The Tempe Elementary School District is a school district in Tempe, Arizona.
The Tempe Elementary School District is located in the heart of the âÂÂValley of the SunâÂÂ. It encompasses an area of approximately including not only Tempe but also parts of Phoenix and the Town of Guadalupe. Arizona State University, the fifth largest campus in the nation (with more than 50,000 students) is within the district's boundaries providing professional and educational opportunities.
The 21 schools in the Tempe Elementary School District consist of 14 elementary schools grades kindergarten through five, a developmental special needs school, an Intervention Learning Program middle school, four middle schools grades six through eight, a k-8 school, and a K-8 traditional school.
The Tempe Elementary School District has five members, each serving four year terms.
In 2007, it launched a program to reduce absenteeism among its 1,200 Native American students. A district supervision commented that some Native American parents had negative perceptions of schools. The program includes liaisons with parents and help with resources ranging from alarm clocks to transportation.
In 2021, staffers from the Arizona Historical Society and Tempe History Museum found that several Tempe parks and streets had been named after local Ku Klux Klan members from the 1920s, including three TESD schools. Following several public meetings, the District decided to change the names of the affected schools.
In 2022, the three schools had their names changed. Hudson Elementary became Joseph Spracale Elementary, Gililland Middle School became Geneva Epps Mosley Middle School, and Laird School became Cecil Shamley School. All three schools were named after former Tempe educators.