YUHSD finalists face some tough questions at forum

Finalists for the leading role at Yuma Union High School District faced tough questions from the community Tuesday evening at a forum at Kofa High School.

Finalists Juan Ceja, Gina Thompson and Philip Van Hickman introduced themselves to audience members, talking about their backgrounds, relevant experience and their personal beliefs about the power of education.

Ceja, who earned a degree at the University of California Berkley, has been a teacher, principal and an assistant superintendent. He moved to Arizona for “family circumstances” from California. He has also held various roles in the education field.

Thompson, who has spent 28 years in the Yuma Union High School District, has been a teacher, principal and district administrator, among other roles.

Van Hickman, who holds several undergraduate degrees and a doctorate, has been a school counselor/ psychologist, an assistant superintendent and a superintendent of schools in various areas of the country, including Chicago, Houston and Mississippi.

Moderator Nic Clement posed the first question, which dealt with the recruitment and retainment of highly qualified teachers.

Van Hickman noted that it’s not always money that attracts the best teachers, but creating a culture that people want to be a part of.

Ceja said that his philosophy is to build strong pipelines, and that teachers can be the best recruiters.

Thompson said Yuma Union is always looking for new ways to recruit and retain. One way they have done that is by keeping health premium costs low for teachers and staff. Another recruitment idea the district is undertaking is letting students promote YUHSD at recruitment fairs.

“In Yuma, students are the thing that is most attractive,” she said.

Another question asked related to the disparity between the district’s Cambridge curriculum and the mastery of standards tested by Arizona’s Measurement of Educational Readiness

to Inform Teaching. The district’s AZMerit scores have come under scrutiny in the past few years.

Ceja, joking that he “always gets the hard questions,” said that the disparity needed to be addressed because “AZMerit is how our kids are measured.” He noted that while AZMerit may not be a great test, it is the “game that’s afoot.”

He also said he did not believe that the AZMerit scores are “indicative of students here,” and that “they are much better than most people say,” but that the district needed to make progress toward aligning the Cambridge curriculum with what is being assessed on the AZMerit exam.

Van Hickman, who has done consulting in Gilbert, Ariz., on the Cambridge curriculum, noted that “if the assessment doesn’t measure what’s been mastered,” then there is a disconnect. But he noted that the curriculum can be enhanced to “plug the holes.”

Thompson noted that the state board of education had given Yuma Union permission to pursue Cambridge, as it was one of two options offered by the state board at that time. Then the state changed the standards, and the way those standards are measured. Another aspect of the disparity is that AZMerit is tested at end-of-course, whereas the previous system, Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards, was tested by cohort.

“We have to look and see if there is an alignment that we simply haven’t found yet,” she said. “We’re not prepared to just throw it out.”

Clement also asked finalists about their greatest challenge as an administrator and how it changed them and how they would equalize staff recognition.

Audience members were asked to anonymously submit their feedback on the finalists on cards handed out at the beginning of the forum. The board will review them during their executive session Wednesday afternoon, Clement said, before making a decision during its regular board meeting at 5 p.m. in the Yuma High Library.