Central Union High superintendent to showcase interactive classroom games used with at‑risk students

Dr. David Farkas, superintendent of Central Union High School District, said he will visit classrooms across the district over the next few weeks to highlight instructional strategies teachers are using to engage students.

"I'll be visiting more classrooms like this over the next few weeks to showcase the incredible teaching and learning going on across our district," Farkas said.

At Desert Oasis Phoenix Rising, a classroom teacher identified in the transcript as Mr. Bettencourt described using movement‑based games to keep "at risk" students engaged. The teacher said he has worked at Desert Oasis for about 13 years and that activity‑based tasks — such as putting a basket on a student’s head, having students run or walk around the room while answering questions, and short competitive games tied to vocabulary — are used alongside frequent checks for understanding.

"I have I've created several games over the years ... keeping them engaged, pulling them out of their chairs ... to run around or walk around in the classroom," the teacher said. He added that the activities have been "very rewarding over these past couple of years" and that students often ask to play the games.

A student who spoke in the recording described the class as interactive and said the games "get you, like, nice and woken up" while helping students focus on recalling definitions and concepts.

District officials did not provide specific evaluation data, learning‑outcome measures, or plans for broader adoption during the remarks. Farkas framed the visits as an opportunity to document and highlight instructional practices across the district rather than as a policy change.

Farkas said the visits are planned over the next few weeks; no additional implementation timeline or follow‑up actions were specified in the recording.