Information for Students A to Z

Academic Decathlon: This is a high school class and competition group. High school teams compete locally, regionally and statewide in 10 academic areas. The state winner competes nationally.

AVID: Advancement Via Individual Determination is a secondary school program designed to help underserved students prepare for college. 

Breakfast: A number of MPS schools serve breakfast. Please check to see if it is available at your child's school. Free and reduced-price breakfasts are available. Complete a meal assistance application. Parents may prepay meal accounts with a check or cash, or online with a credit or debit card at myLunchMoney.com.

Bus Transportation: Routes and schedules are available at your child's school. Students should be at their bus stop at least five minutes prior to pick-up time. Student safety is our drivers' number one priority. Following the rules is critical to maintaining safety. If a student fails to follow the rules, bus riding privileges may be denied or the student may face disciplinary action. State law requires drivers to stop for school buses when lights are flashing and the stop arm is extended.  

Career Planning System: This is used by Guidance and Counseling and Career and Technical Education to help students develop educational and career plans for personal success.

Career Services: Scholarship resources, a Web-based job bulletin board, the Choices program, interview tips and career development workshops are provided for students.

Close-Up: This nationally-affiliated club offered at many secondary schools in the district to involve students in the democratic process and see the inner-workings of government firsthand.

Concerts: Hundreds of free concerts are performed by music groups each year. The Music Department's calendar provides a concert schedule for all schools. 

Course Catalog, Secondary: The publication, available in English and Spanish, describes the courses offered in junior highs and high schools.

Donating Money to Schools: MPS appreciates donations to the district, and to individual schools and programs. One method of giving is the Extracurricular Activity (ECA) program. Parents, grandparents and caring community members make contributions and earn a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on the Arizona state income tax. Other financial donations are welcomed and appreciated and can be made through the Financial Services Department. Call (480) 472-0112.

ECA Tax Credit: The Extracurricular Activity program allows you to designate some of your state tax dollars to a Mesa school.

Educational and Career Action Plans: As required by the state, effective with the Class of 2013, all students will have an ECAP. These plans allow students to enter and update information on a variety of areas, including academic goals, career goals, post-secondary education goals and extracurricular goals. MPS offers an Internet-based plan called Kuder.

Employment, Student: Mesa Career Services offers a job bulletin for students who are seeking employment.

Extended Learning Program: ELP serves intellectually and academically gifted students in third grade through junior high.

Extracurricular Activity Program: ECA enables Arizona taxpayers to donate money to a Mesa school. Dollar-for-dollar tax credits are available.

Free- and Reduced-Price Meals: The district participates in the National School Lunch Program. Eligible students may receive free- or reduced-price meals (breakfast and lunch). Guidelines for eligibility are established by the federal government. Meal assistance applications are available online, at schools and at the Food and Nutrition office, 143 S. Alma School Road, Mesa. 

Graduation Requirements: Students must meet or exceed Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards to graduate from MPS. Additionally, students must earn 21 credits if they graduate before July 31, 2011, and 22 credits for those who graduate after that date. 

Grooming Standards: Personal hygiene is important both for the student and his/her classmates.

Guidelines: See District Information and Guidelines.

Health and Accident Insurance: The district does not have accident or health insurance for its students. Parents are responsible for insuring their own children. Parents may purchase an optional policy from a private company.

Homeless Education: Resources are available for students and families experiencing a housing crisis. The 24-hour shelter availability hotline is 1 (800) 799-7739.

Homework Hotline: MPS provides free math tutoring by telephone for MPS students. The service is available Monday through Thursday with an elementary teacher on call from 4 to 7 p.m. and a secondary teacher offering assistance from 5 to 8 p.m. On Monday and Wednesday, Homework Hotline is broadcast on Cox Cable Channel 99 from 6 to 7 p.m. so that students may watch as math problems are solved. Call Homework Hotline at (480) 472-0093.

Kuder is an Internet-based career planning system for students and parents.  

Library Resource Centers: This Web site features information that can help students in generating ideas, guiding investigations, developing the imagination and writing research papers.

Lunch: Free- and reduced-price lunches are available. Qualifications are established by the federal government. Applications are available online. Menus and prices are also posted. Prepayment may be made online with a credit or debit card at myLunchMoney.com.

Maps: School attendance area maps and small districtwide maps are available for online viewing. Larger maps are available for purchase from the Research and Evaluation Department.

Mission Statement: MPS . . . We Teach Them Well.

MyLunchMoney.com: Parents may use the Internet to deposit money into their child's account for breakfast and lunch. Parents may monitor the student's usage, set spending limits and receive e-mail notifications when the balance is low.

National Academic League: NAL combines the important aspects of team sports — such as competitiveness, strategy and cooperation in a group effort — with important aspects of learning, such as problem solving, critical thinking and scholarship. Many of the district's junior high schools and the Mesa Academy for Advanced Studies offer NAL.

Op Shop is an annual districtwide college and career fair for junior high and high school students and their families. Colleges and universities, technical schools, community colleges, professional organizations, and representatives from business and industry help students in review post-high school options.

Report Cards:  Report cards are issued four times a year, after each nine-week grading period. At the elementary level, conferences are conducted at least twice per year.

SAT: The college entrance exam is administered by the College Board. It is required by some colleges and universities for admission.

School Report Cards: The Arizona Department of Education issues report cards annually for each public school. 

Service Learning: Students do volunteer work in the community for experience and training. Service learning programs are available at many schools. Students may receive the Honor for Excellence in Service Learning upon completion of 150 hours of service learning throughout the four years of high school. This can be a combination of curriculum-based service learning and extracurricular service sponsored by clubs or community organizations.

State Standards: MPS curriculum for kindergarten through 12th grade is aligned with Arizona State Standards in the arts, comprehensive health and physical activity, foreign and native language, language arts (including reading and writing), math, social studies, technology and workplace skills.

State Tax Credit: The Extracurricular Activity program allows you to designate some of your state tax dollars to a Mesa school.

Testing: The district uses several assessments to measure student achievement and comply with accountability set by the state and federal government. Individual tests include AIMS, district tests, NAEP and Stanford 10.  

Tutoring: Many schools offer free tutoring programs before school, after school, or during lunch. Ask your teacher for information. MPS offers study resources, at no cost to students, such as Britannica Online, Homework Hot Line, Library Resource Centers and Live Homework Help Online.