Superintendent’s Office

Message from Our Superintendent

Superintendent’s Message: August 2025

Welcome Back Tolleson Union High School District!

Dear Tolleson Union High School District Community,

I want to send you a typical welcome back message for the school year, but this isn’t a typical year. This year is a matter of hope versus fear.

Our teachers and staff have been working hard all summer enhancing our curriculum, improving our facilities, and learning new tools that can help us better reach all students. We have been making gradual progress in recent years on improving student achievement and now the pieces are in place, and it is our greatest hope that we will make a giant leap forward. This is our year!

The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. The byproducts of our success have been envy, greed, and pride. We face the same fears as other districts with federal funding freezes or ICE knocking at the door. However, we have an additional layer of threats to deal with that are not typical. We have people who once worked side-by-side with us to improve our education system now working side-by-side with Republicans downtown to undermine our efforts and discount our success. There is a fear that they will destroy what we have created.

It’s difficult to speak to you about the importance of academic success when most of us have someone we care about who is living with a fear of deportation. For some of you that someone is you. While it won’t make all the fear go away, you can rest assured that we are fully committed to doing everything in our power to protect our students and their families. We are watching districts across the nation to see what strategies they employ and to determine if that is an approach we should follow. We have adopted some new policies and practices and there are more on the way.

Adding to the fear is a nationwide effort to privatize education. In Arizona, we intervened to stop the first school district from dissolving when we assisted Isaac Elementary School District. They were intended to be the first, but you will see another attempt this year and we won’t be able to help the next one. We must trust that another district will step up and follow our lead.

If we give in to any of these fears, then we lose. If your student stays home over fear of ICE, then their education suffers, and we lose. If we stop fighting for public education and the belief that everyone deserves an equal shot in life, we lose.

The success of our students this year will have an impact that goes far beyond our school boundaries. Our community has invested significantly in our school district during the past eight years. If our students make a giant leap forward in their academic achievement, then they will prove that public education is a worthy investment. This year is about something that is so much bigger than any one of us, which is why it can only be accomplished if we do it together.

For the next ten months, everyone needs to do everything they can to help our students succeed. If your student is a straight ‘A’ student, then ask them how often they reach out to other students who are struggling in class to see if they can help.

If your student is struggling in school, ask them to connect to their teacher or counselor so we can get them extra support like after school tutoring or targeted support during flex time. Our juniors have a big task in front of them this year with the ACT test. These tests have a big impact on their future in college. It can have an impact on the scholarships they receive and the courses they need to take. If they don’t plan to attend college, they still need to give their best effort because this is how others judge the success of our district and if they are successful, then it also helps leave the door open for them to reconsider college later. Seniors need to make it to graduation. Freshmen and Sophomores are the foundation for continued success. If we communicate and collaborate, then together we can accomplish something amazing. A significant investment was made in the education that your students will receive this year so challenge them to show the world that they are worth it!

Sincerely,

Jeremy Calles

Jeremy Calles
Superintendent
Tolleson Union High School District