This Saturday, Betty Fairfax hosted the 33rd Annual Arizona Japanese Speech Contest šÆšµ Competitors prepared speeches in Japanese to recite with judges present, with the theme this year being food. PXU had 6 students compete, 5 from Betty Fairfax, and 1 from Central. Congratulations to Ivan Mendez Moreno from Betty Fairfax for placing first in Category B of the competition! š„
Today was the most beautiful day ever at Central ā¤ļøš¤ Students and staff dressed up and celebrated their annual Multicultural Day celebration that allows students and staff from any culture to showcase their traditions and come together to uplift each other. Central is an incredible place to be, and the diversity makes it even stronger as a community. We love you Central! āØ
Today, students from Alhambra, Coding, and Carl Hayden participated in a PXU Student Day at Phoenix City Hall š Students had a packed day including career exploration, mentorship, learning about job-shadow and apprenticeship opportunities, and more. The best part? All of the individuals students heard from today were all PXU alumni. Thank you to the City for this experience and to all of the employers who took time to educate our students ā¤ļø
PXU is proud to share the news of two more additions to our Class of 2026 Million Dollar Scholars š Kallysta-Cydney Komlan and Anthony Sotelo from Bioscience High School have each been offered over $2M in total scholarships. Kallysta will attend Princeton to study Neuroscience. She specifically hopes to research neurodegenerative diseases since her grandmother passed away from Alzheimers. Anthony will attended Yale to study Biomedical Engineering and Education Studies. His career plan is in two parts: 1) Use his Biomedical Engineering background to help low income families receive assistive technology and 2) Become a high school Engineering teacher after he accomplishes his other goals. We are so proud of both of these incredible students!
Today, Fairfax Freshmen Connections students had the opportunity to participate in a financial literacy activity called Bite of Reality, presented by the Arizona Credit Union Collaborative š° Students were given a pretend life with details such as occupation, income, family size, credit score, and more, and tasked with budgeting their life with their given parameters. Examples of what they budgeted for were things like housing, transportation, food, clothing, and entertainment. Thank you to all of the credit unions and their representatives for educating our students on this important information š„
Tonight, the Governing Board had some incredible recognitions and accomplishments! First, the Board recognized our CCHS and Maryvale ACADEC programs for their decorated seasons and having students headed to Nationals. Then, they recognized our extremely accomplished DECA programs and advisors who have made history this year, representing the district well and making us proud. Finally, the Board recognized the back to back 5A State Champion Boys Basketball team from Central. Congratulations to all who were recognized!
Today, we stopped by Carl Hayden for their Spring Sports assembly! The Falcons always know how to have a good time with games, performances, and great energy. We love you, Hayden! šš
PXU is extremely proud to share the news of two new Class of 2026 Million Dollar Scholars, both achieving $3M in total offered scholarships eachš„ Congratulations to Joe Guerrero from Carl Hayden and Blaise Nyandwi from Camelback Montessori. Joe plans to attend Yale to study mechanical engineering with the hope of someday becoming an astronaut. Blaise will study biochemistry at Brown University with a direct early admit into their medical school, an accomplishment that around 1.4% of applicants achieve. We are so proud of both of these incredible students! āØ
Happy Farmworkers Appreciation Day, PXU Family! Today, we want to show our gratitude and appreciation for the millions of agricultural laborers, especially those who participated in the farmworker movement. This is a day to honor the resilience, history, and ongoing issues for the rights of those who work in our fields.
Today, Franklin hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate the generous donation of shade trees by APS to Franklin, Bostrom, and Desiderata š³ After the ceremony, Franklin students learned how to properly plant a tree and assisted with planting trees around Franklin. Thank you to all who attended, and thank you to APS for giving back to our community! ā¤ļø
Tonight, the PXU Governing Board voted to observe Farmworkers Appreciation Day on Monday, March 30, 2026. PXU schools and worksites will be closed in observance of the holiday.
Today, Ms. Rachelle Smouse from Camelback was surprised with the Silver Apple Award from Arizonaās Family for her outstanding dedication to her students! š The award was presented in partnership with Desert Financial and included a $1000 prize. Congratulations, Ms. Smouse! ā¤ļø
Today, Central hosted a mini parade on campus to celebrate their Boys Basketball team being the 5A State Champions for the second year in a row! šš„ Congratulations to Central!
Today, GSA students from across the district made their way to South for the annual GSA Conference š³ļøāš Students participated in workshops, played games, and heard from prominent LGBTQ+ figures during a panel Q&A. We look forward to seeing this event grow in years to come! āØ
The Phoenix Union High School District is deeply saddened and shocked by the recent allegations against Cesar Chavez. While we donāt yet know the full impact of his alleged behavior, we stand firmly with victims of sexual abuse.
Despite the alleged egregious actions of one person, the Phoenix Union High School District remains committed to honoring the thousands of farmworkers, past and present, who organized through the United Farm Workers and beyond to secure safer working conditions and fair wages. We are thankful for leaders such as Dolores Huerta, who continue to lead through truth-telling.
At Phoenix Union, our commitment to ensuring that our schools are safe, supportive spaces for all students, especially survivors of sexual abuse, is unwavering. We will continue to foster environments that ensure our studentsā dignity is protected while feeling seen, protected, and empowered to come forward.
The Districtās calendar is Governing Board-approved each year well in advance of the opening of schools. This calendar takes into consideration all state and federal school day requirements. In addition to the need for Governing Board action to remove the holiday from our calendar, we must consider student, staff, and family pre-planned personal activities on this date. Therefore, the District will follow our approved schedule this year in order to cause the least disruption possible.
Our values remain centered around student safety and dignity while receiving a high-quality education. We look forward to working alongside our community to examine this issue further and make any necessary decisions to our calendar and our high schoolās namesake in Laveen as more information comes forward.
Today, Maryvale Senior Adrian Stubbs threw the first pitch at the Milwaukee Brewers vs Los Angeles Angels Spring Training game. Congratulations, Ace! ā¾ļøš„
Happy Social Work Month to all of our incredible Social Workers district-wide āØ Today, our PXU Social Workers gathered at the ASU School of Social Work office at the Westward Ho and celebrated the month with a lunch. We encourage you to thank your school Social Workers if you see them š„
PXU Family, we hope you had a fun and safe Spring Break! Just a reminder that school is back in session beginning tomorrow, Monday, March 16th. We are excited to see everyone back on campuses to finish the school year strong šŖ
Happy Procurement Month! The month of March is Procurement Month, and we are so thankful for everyone in our district who plays a role in the procurement process at PXU. Your work does not go unnoticed! š
March is National Athletic Training Month šŖ We are so thankful for all of our Athletic Trainers district-wide for keeping our student athletes game-ready and in great shape! We appreciate you and your critical role in our student athletes' lives!
