The Education Exchange
The Education Exchange aims to enlighten parents and empower students as they navigate through the high school experience and beyond. This podcast is produced by the Tolleson Union High School District.
The Education Exchange
S3 E4 - Tolleson Union Facility Improvements
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On Season 3 Episode 4 of The Education Exchange, Tolleson Union High School Superintendent Jeremy Calles meets with Principal Perez at Tolleson Union High School as well as the STUCO President and Vice President to discuss current projects being worked on at campus, and the future ones to come. Our students and principal walk us through their personal interests connected to these upgrades and renovations, and how it could create a positive impact for future school years at Tolleson Union High School.
The Education Exchange is produced by the Tolleson Union High School District. Learn more at www.tuhsd.org and be sure to like, follow and share!
Welcome to the Education Exchange. I'm your host, Superintendent Jeremy Kayus. And today we're going to talk about Tolson facilities and all the recent improvements and new improvements that are planned. We have our Stugo representatives along with our principal here to discuss all these upcoming facility upgrades. So I'll let them introduce themselves.
SPEAKER_00Hi, my name is Jasmine. I'm in 12th grade, so I'm a senior at Tolson Union High School, and I'm also the student body president.
SPEAKER_04My name's Eliana Rodriguez, and I'm also a senior, and um I'm the vice president of Student Council.
SPEAKER_01Hello, everyone. My name is Martin Perez, and I'm the proud principal here at Tolles and Union High School, known as T Town.
SPEAKER_03All right. So before we get into some of the new upcoming projects, let's talk about some of the things that have happened in recent years. The Toleson campus has had a complete makeover. In fact, I think I think we're just about at the point where it is the campus that we've spent the most on in the last decade, exceeding even West Point. There was a new construction project from dirt. We have a new media center on campus. Wolverine Den got a makeover. There's a new 500 building. The Science Building is brand new. And the football field, that whole stadium got redone. So a lot of new build here on a Tolson campus. And then the beautiful performing arts center uh out there on the front of the campus. So let's talk a little bit about those items first. The let's start with the performing arts center. First, um, our students, do you know where performances were before we had that performing arts center?
SPEAKER_04Uh for me personally, I didn't even know like we had like a program that like showcases that stuff. So like I didn't really know like when we didn't have the performing arts center.
SPEAKER_03Have you uh so you know old Maine?
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Have you seen the auditorium in Old Maine?
SPEAKER_04Yes, you have.
SPEAKER_03So before we had the performing arts center, everything happened right there in in Old Maine. Um, now you do some performances out there in the performing arts center, right? So tell me, tell me, uh, for folks Laurico, imagining the the difference between being in that auditorium versus being in the performing arts center, how how much how much more does it add to to your performances and to the value of your program to be in that nice performing arts center?
SPEAKER_00Honestly, it's like a major difference between the auditorium in the old main and then the new pack building because of how like um modernized and all the new technology that's a or that's like added into the um pack rather than in the auditorium. I feel like it it looks better and it's like the sound system is all better and it looks better for our program, like more professional-wise.
SPEAKER_03Any uh, so one of the things that was a big point of contention when we were building that performing arts center was we put a balcony on it because uh a lot of our campuses don't have a balcony in their performing arts center. We decided to go with one here uh at at the performing arts center here at Tolson. What do you guys think about the balcony? Have you been up on the balcony? Do you like the balcony? Does it add a lot to it?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I think it's really special that we have it personally, like in our campus, but um it like adds more like um professionalism kind of and like just more that we get to be able to do here.
SPEAKER_03And and Martine, I I've seen you put out uh pictures of all your staff sitting on those steps over there in that performing arts center. What is it? What do you think it brings to the campus to have that nice building?
SPEAKER_01Yes, no, to echo what our uh student leaders have shared here. I think for our staff, it's just the same. Um, it it shows not just pride in our Tollison campus, but it it gives our staff an opportunity to be proud of a state-of-the-art facility. Our pack is uh, you know, I would say one of the best uh facilities and not just in Tolleson, but in the West Valley and quite honestly in Arizona. So it's become traditional that when we have convocation like Welcome Back are rallying their district, that it's a non-negotiable that we all walk over to the stairs and it one, it makes a great picture portrait, but more importantly, it sends a strong message that our staff and our students should have access to uh best uh state-of-the-art facilities out there.
SPEAKER_03Now, another building that had an interesting twist on it that's a little different than our other campuses, is the new media center building. And uh the unique part on our media center here at the Tulson campus is that we set up the little coffee shop right there on the on the first floor. And it is a two-story media center. It's not the only two-story media center. We we do have uh another one out there, but what are your thoughts on on that media center and the experience in that media center as opposed to a more traditional library? I don't know if you ever saw the library that we had before. Um, but your thoughts on how that changes the the vibe in there and impacts the the campus culture.
SPEAKER_00Um, I know that the library or the media center that we now have is really useful because I know a lot of people go in there for meetings or either just going in there to relax or to eat lunch, even. And then the upstairs, like it gives it um more space because not everything's just in one small building. So I think having two stories is convenient for a school. Um, having so many people, like 3,000 people out of school as well. And I know that people use that room for like labs or even like computer time or to make up um different assignments or different classes like in there. So I think having that is really like impactful to our school. Yeah, I agree with her.
SPEAKER_03All right. Uh we'll get into some of the newer, some of the new planned projects and get your thoughts on, you know, moving forward now, uh making this campus even better for the next generation. Cause I know you'll be graduating this year. And so um, these may not be additions that that can happen within your time, but when you bring your children back to this campus and they go here and you tell them, well, you know, I was there when they were first thinking about doing that. Um, and the first one I want to jump into is is the gymnasium. So uh our two older campuses, Toleson and Westview, uh, don't have a full-size competitive gym, right? With the triple courts and the nice high ceilings and everything else, and the plenty of bleacher space for plenty of fans because they're they're older campuses, and it was before we started moving down that path uh with the district. And and we have been in talks now for several years about bringing a new gym to the campus. What are your thoughts on what a new gym would be able to bring to the campus?
SPEAKER_00Being in Stuco for this is going to be my third year. I know having that old gym was really hard for us because of the sound system, the lighting, trying to fit 3,000 students all in three different assemblies, like A, B, C, and then also like having everybody move around without it being so crowded. I think having that new gym would be good for us, honestly, for assemblies, games, like sports, like for anything, honestly. And I think it would bring like a good impact on our school.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, for sports, especially. I play volleyball personally. Um, in the gym, like it's really difficult, like for games and like practices, the ball like gets stuck in the roof or something, or like it hits the roof of the gym. And like we have to delay games or like a ball gets stuck in the roof and like we have to like get it out. And so like I feel like a big like competitive gym will like benefit us, like and our programs that are in the gym, like a really uh like strong amount to our school.
SPEAKER_00And also um adding to that, I know for Stuco, we go to a bunch of these um like spirit conferences for student councils around Arizona. And I know our school wanted to try hosting one, but I know the gym was just like like something that was holding us back from doing that because of how small it was and how we weren't able to fit what we wanted to for like if we were to host one, you know?
unknownYeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Now, also adding to that, um, building a new competitive gym means that the old gym becomes an auxiliary gym. And and uh Marthine, you've been in some of these talks where uh we've discussed that if if all the campuses had an auxiliary gym, we could add badminton and boys volleyball along with some other sports, because right now we're maxed out when we only have one gym on how many sports we can offer. Um, I'll start with you first before we go to our our Stuo representatives. But what are your thoughts on if you had the competitive gym, your old gym becomes an auxiliary gym, how much more that enhances the campus?
SPEAKER_01Oh, it totally does. I think one thing to note too is that our our campus, right, Tallison Union High School T Town, is uh have been an existence for a hundred years. What does that mean? That for the past 100 years, we've been committed to excellence. And something that you alluded to, uh, Superintendent Cayez earlier, is when our future leaders, you know, our current leaders, when they come back with their children, grandchildren, that um it will make a huge difference. Our school, um, we're committed to when it comes to competitive sports. And I think for us, it would provide another layer of uh resource. So, for example, right, is no secret that here in Arizona, the hot blistering sun does not shy away. So on days like today, when the hot sun is out, we will now have an additional space to use accordingly. And then more importantly, for our student athletes, you know, I know we have some volleyball and some soccer players here, it gives them that year-round opportunity to maximize those resources on campus. So I think for us, it will definitely uh allow us to be even more competitive with having access to an auxiliary uh gym in addition to a uh a new gym.
SPEAKER_03And for our studio reps, any have you heard comments from any students who who say that they wish the district had boys volleyball, badmintons, some other things?
SPEAKER_04Yes, there's been a lot of people that have like, or because since I'm in a student council, like people often come to me to like try to answer questions. But like one of the most asked questions was like, when is boys volleyball gonna become a thing? Like I've heard that so many times, like throughout the whole year.
SPEAKER_00And yeah. And also this like gives opportunities for other um like other people rather than just girls' volleyball to um like become something as like how flag football became a like for girls, you know, not just for like boys' football, you know?
SPEAKER_03Yes. One of the other uh new additions that we're looking at is a new University High building. Now I know you're you're Tolson students and not University High students, but uh uh you you see the building that University High has been in. Um report came out. University High is number 14 in uh in the state of Arizona. It's uh it's nationally ranked. And and uh for some time now we've talked about bringing in a new building for University High. What are your what are your thoughts on being able to give them a new building to be able to be housed in as opposed to the the older Red Brick buildings that right now they're currently using?
SPEAKER_00I think they totally need like a new building. I know how hardworking they are and how much work they obviously get. And I know being on the same campus as Tolson, it's like unspoken, like unspoken beef between us, Tolson and you high, but I know they need their own space and like their own area would be good for them to obviously excel in what they do and um like go forward with their learning.
SPEAKER_03One of the things that's impacting both Tolson High and University High students is the heat. It's extremely hot outside. This campus has a lot of concrete. And one of the things that we've been looking at, and this has you know come out of meetings with Stugo in previous years, is bringing more shade, big fans. Uh, we've talked about Misters before, but our facility team is really against it. So maybe not the Misters, but uh some green spaces and looking at ways that we could try to cool down the campus and make it easier to be able to get between classrooms without having to walk out there and just concrete and heat. Uh, what are your thoughts around that project?
SPEAKER_00Honestly, I think adding in more shade would be nice. Um, I know during lunch we have a lot of or we have a lot of seats outside, but the shade still doesn't help. So I think adding the fans and the misters, if we could, um, would be nice. And I know we need more seating because a lot of spaces inside are taken because it's so hot outside. And then having those misters outside would make people want to come outside more. So it's less hot.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, honestly. Um, it's Arizona, so it's gonna be like hot regardless of like whatever we try to do. But yeah, definitely the shade and the more seating areas. So, like, you know, like we get heat exhausting or like we're more prone to that kind of stuff. So um I think that would be really helpful.
SPEAKER_00And then I do know we have shade outside, but a lot of the shade kind of doesn't work because the sun still like blazes into it. And then a lot of the seats still are in the sun. So I don't know what we could do about that, but I think we should do something about that.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. Uh, one of the other things we've we've talked about is um adding a sports complex uh just south of the campus, um, right on the other side of Wolverine Way. Uh, we have a big piece of land there where we talked about adding some some extra fields, uh, some basketball courts, some pickleball courts. Um, because when you look at the Tolson campus, the the field space that's used as practice fields isn't really conducive to being practice fields with just the the condition that they're in, the size that they are. And uh having a sports complex adjacent to the school um not only helps to provide that practice field space, but then also becomes a recreational area for the community, you know, during the weekends and and maybe even after hours when it's not in use by the schools. Uh what are some of your thoughts around that?
SPEAKER_00I think I um I think that's a really good idea for our community as well as for our school. I know a lot of people, they don't go home. A lot of people like to go across the street to like Family Dollar or even Adams, but I know a lot of businesses don't want them just sitting there. So I think having that space south of the school adds to it and people could just sit there with their friends or even just wait for their rides there instead of just um waiting around in different businesses or even getting kicked out of places.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I agree with that too. But another um problem or like issue is that um our football team in the fall, like they take up most of the main field. So I think like our girls, girls' flag football and um other field sports will have more opportunities for like practice times and like what they could do to like practice or like create more.
SPEAKER_03Oh, absolutely, more equity because if everybody has space, so if if band, uh girls' flag football, and the regular football team all want to practice at the same time, if we had multiple fields, it makes that a little bit more possible. So yeah, it's great. And and Martine, you see it from a scheduling standpoint, you hear it when when people are, you know, coming to you and letting you know that, hey, we we also need field space too. What do you think the the sports complex would add to the campus?
SPEAKER_01Yes, I think it's a very needed uh facility. And I think what it would add to our campus is that opportunity to make sure that all sports are being uh given that opportunity. So just to provide some current perspective. So uh we had a meeting with our uh football head football coach, our band director, our flag football head coach, and then right now as well, our cross country. And so what we came up was a uh schedule, rotation schedule, where flag football is not taking most of the time, but now it's like being very overly creative and where where other traditional football teams and other high schools in our district or in Arizona are practicing at consistent times, our teams are not because there were staggering times. And so with the creation of a new sports facility, I think it wouldn't provide that opportunity to make sure that it maximizes the time, but more importantly, as well, to send the strong message that we want to make sure that we're competitive. And I think that our our students and our coaches and our community here at Tolleson, we're doing what we can with what we have. And so it's something to applaud because you know, we've been able to sustain the river rock, but just to imagine with the uh foot sport facility, as you were mentioning, uh Superintendent Caes, it will elevate um the opportunities for our our students and and our sports program here at Tollison.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. One of the other things that we're trying to address is parking. Uh parking and just and just being able to navigate around the campus. Um as the school has grown, it's it's become very difficult to manage all of that. Uh, we're close to between University High and Tolleson. We're looking at close to 3,000 students being here. And 3,000 students means more staff, more student parking, more parent drop-off, um, a lot of people coming in into this space. And some of the things we've been uh looking at doing here in the near future is one, uh, we had a maintenance building in the back corner of um of the campus, and we created a new facilities warehouse so we could move maintenance and a lot of things we had over to the new facilities warehouse, which is just right around the corner. Looking at taking that area and turning that into parking spaces for staff and opening up more staff parking. And then widening Wolverine Way to make it easier for people to be able to use Wolverine Way so that way we don't have to, for the most part, we try to limit it to just bus traffic, uh, you know, especially during the peak times. But if we widen Wolverine Way, then there's plenty of room for both the buses and for other vehicles to be able to be using Wolverine Way so everybody's not on Van Buren. Uh, what are some of your thoughts around making some of those changes to the campus?
SPEAKER_00Um, I think adding more parking is really crucial for us because I know a lot of students, we fill up um the parking lot a lot. And then I know that for teachers as well, a lot of teachers park in the student parking lot. So giving them their own space as well and not only having that little area next to 500 gives them that opportunity to park their vehicle, not only just in the student parking lot, but where their own space is and not just like clashing their cars with our cars and having like a whole big mess. Cause I know for the student parking lot, a lot of them they park in the no parking zone because there's um we all fill up like the whole parking lot. And I I know that's kind of an issue, but we can't really do anything about it if we have such little space. So I think adding that parking lot would be beneficial to us.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I agree with that too. And um aside from like the parking, I think it'll really help the traffic um trying to get to our parking spots and like opening like more parking spaces will like lessen the traffic more and more, like as we go on.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I think for you know, for me and Myral as a principal, right? Like having uh serving both the university, high school, and Tollison, yeah, parking is of essence is a big challenge on our campus. And what we have committed to do is that to make sure that our students who are eligible and uh are able to drive, that they have space. And so currently we're maximizing all parking that's available to us, the West parking lot, about 80, 70 percent is mostly used by students, the pack, and then here over here by the um the 100 building by our cafeteria as well is being maximized. We did add an additional uh parking lot with our new ESS building. And so we are maximizing all parking. And um, you know, to kind of echo what our students have shared, our our priorities uh safety, safety for students, safety for staff. But if we're able to add a structure for additional parking, it will not only alleviate the current concern, but it will also allow us to um uh be able to host more district-wide events. A lot of the times um we're not able to host as many district events because of the our parking situation. But being so close to the community, I think it would add that additional layer where uh, you know, additional district events, not just for staff, but then also for uh for student activities, such as like hosting a Stugal conference or other events here here on our campus.
SPEAKER_03Now, one of the one of the things that we do when we uh go out for elections and get and get voters to approve a lot of these projects is we leave flexibility in there so that way when a need pops up, we're able to try to address the need in a timely manner. Outside of these projects that we talked about, what is what is something else that you believe is needed for the campus? Something else you think we should be focused on, on trying to improve or fix? And I and I usually come out to the whole Stugo and and ask this question each year, and I'll be back to the whole Stugo. So uh you can give me your feedback now. I'll still come back out and and we'll have a we'll have a whole group discussion on it. But are there any projects that are on your mind where like, you know, we should really look at trying to address this issue on the campus?
SPEAKER_00Um, it's not an issue on the campus, but I wanted to bring up our traditions for our school because I know it's our 100th year and we have homecoming coming up. And I wanted to get the parade back on Van Buren if we could, also that. And then I think um for uh I think the football field, um, I know our football field isn't as advanced as other schools, and I know like our lighting takes time to turn on, or even our sound system isn't as clear as other schools. So I think having those advancements for our main um football field would be nice. Like I know if like or at other schools, like attending football games, their schools, like their lights go crazy, their sound systems all nice, they have music playing in the back, like all that stuff I feel like would be beneficial if we added that to our school as well.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, um, I agree with her too. And also the bathrooms, like a lot of them need to get fixed or like maintenance on, or like I know the um like 700 bathrooms or 500 bathrooms are like really nice and like they're all like modernized and whatever. But um, it would be nice to have those type of bathrooms all throughout campus and it'll just give like a better look on Tolison too. And it's just um a better environment for students, like just have newer things and like yeah.
SPEAKER_00And also um adding a mirror into the bathroom, please. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And Martine, your thoughts.
SPEAKER_01I think for me, you're right. I think for me is making sure that we're ensuring that our student experience, we're maximizing that. You know, stu our students, we have a commitment from the moment that they step to our campus from ninth grade to to senior. I think to me, is uh supporting supporting our student leaders here because there is that commitment from our campus level to our uh district level. And so my thoughts is that yeah, like our students should be proud of where they go to school. They should be proud where they come every day. And I think that if um we're able to collectively work on these projects, I think it elevates that student experience and in turn, you know, it maximizes like student achievement and maximizes their their beautiful smiley faces where students are happy to be on campus. And so I just think, you know, thank you, Superintendent uh Caius, for always making sure that you're putting the student voice first, because I think a lot of the times there's a disconnect with what the adults on campus are seen as a need with what students and I think it should be an opportunity for both. But for me, it's like, you know, we're here to serve our students. And if our students are asking for these needs, you know, it's it's a commitment from us to work together to make sure that we're uh expanding their their experience on our campus.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. And you know, the students are our future. And uh, you know, hopefully if you have family members that were prior generation Tolusant alum, they they've been able to come over here and tell you that, wow, you guys have it so much better than I did because all of these new buildings and and new areas that you have, and I would want you to be able to see that experience from the other side when you bring your children here and you're able to look and say, I see all those improvements. We actually used to talk about those improvements when I was going to school there. It's so great to see that they've made those. Um, but appreciate you sharing that feedback so we can get to those collaborative answers on how to keep moving the campus forward. And appreciate you guys coming here on the show to share that with all of our listeners. And we appreciate our listeners for tuning in once again to the Education Exchange, where we aim to enlighten our parents and empower students. We look forward to seeing you again next time.
SPEAKER_02Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode of the Education Exchange. Have a question or want to be a guest on our podcast? Email podcast at tuhsd.org for more information. Missed an episode? Catch all seasons of the Education Exchange on your favorite streaming platforms or at www.tuhsd.org forward slash podcast. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe, and we'll see you next week for another episode of the Education Exchange.
