Phoenix Union High School District selects new superintendent
Phoenix Union High School District selected its new superintendent on Tuesday, almost a year after Chad Gestson announced he was leaving for a post at Northern Arizona University.
Phoenix Union’s governing board unanimously chose Thea Andrade, the district’s interim superintendent since Gestson’s departure, from among three finalists.
Andrade has worked for the district since 2011. She has served as the director of assessment and accountability, the executive director for technology and innovation and the chief achievement officer. She earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University.
“I have spent the last 13 years in this district day in and day out, and I love this district,” Andrade said during a community forum on March 4. “I am a fierce advocate for our community and will remove barriers and obstacles and work for a strong system.”
When asked about her vision for the district’s students at the forum, Andrade outlined goals to increase career and technical education pathways, provide opportunities for students who receive special education services to transition into successful careers and expand dual enrollment opportunities for students to receive college credits and gain “the confidence they need to move forward, in many cases as a first-gen, college-going student.”
“We have gained incredible momentum in Phoenix Union around our mission, college and career readiness, but I believe it’s up to us to continue that moving forward,” Andrade said.
She said the district should take an “asset-based approach” to its English language learners, who make up nearly 17% of the district’s approximately 26,750 students.
The district should pursue “assetbased competencies where they’re rewarded for the credit or competency they have in their home language,” she said, and should open up “opportunities for them to thrive and not to be segregated.”
She also said she wants to make senior year more meaningful and relevant to students.
“In many cases, it’s a lost senior year where they check out early,” Andrade said. “We can capitalize on that and give them paid internships that might be even higher paid than what they would get where they’re working.”
Estaban Flemons, the president of the Phoenix Union Classroom Teachers’ Association, the union representing certified staff in the district, said he’s “very happy” with Andrade’s appointment.
Flemons, who meets weekly with Andrade, described her as a “great communicator.” He said she’s acknowledged the union’s concerns and has, in her interim role, “been willing to take steps forward to address some of those issues,” including pushing for increased compensation packages and finding opportunities for staff to provide feedback about leadership.
Phoenix Union hired a national firm to lead the search and received 29 applications for superintendent, according to a news release. It narrowed the pool to three finalists: Andrade, the deputy superintendent of Waco Independent School District in Texas and the Tucson Unified School District’s assistant superintendent of equity, diversity and inclusiveness.
The firm gathered input from students, administrators, parents, teachers, staff and community members while conducting its search and found that top concerns included student and staff safety, declining enrollment and staff shortages, according to a report. Phoenix Union saw an enrollment drop this school year, which it is hoping to halt with an extensive marketing campaign and efforts to bring back students who dropped out. It’s piloting metal detectors to detect weapons at two schools until December.
Andrade will start as superintendent after the district’s governing board and Andrade finalize her employment contract.