PHOENIX UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

Scribner tapped as next superintendent     The Phoenix Union High School District Governing Board moved closer to hiring a new superintendent by unanimously agreeing to begin contract negotiations with Dr. Kent Paredes Scribner for superintendent, at a special meeting in late December.     The board also determined that Scribner would not begin until July 1, 2008, and that interim superintendent Arthur Lebowitz would continue in his position through the end of the school year. Lebowitz took over in July when Dr. Raj Chopra left after six years to become President of Southwestern College in Chula Vista, Calif.     Scribner was selected over the other finalist, Dr. Sheila Breen, the superintendent for Grand Canyon Unified School District.     Scribner, 42, is the superintendent of the 9,000-student, 13-school Isaac Elementary School District in central Phoenix, a feeder district to Phoenix Union. He has been in that position since 2003.     As superintendent of Phoenix Union, Scribner, who is Hispanic and fluent in Spanish, would oversee 25,000 students, 17 schools and 2700 employees. The student population is 93 percent minority, and 78 percent Hispanic. Scribner would become the 17th superintendent (not counting interim or acting superintendents) of the 113-year-old District. Franklin high school now enrolling     Phoenix Union’s Franklin Police and Fire High School, the first of its kind in the nation, is currently enrolling next year’s freshmen and sophomores. The “small” themed high school opened its new campus in October 2007 to juniors and seniors.     Franklin specializes in exploration and training in law enforcement, firefighting and emergency medical services, as well as all the required high school curricula. The school will eventually house 400 full-time 9-12th grade students.     Public safety professionals teach the career classes, and partnerships with the city of Phoenix, its police and fire departments and other agencies provide students with real world, hands-on opportunities such as internships, physical training, special employment programs, and certifications.     Franklin Police and Fire High School is located at 1645 W. McDowell Road. For more information about the school and its programs, call 602-764-0200.

 

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