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Parents and students press Tempe Union board to preserve Innovation Center as district outlines transition work
Summary
Multiple parents and students urged the Tempe Union High School District governing board to keep the Innovation Center open and to expand transition supports for students with disabilities; district staff described planned surveys, resources and a parent-stakeholder committee to guide special education transition work.
At its Jan. 18 meeting, the Tempe Union High School District governing board heard a series of public comments urging the district not to close the Innovation Center and requesting additional transition supports for students with disabilities.
Parents and students described the Innovation Center as a program that changed academic outcomes and social engagement. Parent Monet Neville said she was told the program “might be canceled next year,” and asked the board to “take a second look” and consider alternatives so the program can continue to serve students like her daughter, who attends the Innovation Center.
Students testified that the program has helped them recover grades, find purpose and gain workplace skills. Eden Inger, a Desert Vista High School sophomore and Innovation Center participant, credited the program with raising her grades to honors and said it “planted a…
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