YOUTH

WestValleyView.com /WestValleyView For more youth visit westvalleyview.com

Agua Fria Superintendent Mark Yslas is reflecting fondly on “a great first quarter” at the district. He plans to conduct Listening Tours to talk with parents and students next

quarter. (Submitted photo)

Super-Saturday-WVV-Ad 4.9x4.9.pdf 1 10/11/21 11:54 AM

Community members, come be a part of our Dream Team and help write our District's Strategic Plan. This is your opportunity to give input and help shape the future of education. Those who register will receive venue details and agenda via email.

NOVEMBER 6TH

(Breakfast and lunch will be provided)

For more info or to register visit aguafria.org/decadeofdreams

Agua Fria’s Mark Yslas writes letter to parents

BY MARK YSLAS

Agua Fria Union High School District Superintendent

We had a great first quarter at Agua Fria Union High School District. It’s been amazing to have our students on campus again. We welcomed 9,300 students across our five campuses and online academy. That’s 700 more students than projected for this school year. This is exciting, and we look forward to growing with our West Valley communities and building upon a solid foundation.

Thanks to voters for their support of a bond in 2019, our campuses have been able to accommodate the growth.

Phase II of the Agua Fria High School remodel is underway and will be completed in July.

A new gymnasium is under construction at Millennium High School and is set to open in May 2022.

Classroom additions to Canyon View High School are in the design process.

Desert Edge High School is anticipating campus renovations to begin by the end of 2021.

Safety and security upgrades are being made at Verrado High School.

Be sure to check your mailbox, as ballots for district’s override continuation election will soon arrive.

Next quarter I will be conducting Listening Tours at each of our schools to talk directly with parents and students about the current state and future of the district. I want to hear what’s working, what can be improved, and your ideas to make this the best high school district in the nation. Stay tuned for additional details that will be shared by schools.

Our much-anticipated time to build our 10-year strategic plan, “Decade of Dreams,” is finally here. This is an opportunity for the community to give their input and help shape the future of education at Agua Fria Union High School District. I invite you to dream with us on Nov. 6, Super Saturday. To learn more, visit aguafria.org/decadeofdreams.

Estrella Foothills High School hosts the Odyssey Institute and Cactus High School for a swim meet at the Goodyear Recreation Campus. (Photo by Rebecca Striffler)

Goodyear Rec Campus provides youth jobs and a pool

BY REBECCA STRIFFLER

West Valley View Contributing Writer

Traveling 5 miles to off-campus pools for practices and meets, and sharing facilities with other schools, proved a challenging inconvenience to many high school swim programs in the West Valley.

Now, thanks to the Goodyear Recreation Campus, schools like Desert Edge have a pool “in their backyard.”

“It has been great to be so close to school and have the pool to ourselves,” Desert Edge swim coach Karen Lopez said. “We are able to practice sooner after school so the student-athletes can get home sooner to get their homework done. Having the pool to ourselves has given us much more space to spread out and really differentiate the workouts for different groups of swimmers.”

The new campus has provided high school swimmers at five local schools with a new place to practice, compete and work. As a community investment, the $64 million facility was built entirely around the community’s needs and opinions.

When planning and constructing the campus, Goodyear focused on gauging public input on what should be included in the facility through surveying focus groups of different ages and needs within the community.

“The unique thing about this project was that it was envisioned, planned and designed for the community and by the community,” Goodyear Recreation Superintendent Mike Beadle said. “We did a ton of community outreach, including focus groups with the high schools, to make sure all of the needs of the community were reached with this project.”

One of those focus groups was Desert Edge High School, located just south of the recreation campus.

“We tried to cater to everyone, and with the proximity of Desert Edge High School and BASIS elementary, it made a lot of sense to identify their needs, and Desert Edge identified a need for a pool,” Beadle said.

The Desert Edge swim team, which formerly used the Goodyear YMCA pool, now benefits from the convenience of a much closer and newer facility.

“When we went to the YMCA, we would have to take the bus that would not get to school until about 3:50, then practice 4:15 to 5:30 and take the bus back to school, getting back at about 5:55,” Lopez said. “Now, we get to the pool at about 3:30 and can leave straight from the pool at 5:30.”

The city partnered with Desert Edge in an intergovernmental agreement that allows the school to use the recreation campus at little to no cost and allows Goodyear to use Desert Edge’s parking lots and facilities for other events and programming.

Goodyear’s Recreation Coordinator Megan Johnson noted that the partnership only made sense, as the campus “was built in their backyard.”

“We need high schoolers and college students to run the facilities,” Johnson said. “It’s a good relationship for us to

have with the school districts so that when we are hosting events and collaborating for things like job fairs and other activities, we can foster and lean on that relationship.”

While Desert Edge remains the only team to practice at the recreation campus, Trivium Prep, Estrella Foothills High School, Westview High School and Tolleson Union High School practice at Goodyear’s Loma Linda pool and share the Goodyear Recreation Campus for hosting swim meets.

Goodyear plans to increase its future involvement in the high school swim programs with the new recreation campus in the years to come. With a complete timing system and scoreboard, the facility has offered high school swimmers a more professional swim experience.

“We are looking to eventually hold some district qualifying meets or state meets after this year,” Johnson said. “We are hoping to be able to help these schools grow their programs.”

The Goodyear Recreation Campus has also benefited the community by creating jobs for many high schoolers, most of whom are swimmers who work as lifeguards. Over the summer, the campus employed around 80 parttime staff members that were primarily high schoolers.

“It provided a lot of high school students and high school swimmers an opportunity for a job. It was a marriage that we need them, and it gave them a great opportunity as well as a way to swim and make some money,” Beadle said.

Trivium Prep swimmer Mia Doyle got her first job this summer as a lifeguard at the recreation campus.

“Working with the city of Goodyear, I can easily talk with my managers, and they are very accommodating with my swim schedule,” Doyle said. “It’s been good overall not having to stress about work and swim and if I need time off and what I’m going to do. It hasn’t been hard to work and swim.”

The recreation campus opened to Goodyear residents over Fourth of July weekend, and the city received an overwhelmingly positive response.

“It’s been huge,” Johnson said. “We offered the first two weeks for free to the community, so we definitely saw a lot of crowds coming in. This year, we did a promotional $75 family pass, and because of that, our pass holder numbers are through the roof at almost 16,000.”

Johnson explained that most community recreational facilities maintain around 3,000 to 4,000 pass holders annually, so Goodyear was incredibly shocked to receive such positive community reception at the opening of the recreation campus. Because of the high numbers, the city has not yet opened the campus to nonresidents.

The roughly $10 million aquatic facility is not the only attraction the recreation campus has to offer. With an esports and gaming room, multipurpose rooms and classrooms, a two-court gymnasium, indoor track, gym equipment, play pool, lazy river, waterslides, baseball and softball fields, and 6.5 acres of lighted green space, The Goodyear Recreation Campus offers something for every member of the community.

“Overall, our goal is enhancing the quality of life of residents and making Goodyear a great place to be,” Beadle said.

In the heart of Goodyear, the Goodyear Recreation Campus has given community members a place to swim, exercise and socialize with others in their city. (Photo by Rebecca Striffler)