History
The District traces its roots to the historic Phoenix Union High School, opened in 1895 with four classrooms and 90 students. The second high school in the district opened its doors in 1926, when Phoenix Union Colored High School opened, and by 1939, North High School was operating with 1,500 students and continued growth on the way, as Phoenix Union's enrollment hit more than 5,000 students.
From 1949 to 1972, the meteoric growth of the Phoenix metropolitan area produced overcrowding (Phoenix Union set the all-time Arizona enrollment record in the 1963-64 school year, with 6,320 students) and most of the district's new schools. West opened to end the 1940s, followed by Carl Hayden in 1950; Camelback and South Mountain both opened in 1954; Central opened in 1957; Alhambra opened in 1961; in 1962, East opened; followed by the opening of Maryvale in 1963. Trevor G. Browne High School was the last of the Phoenix comprehensive high schools to start up, opening in 1972. This period saw one school closure, with the now-renamed Carver High School being closed upon the integration of schools in Arizona, and the Bostrom and Desiderata special-needs schools opening in the 1970s.
Then the Baby Boom ended, and white flight in Phoenix reversed the trend. It took just one decade to bring Phoenix Union from its 6,000-student days to a mere 1,800. Similar drops in the late 1970s and early 1980s coupled with budget issues forced the district's hand in closures. West, East, Phoenix Union (by now a 1,200-student school), and North all closed. (North reopened in 1984 due to a lawsuit, Castro v. Phoenix Union High School District, related to inner-city education.) West later was repurposed as the new vocationally oriented Metro Tech High School in 1985.
The growth of Laveen, part of the Phoenix Union district, led to two more comprehensive high schools opening. César Chávez High School opened as the first new high school in 27 years in 1999. Betty H. Fairfax High School, named after a longtime educator in the district, opened in 2007.
More small schools also opened in the 2000s, as a unique partnership of businesses and the district created the Suns-Diamondbacks Education Academy, an alternative school for at-risk youth, which moved into its new building in January 2002. Phoenix Union Cyber High School, since folded, opened in 2006, and Bioscience High School also opened the same year. Franklin Police and Fire High School, a first-of-its-kind public safety-oriented school, began operations in 2007.
Read more about this topic: Phoenix Union High School District
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