The black and white UNITY mural greets students, staff and visitors at City High School in downtown Tucson.
Forming that complete whole is foundational to what City High, a public charter school, was founded on in 2004, teachers say.
On Thursday, staff and teachers brought that message of community full circle — announcing to their board that they will form a union — at the CITY Center for Collaborative Learning, a nonprofit that includes City High and two middle schools: Paulo Freire Freedom School, University and Downtown campuses.
The City High and Paulo Freire staff and teachers will become the second charter in Arizona to join a union.
BASIS was the first charter in Arizona to unionize in September. The schools will be a part of AFT Local 6627, Arizona Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff, part of the American Federation of Teachers.
“We just want to be able to have a collective voice,” Paulo Freire science teacher Nick Ilka told Arizona Luminaria. “The people on the ground, the people in the classroom have a perspective. The upper level people who don’t get to be in the classroom every day can hear from our perspective as a unified voice when big changes do need to be made. And there’s lots of changes going on in education right now — in Arizona, in Tucson, in the country.
“We need to have that collective voice in order to create a better community. And at the end of the day, we do this all for the students,” he said.
The announcement by teachers and staff at the board meeting was met with no voluntary recognition by the board. The next step is a National Labor Relations Board election in early 2026, organizers say, adding they have a supermajority of votes.
The three schools have about 40 teachers and staff and around 250 students. The inclusive learning environment embraces diverse identities and points of view. It also includes community volunteering, service, internships and participation in community-based organizations to create responsible citizens. City High and Paulo Freire are Title I schools — those with at least 40% low-income students.
Among the union’s aims is having a say in the decision-making process at the schools.
“Our school’s mission is very much based on teachers being leaders and being advisors and mentors to their students and having these very tight-knit relationships with them in that capacity,” said Haley Odom-Mackey, a City High algebra teacher. “And that requires for us to have democratic decision making with staff members and teacher-leaders involved.
“We’re not able to do the really unique work that we’re tasked to do in our charter without having input. And without having democratic decision making on all levels of the hierarchy,” she said.
Thursday’s meeting involved the supportive voices of a few parents and a former student, who said after attending 15 schools as a kid, City High was the place for them.
“This is the only school where I ever felt truly supported and I got the teachers on my side, the only place I have felt the teachers want me to succeed,” said Maddie, a former student, as applause filled the Zoom room.
Creating that safe environment is a priority, said Odom-Mackey, who has a bioengineering degree and was a chef before joining the school five years ago.
“A great day for me is when the world can be in whatever state, the school can be in whatever state, but when people enter the classroom, they feel safe, like they can talk to me, like they know know that I love them and I care about them as a human being,” she said.
“And I think that is the way students are able to unlock the part of their brain that allows them to learn fully — when they feel safe.”
Republish our articles for free, online or in print.
