The Tanque Verde District is located in the verdant Tanque Verde Valley (Northeast edge of Tucson). The 77 square mile district is bounded on the north by the beautiful Catalina Mountains and on the east by the Rincon Mountains. The colorful history of the Tanque Verde Valley is reflected in its name. "Tanque Verde" means "green tank" in Spanish and is probably a reference to an algae filled stock watering tank in the area. Two seasonal watercourses, the Tanque Verde Wash and the Agua Caliente Wash, traverse the valley. The Valley is rich in western history. This area was frequently visited by Apache Indians as well as soldiers from nearby Ft. Lowell.
When the District was first organized in 1886, the Tanque Verde Valley was very remote from Tucson. Residents of the tiny Tanque Verde settlement and Valley ranchers decided to create a school close to home. They chose an adobe building in the area of Freeman Road and Speedway Boulevard to house the new school. Tanque Verde became District 13 when the "new" school on the other side of the Tanque Verde Wash was built in 1923 (the present Lew Sorenson Educational Resource Center). (see map)
The District is composed of three schools: Agua Caliente Elementary (K-6), Tanque Verde Elementary (K-6), and Emily Gray Junior High (7-9). Today there are over 1600 students enrolled in the three schools with another 400+ attending high school on a tuition basis in Tucson Unified School District #1. The District has an operating budget of approximately 8.2 million dollars and employs 213 certified and classified personnel.
The District has very high academic standards as evidenced by the children's test scores, which are among the highest in the state, far exceeding state and national norms. Tanque Verde students have received recognition in many areas, particularly science and music. The District has received nine Golden Bell Awards from the Arizona School Boards Association for program excellence, two Christa McAuliffe Awards, and seven Teacher of the Year Awards in specialty areas, as well as several distinguished administrator awards. The District receives broad based community support and utilizes a large number of parent volunteers. The faculty, staff, and administration are dedicated to educational excellence.
The District is progressive and has solid educational programs in the core areas and support programs such as Gifted Education, Special Education Programs, Substance Abuse Prevention, Peer Counselors, Title I Reading, Spanish Grades 1-9, Art, Music, Physical Education, Chorus for all the pupils at all grade levels plus many co-curricular and extra curricular school activities. Technology is incorporated in each school's curriculum, and computers and computer labs are found at each school site. Ninth grade students are allowed to participate in athletics and other activities open to the freshman students at Sabino High School in Tucson Unified School District.
As the District moves into the 21st Century, our focus will be to provide the best possible level of service to the students of the District. This occurs as the district sets important goals to improve the curriculum, provide for the integration of higher levels of technology, and increase cooperation between the school district staff and community. The district motto, "Excellence is our Goal, Understanding our Foundation," provides a direction and challenge to our staff.
