Pima Butte maintains ‘Excelling’ status

Pima Butte Elementary was again rated as an “A” or “Excelling” school by the Arizona Department of Education.

Maricopa Elementary, which for years struggled as one of the district's lowest-performing schools, received a "B" or "Performing Plus" rating.

The rest of district’s seven schools received a B or a C (Performing).

The Arizona Department of Education released grading labels for every school in the state Tuesday as a measure intended to help redefine what makes a school outstanding and as motivation to push student improvement.

MUSD’s ratings were similar to those of the surrounding districts.

“We are very proud of the scores received for our district and are always working to improve and better the education of the students in our community,” said MUSD Superintendent Jeff Kleck. “Having the new A-F accountability from the Department of Education will only further help educators strengthen programming and help parents know the standing of their local education systems.”

The grades and achievement profiles received for schools within MUSD are:

• Butterfield Elementary School, B 
• Desert Wind Middle School, C 
• Maricopa Elementary, B
• Maricopa High School, C
• Maricopa Wells Middle School, C
• Pima Butte Elementary School, A
• Saddleback Elementary School, B 
• Santa Cruz Elementary, B
• Santa Rosa Elementary School, B

“Overall we are in line with surrounding districts, and surpassing many in the state,” said Kleck. “We have continually risen in education rankings and will continue to do so under the new grading system that has been set forth by the Department of Education.”

For more information, visit www.maricopausd.org or call 520-568-5100.