Welcome to Florence Unified Schools

Florence Unified School District is located in Florence, Arizona and serves over 2,700 K-12 students. While we are located within easy access of both Phoenix and Tucson, we take pride in our small town atmosphere with its supportive community and ideal climate for the vacances scolaires 2024.

We are also proud of our school’s strong academic, vocational, and athletic achievements and are continually striving to raise the bar to assure that each of our students reaches his or her highest potential. We hope you’ll use our district and school Web sites to learn more about what we have to offer our students, our community, and our staff. Oh, and don’t forget to check out our monthly district newsletter!

A Message from our Superintendent

Welcome to the Florence Unified School District. As you peruse our Web site, we hope the vitality and spirit that exist in our schools become evident.

Florence, one of the fastest growing districts in Arizona, stretches from the Phoenix metropolitan area in the north to the Tucson metroplex in the south. The influx of students and families to our district has resulted in construction of two new schools in the past two years with a third scheduled for completion in December 2004.

The district has capitalized on the mini building boom by providing technologically superior learning environments for our students. The new Florence High School, opened in July 2003, has a commercial quality television studio and a world-class telecommunications center in the building core. State of the art science laboratories provide students the opportunity to learn through simulation and experimentation.

National recruitment efforts have yielded a cadre of outstanding educators, eager to apply their knowledge and experience in state of the art facilities. Recognizing the importance of instructional support, a vibrant K-12 curriculum and evolving staff development program have been implemented in the past two years. Great year round weather, a location midway between the metropolitan areas of Phoenix and Tucson, and a progressive educational vision make Florence a destination for students and staff. We hope that you favorably consider what our district has to offer and trust that the accompanying pages will give you a fuller view of our schools and community.

Sincerely,

Richard J. Sagar, Ed.D.
Superintendent

District Departments

Below, we have provided contact information for the various departments and administrators in our district. For specific information, please feel free to contact the appropriate department.

Governing Board

Rose Marie Monks, President
rmonks@florence.k12.az.u
(520) 866-3501

Henry G. Gooday, Vice President

Teri Kuebler, Trustee
tkuebler@florence.k12.az.us

Sheri Kuhl, Trustee
skuhl@florence.k12.az.us

Jim Thomas, Trustee

Superintendent’s Office

Dr. Gary Nine, Superintendent
g9@florence.k12.az.u
(520) 866-3502

Anita VanWagoner, Executive Assistant
avanwagoner@florence.k12.az.us
(520) 866-3501

Jan Kreisinger, Clerical Assistant
jkreisinger@florence.k12.az.us

Eula Neal, Receptionist
eneal@florence.k12.az.us
(520) 866-3500

Instructional & Bilingual Services

Dr. Amy Fuller, Asst. to the Superintendent for
Instructional & Bilingual Services
afuller@florence.k12.az.us

(520) 866-3512

Mary Grant, Director of Special Projects
mgrant@florence.k12.az.us
(480) 888-7591

Bethany Hutchison, Director of ELL
bhutchison@florence.k12.az.us (480) 987-5370

Nicole Steele, Director of Educational Technology
nsteele@florence.k12.az.us (480) 888-7597

Elizabeth Ridout, Curriculum Director
eridout@florence.k12.az.us (520) 866-3559

Diane Troilo, Director of Staff Development
dtroilo@florence.k12.az.us (480) 987-5377

Deb Wilson, Staff Development Coordinator/
Director of Nurses & Librarians
dwilson@florence.k12.az.us (480) 888-7593

Kathy Hurd, Director of Gifted Education
khurd@florence.k12.az.us (480) 888-7592

Amy Vierling, Director of Differentiated Instruction
avierling@florence.k12.az.us (520) 866-3500
x2218

Human Resources

Tony Jimenez, Asst. to the Superintendent for Adm. Services
tjimenez@florence.k12.az.us (520) 866-3517

Robyn Brenna, HR Coordinator
rbrenna@florence.k12.az.us (520) 866-3505

Kim Childers, Benefits Coordinator
kchilders@florence.k12.az.us (520) 866-3538

Sherie Davidson, HR Clerk
sdavidson@florence.k12.az.us (520) 866-3511

Business Office

Beverly Myers, Business Manager
bmyers@florence.k12.az.us
(520) 866-3506

Deborah Cathemer, Payroll Clerk
dcathemer@florence.k12.az.us
(520) 866-3504

Isabel Herrera, Payroll Clerk
iherrera@florence.k12.az.us
(520) 866-3530

Shirley Roubik, Accounts Payable
sroubik@florence.k12.az.us
(520) 866-3508

Reanee Wall, MIPS, SHAPE, Students Activities
rwall@florence.k12.az.us
(520) 866-3507

Nancy Rodrigues, Procurement Specialist
nrodrigues@florence.k12.az.us
(520) 866-3515

Transportation/Support Services

Mark Lamas, Transportation/Support Services Administrator
mlamas@florence.k12.az.us
(520) 866-8802

Shannon Arterbury, Transportation Assistant
sarterbury@florence.k12.az.us
(520) 866-8801

Special Education Office

Virginia Shuss, Director of Pupil Services
vshuss@florence.k12.az.us

(520) 866-3510

Kathy Papworth, Special Education Secretary
kpapworth@florence.k12.az.us
(520) 866-3539

Developer Liaison

Dana Hawman
dhawman@florence.k12.az.us

(520) 866-3532

Food Services

Sheaba Granillo, Food Service Director
sgranillo@florence.k12.az.us
(520) 866-3531

Rachel Regione, Food Service Clerk
rregione@florence.k12.az.us

Meet Our Governing Board


Our five member Governing Board has a strategic plan that emphasizes community involvement, enhancement of the basic skills in all core subject areas, and the development of a high school graduate who will yearn for life-long learning.

The Board, as your community representatives dedicated to the education of our children, values your input into the decision-making process. Please feel free to attend our regularly scheduled Board meetings. You can check the district calendar and agendas for further information and meeting times.

“Our Governing Board’s Mission is to provide each student with an educational foundation, empowering them with experiences and values to develop into unique individuals with the ability to achieve their dreams in our rapidly changing world.”

Our Governing Board Members



Rose Marie Monks, President
Term of Office: 1/01/05 - 12/31/08



Henry G. Gooday Jr., Vice-President
Term of Office: 1/01/07 - 12/31/10


Jim Thomas, Member
Term of Office:



Teri Kuebler, Member
Term of Office: 1/01/07 - 12/31/10



Sheri Kuhl, Member
Term of Office: 1/01/07 - 12/31/08

Working for Florence Unified

If you are a teacher or an individual who would like to work with a school district dedicated to helping students achieve their highest potential, you’ll want to check out what Florence Unified School District #1 has to offer. If you’d like to be surrounded by dedicated professionals, supportive parents, and a community who believes in helping our educational system succeed, you’ll like what you find in Florence, Arizona.

Some of the benefits of becoming a part of the Florence educational community are:

Growing District

Our growing community means our schools enjoy new facilities and some of the latest technology resources for our students’ educational growth. In July 2003 we opened a new High School that boasts of a commercial quality television studio and a state-of-the-art telecommunications center. Cutting edge science laboratories provide students the opportunity to learn through simulation and experimentation. We expect our eighth K-8 school to begin construction soon.

Small Town Atmosphere

One of the advantages of living and working in a small town is the community support for its educational programs. At Florence, we share those advantages. Our parents, community members, and local businesses value the contribution our schools make to the future of its children. While our community enjoys the small town atmosphere that is so appealing to families, we are also close enough to the Phoenix metropolitan amenities to allow for the best of both environments.

Strong Educational Programs

Our district is proud of its excellent regular education curriculum. The district also supports strong programs for special education, technology, music, art, substance abuse prevention, and interscholastic athletic programs. Our strong staff development programs help our teachers meet the ever changing needs of our students and our curriculum reflects their educational needs for their future success. Our expectations are high, and our students and staff achieve and exceed those expectations!

District Vision

KIDS FIRST

Kids First
I come second, as kids come first
Doing our best as teachers and staff, everyday, for every child
Setting high expectations for all

Finding problems to just be opportunities for creative solutions
If educationally correct, it must be administratively possible
Respect; modeled, given, received, and praised
Sharing an articulated, challenging, real-world, technologically integrated curriculum
Trust - earned, granted, forging a true partnership between faculty, staff, administrations, students, and community.

Registration

Entrance Requirements

Students entering Kindergarten must be 5 years old by September 1. Students entering first grade must be 6 years old by September 1. All students entering Florence Unified School District for the first time must have the following documentation:

Kindergarten Registration

Kindergarten is an all-day Program. Parents are encouraged to participate in Parent Academy and volunteer in classrooms. Please label your child’s clothes and belongings. Messages for your child’s teacher can be left on their class phone voicemail.

Immunizations

Documentary proof of immunizations must be presented to school personnel at the time of enrollment. Immunizations must be current for the age of the child. Please keep the school nurse informed of any new immunizations your children receive so the health records will be current. Students who are not up to date on immunizations will not be allowed to attend school.

Children who are not adequately vaccinated against preventable diseases will be excluded from school in the event of a disease outbreak. The following is the immunization requirement for school enrollment (Pinal County Department of Health):

Use of Facilities

PARENTAL ACCESS SUPPORT SYSTEM

Schoolmaster PASS (Parental Access Support System)

This exclusive Schoolmaster feature allows you to create confidential HTML pages that contain a snapshot of the student information in the Schoolmaster database. To access this information, family members use the student’s Schoolmaster ID number and a user-definable PIN (Personal Identification Number). For security and privacy, the student’s name and PIN are not shown anywhere on the PASS pages. PASS can be configured to create pages for some or all of the following Schoolmaster information:

Academic Plan
Displays all past, present, and future courses in a student’s plan along with their current status (completed, requested, etc.).

Attendance
Shows the student’s period-by-period attendance since the first day of school.

Current Marks
Shows the student’s marks for courses currently being taken. You may choose to show marks for the last completed grading period or progress marks for the current grading period.

GPA History
Shows the dates, GPA, points earned, attempts, credit earned, class rank, and class size. (Only the Current and Cumulative GPAs designated in Secondary Grading preferences are included.)

Guidance
Shows the date, topic, and subtopic of any guidance incidents. (Only records designated to print on the transcript are included.)

Mark History
Shows the student’s secondary mark history, including year, grade level, term, department, course title, teacher, final mark, and credit earned. (Only records designated to print on the transcript are included.)

Schedule/Progress
Schedule shows all current schedule information for the student, including course, room, period, term and teacher. Progress is a progress report generated from the teacher’s Schoolmaster Gradebook, which includes current marks, comments, homework, and other general and personal notes.

Test History
Shows the date, battery, sub-test, and score of tests the student has taken. (Only records designated to print on the transcript are included.)

Vaccinations
Shows the student’s vaccination history, including vaccination type, six dose dates, and vaccination status.

Calendar
Displays a month-by-month calendar with events.

Messages
Includes general school messages about lunch menus, assemblies, and other events.

Tax Credits

What is the School Tax Credit & How Can I Benefit?

Well, first of all, it costs you nothing and gives your school money for extracurricular activities.

The Arizona School Tax Credit satisfies your Arizona Tax Liability dollar for dollar. The money that you contribute to the Florence Unified School District for extracurricular activities is money that you would pay in Arizona Income Tax, but you can make the choice to send it directly to your favorite Florence Unified school. The school benefits, and you have made the choice on how your tax dollars are spent.

The credit is equal to the amount contributed to the school. The credit is limited to:

When tax time comes, just figure your tax liability as usual and then indicate that you have already paid a portion of this liability by contributing to Florence Unified School District. The credit will not reduce your tax liability past zero. Any unused credit will carry forward for five (5) years.

Any individual filing an Arizona Income Tax Return can use the credit.

Just five easy steps will do it!

  1. Decide which school you wish to support.
  2. Decide which extracurricular activity you wish to support.
  3. Write a check for up to $400, made payable to the Florence Unified School District, then fill out and attach your check to the form on the back of this flyer.
  4. Mail or deliver the check and form to the Florence Unified school of your choice.
  5. Wear a big smile when you talk to the taxman…you’re going to get that money back as a refund or deducted from your state tax bill.

Remember…this contribution costs you nothing. Pay it to the school of your choice, or pay it to the Arizona Department of Revenue.

To contribute to the School Tax Credit program, simply click on the “Tax Credit Form” link below to launch the required form. Print and complete the form and either bring or send the form and your money or check to:

Florence Unified School District #1
Attn: Kathy Barker, Finance Specialist
P.O. Box 2850 - 225 S. Orlando St.
Florence, AZ 85232
(520) 866-3516

And, thank you for supporting our extracurricular programs
at the Florence Unified Schools!

Contact Us

We are located at:

Florence USD #1
District Office
225 S. Orlando Street (P.O. Box 2850)
Florence, AZ 85232

(520) 866-3500 or
(480) 888-7551

If you would like to reach a specific individual at the district office, or one of our schools, please see the contact information on our Departments page.

Driving Directions from Phoenix area:

Take I-10 south to State Hwy 387, Exit 185, proceed East to Hwy 87/287, turn right and go to Florence. Turn left onto Business Hwy 79/Main Street. Turn right on Duron Street, then turn left on Orlando. The district office is located at 225 S. Orlando Street.

Driving Directions from Mesa, Arizona:

Take I-60 Superstition Freeway east to Florence Junction. Exit right onto Hwy 79 south to Florence. Turn right at Butte Avenue. At Park Street, turn left. Drive to stop sign (Virginia Street) and turn right. At next stop sign (Orlando), turn right again. Turn into the first parking lot on the right. The reception area for the district office is in the first of the four single-story buildings you see.

Driving Directions from Tucson, Arizona:

Follow Oracle Road north to Oracle Junction. Turn left onto State Hwy 79. Proceed to Florence and take the left fork of Hwy 79 to the business district. You will be on Main Street. At Duron Street, turn right. At Orlando, turn left. The district office is located at 225 S. Orlando Street.