Here is a list of the candidates that submitted signatures to the county to run for the 2 open seats for the Cave Creek Unified #93 Governing Board election on November 4th, 2014.
They have all created campaign committees with Angelica Petersen, Mark Warren, and Susan Clancy filing to stay under the $500 expenditure limit. This means they will not have to file expenditure reports.
That information can be found here…
Maricopa County Campaign Finance Search
According to the county, Mark E. Warren has filed to run for Cave Creek Unified Governing Board in 2014. Assuming this is the same Mark Warren, Mr. Warren has previously sat on the Cave Creek Unified Governing Board. You may recall that he approved implementing Everyday Math in Cave Creek Unified and he pushed for the issuance of the bonds in 2006 BEFORE any voter approval to build a new high school. As a result, Cave Creek Unified has been paying interest on these issued bonds since 2006, with nothing to show for it.
In 2011, Mr. Warren resigned from the Cave Creek Unified governing board and moved to Virginia for a job promotion according to the Arizona School Board Association.
At the time we wrote this…
”Good luck Mr. Warren to you and your family. While we believe that you understood the necessity of increasing achievement in our district, it is unfortunate you never stood behind that belief with your vote.”
Mark Warren Resigning from Cave Creek Unified Governing Board
There are now 4 candidates for Cave Creek Unified Governing Board including Susan Clancy and Angelica Petersen.
According to Mary Beth Faller from the Arizona Republic, the new Desert Sun Academy principal is from Supai Middle School in Scottsdale Unified.
Supai Middle School is a D-Rated middle school located in south Scottsdale. Yes, that is a D you see below…
Its test scores are abominable and on the decline with 58% of its students failing AIMS Math in 2014.
Not sure why the district hired an assistant, from a middle school, from a low SES area to be the full principal, at an elementary school, in a high SES area. Desert Sun Academy truly needs some quality leadership as the school’s enrollment and achievement is in a tail spin. What do you think of the new hire for Desert Sun Academy? Do you think this was a smart move by Dr. Burdick and the current governing board? Do you think that this hire will play into the Cave Creek Unified Governing Board election in the fall of 2014?
We will reach out to the Desert Sun Academy PTO and see if they have any thoughts.
Update: Here is what we wrote about Desert Sun Academy in 2010. Looks like we were right on the money…
Desert Sun Academy is a Microcosm of What Plagues Cave Creek Unified
Here are the AIMS scores for Cave Creek Unified 93. It is beyond us that a high school can be rated an A when 21% of your tenth graders cannot pass the AIMS math test (raw cut score was 52% in 2013). Wonder if AIMS scores will be a factor in the upcoming Cave Creek Unified Governing Board Elections? So far there are two candidates we like, Susan Clancy and Angelica Petersen.
As always, AIMS scores are a poor proxy to determine a school’s performance. Look to the Stanford 10 scores and scores like ACT\SAT\AP. We will post the Stanford 10 test scores tomorrow.
Math (Click to Enlarge)
Reading
Writing
Science
In case you had not heard, Cave Creek Unified suspended a high school drama teacher for using instructional materials that some parents found objectionable. You can read the most balanced story about the suspension here in the Arizona Republic from reporter Mary Beth Faller.
Cactus Shadows student Kyle Kuo wrote a letter to Superintendent Debbi Burdick about the incident. My. Kuo is a Cactus Shadows senior who apparently is a student of the suspended teacher. We offered Mr. Kuo the chance to present his letter to the community.
Below is his letter in it entirety with no editing other than removing Mr. Kuo’s address (formatting errors are my fault). You can find Mr. Kuo at @kylepkuo.
[Address Redacted]
October 8th, 2013
Dr. Debbi Burdick
Superintendent, Cave Creek Unified School District
33606 North 60th Street
Scottsdale, Arizona 85266
Dear Dr. Burdick,
