Superintendent’s Office

Message from Our Superintendent

Superintendent’s Message: June 2026

Dear Tolleson Union High School District Community,

This is a good time to remember to find joy and opportunity in every season. Yes, June will be filled with triple digit temperatures, but it’s also a good time to jump in the pool or even better, find a beach and swim out into the ocean. You could set a goal to swim out as far as possible into the ocean and yet every time you look up to take a breath it would still seem like an endless ocean in front of you. However, if you look back then you will quickly realize how far you have come. I want to encourage water safety, but I stated that analogy to make a point.

In 2018, our schools were C and D schools with only University High holding an A letter grade. West Point broke through as the next A, then La Joya, and now Copper Canyon is on the verge of being the next A school. Our other schools are holding onto their B and the conversation is not about whether they will ever become an A, it’s about when. Academically, we have left the shores of a “C” district far behind.

Financially, we have done the same as we moved into a Aaa rating with Moody’s which is the equivalent of saying that you have an 850-credit score. Two decades ago, our district went through a very difficult time with the removal of a superintendent and senior staff followed by a lack of community support. Programs were cut, class sizes were increased, salaries were frozen, and the district was looked at being one on the verge of going into receivership. No one would have picked Tolleson Union High School District to be the one who saved a community from becoming the first fully privatized area. Just as the first ESA opened the door to universal vouchers, when one district is dissolved, that will open the door to being a fully privatized state.

We are on the verge of becoming an “A” district. We’ve just won three state championships in unified sports. We went from Commitment Day being this unattainable goal for our students to a reality that we improve every year. Our students are well prepared for their next steps in life, and those who are choosing post-secondary education have numerous opportunities to choose from. Our teacher’s pay has gone from significantly below average to being the best in the state. Yes, our state is still 49th in the nation when it comes to funding education, but it is still a significant accomplishment that has yielded results. When we interview teachers, we have gone from having only a few interviews to having dozens and in some cases hundreds to choose from. We are now able to hire the best of the best.

I realize that not everyone is happy with our success, but I believe most of you are even if you are not very vocal about it. Silent support is not going to be enough for us to continue this trajectory. The negative tide is coming in strong and if we just let it carry us away then it won’t be long before we find ourselves back on the shores of being a “C” district. What will you do to help our community continue to have a strong education system? Will you help us swim forward, or will you sit by and watch as the same group of people who put us in dire straights 20 years ago do it again?

Sincerely,

Jeremy Calles

Jeremy Calles
Superintendent
Tolleson Union High School District