Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-4_74-cv-00090/USCOURTS-azd-4_74-cv-00090-106/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 440
Nature of Suit: Other Civil Rights
Cause of Action: 28:1331 Federal Question: Other Civil Rights

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Roy and Josie Fisher, et al.,

Plaintiffs,

v.

United States of America,

Plaintiff-Intervenor,

v.

Anita Lohr, et al.,

Defendants,

and

Sidney L. Sutton, et al.,

Defendants-Intervenors,

CV 74-90 TUC DCB

(Lead Case)

Maria Mendoza, et al.,

Plaintiffs,

United States of America,

Plaintiff-Intervenor,

v.

Tucson Unified School District No. One, et al.,

Defendants.

CV 74-204 TUC DCB

(Consolidated Case)

Case 4:74-cv-00090-DCB Document 2418 Filed 01/28/20 Page 1 of 7
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-2-

SPECIAL MASTER’S REPORT AND 

RECOMMENDATION ON THE DISTRICT’S 

PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH A LAB/DEMONSTRATION

SCHOOL AT “WAKEFIELD” MIDDLE SCHOOL

Overview

In its order dated January 22, 2020, the Court directed the Special Master to assess the 

pros and cons of locating a lab/demonstration school that the District intends to implement at the 

former Wakefield Middle School as compared to locating the program at Utterback Middle 

School as proposed by the Fisher and Mendoza plaintiffs. This report and recommendation first 

evaluates the arguments for implementing a lab/demonstration (“L/D”) school at Utterback rather 

than at Wakefield. The second part of this Report and Recommendation identifies the case for 

locating the lab/demonstration school at the Wakefield site.

What is the Argument for Locating the Lab/Demonstration School at Utterback?

There is Adequate Space at Utterback to House the L/D Program There

Utterback’s enrollment is now slightly over 450 students, the school was designed to 

house as many as 1225 students. The District’s plan for the L/D school is that it would eventually 

enroll at least 400 students. The overall plan for middle schools in TUSD is to reduce their size 

so as to foster a sense of community among students and among students and teachers. The 

school of almost 900 students would not be a place where these goals of community are likely to 

be achieved. Studies of optimal school size do not deal directly with middle schools, but provide 

evidence about elementary and high schools. One can infer from these studies that a middle 

school of almost 900 students would be significantly less than ideal. Presumably, housing the 

L/D school within Utterback could create a school within a school. But such an arrangement 

would be likely to reduce the effectiveness of both the L/D school and the educational programs 

now in place at Utterback. Such school-within-a-school arrangements in magnet schools 

Case 4:74-cv-00090-DCB Document 2418 Filed 01/28/20 Page 2 of 7
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-3-

demonstrate that it is difficult to maintain the integrity of different programs when they are 

merged together in the same physical environment. Moreover, what negative beliefs exist about 

Utterback because of its D rating would deter enrollment at the L/D program if located there.

Housing the Program at Utterback Would Save the District $2 to $2.5 Million Needed to 

Renovate the Now-closed Wakefield Site

The District acknowledges that there would be such costs. While these funds would not 

be allocated from 910G funds, they could obviously be invested elsewhere. The District’s 

position is that this new school will improve the quality of teaching in the District’s middle 

schools (a problem that exists in many Districts) and that the relationship with the University of 

Arizona will lead to other collaborations. Whether the District is right about these claims cannot 

be determined now. However, the Special Master believes that the success of this effort located 

at Utterback would be even more problematic and he recommends that if the Court decides to 

deny the District’s request for locating the new program at Wakefield, that the District abandon 

the idea.

Utterback is a D School and Requires Substantial Investments for Improvement

The District has prioritized the improvement of academic achievement at Utterback. To 

that end, it brought in new leadership and a schoolwide AVID program. The school principal and 

central administrators who oversee the school’s progress believe that these efforts are taking hold 

and that bringing and entirely different program into the school would undermine the possibilities 

that the AVID program will be successful.1

 

1 AVID has a relatively strong research base establishing its effectiveness. If properly 

implemented, a schoolwide AVID program does not mean that each student is treated the same, but it is 

based on the assumption that needs in a given school are substantial. That is the case at Utterback.

Case 4:74-cv-00090-DCB Document 2418 Filed 01/28/20 Page 3 of 7
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-4-

There is Little Chance that the Proposed School can be Integrated 

Before Wakefield was closed a few years ago, it was racially concentrated. However, 

Utterback is now and has been racially concentrated and lost its magnet status accordingly. If 

marketed effectively, the proposed school – especially if it is renamed – has a chance of being 

integrated because (a) it promises to offer a teaching-rich environment in which the bulk of the 

teachers will be exceptionally capable (b) the instructor to student ratio in the new school will be 

the lowest in the District and (c) the relationship with the University of Arizona will appeal to 

many families. And, the District is committed to providing express buses when this would 

enhance integration.

What is the Argument for Locating the Lab/Demonstration School at Wakefield?

Middle schools are challenging places to teach and difficult places in which to learn. 

Students are going through developmental stages and curricula seem to some students to be 

fragmented and incoherent. The District is trying to “Re-Vision” its middle schools to be 

relatively small community-oriented learnings environments. For this initiative to be successful, 

it will have to recruit and retain excellent teachers. Having the L/D be a professional 

development site for new teachers is an important step in improving the quality of teaching and 

increasing the stability of the teaching corps.

It will be much easier to recruit both students and master teachers to the school if it starts 

from scratch with a clear message of its goals and how they can be achieved. The master teacher 

cadre will not only facilitate the preparation of student teachers, the school will serve as a venue 

in which educators from throughout the District and from outside of the District can witness and 

learn more about exceptional culturally responsive pedagogy.

The school will also serve to demonstrate the benefits of collaboration between the 

District and the University of Arizona. The potential benefits of collaboration between the 

Case 4:74-cv-00090-DCB Document 2418 Filed 01/28/20 Page 4 of 7
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-5-

District and the University have not been adequately explored to the extent they should be and the 

school is an excellent opportunity to show how collaboration benefits both parties. 

Recommendation

The Special Master recommends that the Court approve the District’s proposal for a L/D 

school at the site that was once the Wakefield school. If the Court decides not to do so, the 

Special Master recommends that the Court not direct the District to locate the proposed teacher 

development program at Utterback. The reason for this, as noted, is that placing the new school 

within Utterback is likely to undermine the potential success of the new initiatives at Utterback as 

well as the new school. The Special Master believes that the prospects for success at the former 

site of the Wakefield school will be significantly enhanced if the development of the program 

starts with a blank slate. This means, among other things, that the school should be renamed 

though that decision should rest with the District. Conveying that the school is a totally new 

endeavor focused on quality teaching and staffed by exceptional master teachers will increase the 

likelihood that the school can be integrated. To foster integration, the District promises to 

provide express buses and to modify the lottery program to maximize its effect on integration.

The primary argument against locating the L/D program at Wakefield is that this involves 

a substantial investment in renovation. However, this is a one-time cost. Reallocating up to $2.5 

million to a different school improvement strategy (other than facility renovation) is likely to 

commit the District to a very substantial continuing cost for which there is now no obvious 

source. The argument that the school proposed by the District cannot be integrated should be 

discounted because moving the proposed program to Utterback would ensure that the school and 

the program are racially concentrated.

Case 4:74-cv-00090-DCB Document 2418 Filed 01/28/20 Page 5 of 7
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-6-

Respectfully submitted,

________/s/_____________

Willis D. Hawley

Special Master

Dated: January 28, 2020

Case 4:74-cv-00090-DCB Document 2418 Filed 01/28/20 Page 6 of 7
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-7-

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on January 28, 2020, I electronically submitted the foregoing via the 

CM/ECF Electronic Notification System and transmittal of a Notice of Electronic Filing provided 

to all parties that have filed a notice of appearance in the District Court Case.

Andrew H. Marks for 

Dr. Willis D. Hawley, 

Special Master

Case 4:74-cv-00090-DCB Document 2418 Filed 01/28/20 Page 7 of 7