, Buckley said. “I really love working with students, not just in class, but as they are growing up and figuring out the world,’’ said Buckley. “It’s cool to
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