NW Valley Times

Peoria Unified School District governing board member Heather Rooks said recent test data shows the district is “failing at ensuring students have the foundation of academics” in favor of focusing on things like social and emotional learning. 

“I was aware of the numbers of that year and the previous year," Rooks told NW Valley Times. "I would say these numbers are not acceptable and as a school district this should be very concerning."

"The main priority of a school district is to educate children and it seems in my opinion Peoria Unified School District wants to take on everything (social & emotional learning, mental health of students etc) when they are failing at ensuring students have the foundation of academics," she said. "As a board member I have voiced the concerns of students struggling with their academic learning and I will continue to do so along with advocating for resources to support the student's academics.”

In the 2022-23 school year, 40% of Peoria Unified School District students passed their AASA/ACT Math test, according to the Arizona Department of Education.

The 18,324 students who took the AASA/ACT were assessed at four proficiency levels in each subject. Those at proficiency level one and two failed the test, while students who reached the third and fourth proficiency level passed the test.

Of those who passed, most achieved proficiency level three.

Peoria Unified School District roughly covers schools within Maricopa County and has a main office in Peoria.

A 2023 study from Scholaroo.com ranked Arizona last out of all U.S. states in terms of educational success, giving the state poor markets for school quality, student success, and teacher-to-student ratio.

In 2022 Arizona had roughly one teacher for every 19 students, compared to the national average of one teacher for 16 students. Teachers handling a higher number of students was found to have negative consequences for students’ school performance.

Some data provided by the Arizona Department of Education may be incomplete due to the Family and Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Rooks was born in Arizona and attended Glendale Community College. She ran for Peoria school board member in 2022 and secured a seat with 36.4% of the vote, alongside Melissa Ewing who took the second open position.

School Name	% Who Passed	Number of students tested
Peoria Traditional School	80%	231
Sunset Heights Elementary School	60%	752
Parkridge Elementary	56%	574
Oakwood Elementary School	54%	598
Oasis Elementary School	54%	476
Lake Pleasant Elementary School	54%	769
Vistancia Elementary School	53%	752
Frontier Elementary School	51%	602
Coyote Hills Elementary School	49%	579
Sunrise Mountain High School	49%	467
Copperwood School	49%	460
Canyon Elementary School	48%	171
Paseo Verde Elementary School	47%	514
Apache Elementary School	47%	496
Desert Harbor Elementary School	46%	520
Liberty High School	45%	628
Desert Valley Elementary School	45%	336
Centennial High School	44%	486
Zuni Hills Elementary School	42%	597
Pioneer Elementary School	36%	278
Peoria eCampus	36%	97
Marshall Ranch Elementary School	35%	444
Ironwood High School	35%	463
Cactus High School	34%	273
Cotton Boll School	31%	591
Sky View Elementary School	30%	334
Santa Fe Elementary School	29%	502
Alta Loma School	29%	452
Peoria Elementary School	28%	346
Sundance Elementary School	27%	349
Sahuaro Ranch Elementary School	27%	371
Heritage School	27%	323
Foothills Elementary School	26%	376
Raymond S. Kellis	26%	368
Kachina Elementary School	25%	200
Sun Valley Elementary School	25%	543
Peoria High School	24%	384
Desert Palms Elementary School	19%	274
Cheyenne Elementary School	19%	423
Country Meadows Elementary School	18%	663
Ira A. Murphy	13%	281
Peoria Flex Academy	< 10%	45