For the past few years, I've put up a chart of TUSD's enrollment numbers beginning in 2000. The district has a detailed table of daily enrollment for those years separated out by grade, ethnicity and gender. However, it wasn't updated last year because, I was told, of a change in computer operations. I recently received the 2016-17 numbers from the district and was told the daily enrollment count will return to the district website toward the end of this year.

Here is the updated chart.
A few things before I look at the numbers. I've consistently used the enrollment numbers on the 175th day because they seem to have less random variation than other days during the year. However, the numbers I'm using this year are somewhat different than last year's. The reason is, I hadn't noticed until I looked over the numbers for this post that I had included preschool enrollment in the count, which skews the count, especially for the past school year. Preschool numbers have increased slowly over the years, but they made a big jump this past year, increasing by 300 children. If I included them in the chart, the enrollment loss for this past school year would be smaller. This corrected chart only includes K-12 numbers.

The chart shows an average decline in district enrollment of about 350 students a year from 2000 to 2007. The numbers take a plunge from 2008 to 2012, averaging about 1600 a year, then the yearly decreases slow. Over the last three years, the average loss has been about 650 students, which is an improvement from the previous seven years but still a serious problem for the district.

My chart only shows the total numbers year to year. A look at the grade-by-grade changes in the detailed district tables reveals a few problems and one bright spot.

Saturday Night Live’s Kyle Mooney stars as James, a man who loves a kid’s TV show called Brigsby Bear, and loves his parents (Mark Hamill, Jane Adams). As it turns out, he’s also a kidnapping victim, his parents aren’t his real parents, and the TV show was produced by his fake dad for him only. When authorities rescue him and he’s returned to his real parents (Matt Walsh and Michaela Watkins), James understandably has a few emotional and social issues, having never really been outside a small dwelling his entire life. His obsession with the fake TV show continues, and he aspires to continue the story of Brigsby Bear, even if it was a byproduct of his captivity.

Director Dave McCary, working from a script co-written by Mooney, delivers a surprisingly heartwarming, funny sleeper with this movie, a film that pays tribute to geek fandom (Hey…Mark Hamill!), the importance of family, new friendships, and forgiveness.

Mooney is essentially playing one of his spacey SNL characters here, and he fits in perfectly. Greg Kinnear, as a helpful policeman with acting aspirations, lends to a terrific supporting cast. Yes, it is a little weird how James remains somewhat cool headed and affectionate for his fake captor dad but, hey, it’s Mark Hamill! (there’s a nice touch involving voiceovers that just makes total sense).

This is actually one of the better films starring and SNL alumni to come out in the last few years, and shows Mooney to have a promising movie career.

Each Labor Day weekend, the fine folks at Club Congress host the city's biggest musical bash of the year. It runs Wed. Aug. 30-Sunday, Sept. 3. The Tucson Weekly is down with it.

So down with it we'll be doing drive-by previews of bands and artists performing the Hoco Fest fest, local and international. Here's a bit about the heady, adrenaline-stoked combo Ho99o9, playing the fest on Thursday, Aug. 31:


Those who caught New Jersey’s Ho99o9 (pronounced Horror) when they hit the Moldy Pueblo on Mike Patton’s Dead Cross tour will know how much of a spectacular mindfuck they are live. Mashing Ministry’s grimy industrial scrum with Manson-esque (Marilyn and Charlie) goth-horror, some Suicide minimalism, and smart, skull-crush hip-hop that’d do Massive Attack proud, few new bands excite more than Ho99o9. The main duo of theOGM and Eaddy work together because of their musical and, perhaps, subtle ideological differences—sorta like a brainy, punk-rock Outkast. Tension is critical. On record they’re great, but live is the shit.

Meet Harley, a two-year-old female Staffordshire Bull Terrier. This weekend, she and all of the animals at the Pima Animal Care Center can be adopted with no adoption fee, as a part of PACC’s participation in the nationwide “Clear the Shelters” campaign.

Adoption fees will be waved Saturday, Aug 19, and Sunday, Aug. 20. The usual $18 licensing fee for adult dogs will apply, but what’s $18 for a new furry best friend? Not to mention that every adopted pet (all the time, not just for the weekend) comes spayed or neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and with a free vet visit.

Clear the Shelters, an event hosted by NBC and Telemundo-owned stations, has led to the adoption of over 73,000 pets since its expansion to the national level in 2015, 50,000 of which took place in 2016. Help break last year’s record by taking home one of the more than 650 pets at PACC that are waiting to meet you.

Look at available pets online or visit them in purr-son at the shelter, 4000 N. Silverbell Road.

Hi there! I'm Harley!

I'm a cute little 1 year old boy and I need a new home! I came to HSSA as a stray so they don't know a lot about my history, but they do know that I'm a sweet boy!
I'm looking for a home that is willing to give me ample time to adjust to my new environment and get used to my new forever home!

Once I warm up to people I really enjoy going for walks and giving doggy kisses!
If you're looking for a fun dog to join your family I might be the perfect fit! Contact HSSA Main Campus at 520-327-6088 ext. 173 to check on my availability and exact location!

Wags and Kisses,
Harley (842211)

The state has released scores on the AzMERIT tests given this spring, meaning we can compare TUSD's 2017 scores with its scores two years ago when students took the first AzMERIT tests, and with the state scores. I'll lay out the results the numbers first, then I'll try to figure out what they mean, and don't mean.

But first, let me repeat my intense dislike of our obsession with high stakes, standardized tests. They only test what's testable in a fill-in-the-bubble format. They're susceptible to being gamed, meaning the better teachers are at teaching to the test, the better their students' results. That means the reliability of the results as a measure of student achievement is questionable. Also, the emphasis on the tests distorts the curriculum at the same time it stifles teachers' creativity and their ability to tailor their teaching strategies to their students' needs. The yearly tests make the education we give our students worse, not better. Nonetheless, the tests are out there, and people will talk. So with these caveats in mind, I'll talk too.

Here's a summary of the AzMERIT results, without analysis or interpretation. Statewide, fewer than half the students passed the test in every grade. The passage rates range from 25 percent to 48 percent. However, the average passing rate rose about 4 percentage points since the first test was given in 2015. TUSD's passing rate is considerably lower than the state's, averaging 11 points lower in Language Arts and 13 points lower in Math. The district's average passing rate didn't change in Language Arts from 2015 to 2017 and went up one percent in Math, meaning TUSD's scores showed less improvement than the state as a whole. White and Asian students scored considerably higher than Hispanic, Native American and African American students at the district and the state level.

Now, some analysis. First, the passing rates. As any teacher knows, you can create tests that are easier and harder, and you can move the grade curve up or down depending on where you set the cut scores. The old AIMS test was thought to be too easy and too many students passed it, so the state created a harder test and set the passing scores at a level that fewer students passed. So the fact that far fewer students passed AzMERIT than AIMS doesn't mean our students know less than they did a few years ago. It just means we have a tougher curve on a tougher test.

Fewer TUSD students passed than the state average, and at both the TUSD and state levels, White and Asian students scored higher than Hispanic, Native American and African American students. That information is about as surprising and revelatory as saying the yearly temperature in Tucson is higher than it is in Seattle. Of course Tucson is warmer, that's how the global climate is structured! Of course Whites and Asians outperform Hispanics, Native Americans and African Americans on standardized tests, that's how the households' economic and educational status is structured! And of course the state outperforms TUSD on standardized test scores, the district has a lower percentage of high scoring White and Asian students and a higher percentage of Hispanic, Native American and African American students than the state as a whole.

None of this is a judgement on any group. Far from it. It's a judgement of our society's shameful economic, racial and ethnic inequality. If we lower the levels of inequality, the gaps in student scores will close as a result. It's overstating things, but not by much, to say we could learn as much about student achievement, and save ourselves a whole lot of money, by getting rid of the tests and just looking up students' zip codes.

Know Your Product: The Head

Straight outta Atlanta, Georgia, The Head formed a decade ago when twins Jack (drums) and Mike (vocals/bass) Shaw took their love for The Beatles, as well as The Stone Roses and the cynically witty Madchester scene, and created something rooted in garage nostalgia yet ultimately contemporary. Packed with big rock choruses and killer fret-work courtesy of guitarist Jacob Morrell, the band’s recent Millipedes EP shows just how much they’ve grown into themselves over the past 10 years. They hit Tucson tonight, so the trio told us their collective picks for the five albums that shaped The Head…

Monday, August 14 at The Flycatcher, 340 E. 6th St.

1. Echo & the Bunnymen – Ocean Rain
The whole album feels like you're listening to a concert hall performance. It's such a big-sounding record that feels intimate. The overall record is sexy and spooky at the same time.

2. Scott Walker – Scott IV
Because without this record, Ocean Rain wouldn't exist.

3. REM - Murmur
This record was a big statement. It came out at time when albums like Thriller (Michael Jackson) and She's So Unusual (Cyndi Lauper) were floating around the airwaves. Murmur was its own beast and defied everything else around it at the time. It taught us to embrace the lead vocal as an instrument.

4. The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
Everything about this record just gives us chills — the textures, the guitars, the vocal melodies. It's a very layered, polished sounding record that still has edge and grit.

5. The Beatles – Rubber Soul
Words can't describe the impact Rubber Soul has had on us. It's a powerhouse of a record that redefined how every subsequent band should make a record.

Sunday, Aug. 13: We were late. Ten minutes behind the hundreds of marchers, and a four-year-old in tow. The photographer offered us a shaded seat until they circled back. But this was no time to sit still. Hate and intolerance had once more surfaced on a national level at the Charlottesville, Virginia white nationalist march. We paused to remove a rock from my son's shoe, and that's when we met Faith. She is pregnant and tired. But it feels too isolating and helpless to stay at home today. We stop for water and a hug at one of three aid stations along the route. All this organization in less than a day—no sirens, no helicopters. Then we hear the chant, "Through love, not hate, let's make America great." Black and gay, Mexican and Muslim, all were walking in unison.

As we passed frat row, six white guys hung together jeering, "Blue Lives Matter." An angry student paused to take their picture. "So that's what privilege looks like," he yells back. Then the black man beside me lays a hand on the marcher's shoulder, "They've just never had something bad happen in their lives yet." A woman up front starts to sing, "And you will know that we are family by our love, by our love." When we hit the 4th Avenue tunnel, our collective voice resounds through the streets. "And you will know that we are family by our love."

Director Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty) directs this uneven yet powerful at times account of the infamous 1967 Algiers Motel incident, part of a race riot that put the city of Detroit under siege.

When a man fires off a starter pistol from his hotel window during intense riots, the police and National Guard converge on the Algiers, and a terrible night ensues. It results in three men shot to death, others psychologically and physically tortured, and the sort of judicial rulings in the aftermath that have been all too commonplace.

John Boyega plays Dismuke’s, a security guard who finds himself entangled in the bloody events perpetrated by racist policemen led by Krauss (a legitimately scary Will Pouter). The men and women held captive at the Algiers are played by a strong ensemble cast including Jason Mitchell, Anthony Mackie, Hannah Murray, Kaitlyn Dever, Nathan Davis, Jr. and Algee Smith. The film feels a bit too fictional in spots. In an odd move, Bigelow incorporates real stock footage along with scenes meant to look like stock footage, much in the same way Oliver Stone did in J.F.K., further confusing fact from fiction. She’s going for a documentary feel, but the script sometimes calls for cartoon caricatures with its bad policemen.

No doubt, most of the policemen at the hotel that night were a bunch of monsters, but the portrayals of them (beyond Poulter’s) feel too cliché and, in some cases, aren’t well acted. There are enough strong performances to make it worth your while, and while some of the details seem manufactured, this is a true story that needed to be told, even if it seems tainted by fiction at times.

My last post was about the likely distribution of the new results-based funding which will go to 17 percent of Arizona's schools. The details are in the earlier post. Here's the short version: Only 35 percent of the state's district schools cater mainly to higher income students, but they represent 65 percent of the schools getting results-based funding for the 2017-18 school year. The economic inequity is even greater for charter schools.

Results-based funding is a very big deal. The lucky schools getting the money will boost their teachers' pay by between $2,000 and $4,000 a year and still have lots left over to buy educational extras other schools can't afford.

Thanks to results-based funding, increased educational inequity will be added to our growing income inequality. But as bad as things are the first year, they'll be far worse after that, with an even bigger piece of the pie going to schools in high rent areas. The details of how this works get a bit complicated, but they're important. Without knowing what the future will bring beyond year one, people will underestimate how truly awful the new results-based funding law is.

When results-based money is given out this school year, 2017-18, it will be based on schools' average AzMERIT scores. Since the standardized test scores correlate so closely with students' family incomes, that could mean that nearly all the money would go to schools in higher rent areas, but an added stipulation guarantees that about a third of the schools are in lower rent areas. According to the current projection from the Arizona legislature's Joint Legislative Budget Committee, 114 district schools with higher income students and 61 schools with lower income students will get the funding.