Chandler schools: Changes for alternative programs

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

Luke Hickey is the principal of Chief Hill Learning Academy — which he says is in the process of becoming an official separate alternative high school.

Speaking at a Chandler Unified Governing Board’s Feb. 11 study session on alternative programs, Hickey talked about how the school functions now and what changes are afoot for the 2026-27 school year.

“We need to get a mission statement approved by you, the board,” Hickey said as one of the many forms of support Chief Hill will need going forward.

Named for Ken “Chief” Hill, the late U.S. Air Force veteran who became a Chandler High JROTC instructor and later a vice principal, the building has technically housed programs for students who remain enrolled at one of CUSD’s junior highs or high schools.

Hickey said the academy site is attempting to become its own alternative school with an accreditation it hopes to gain by the summer of 2027.

He also said Chief Hill should start receiving its own letter grade this year from the Arizona Department of Education’s state accountability labels.

“We don’t have a prediction, really,” Hickey said regarding the letter grade. “But we’ve looked at where we’re at on all the metrics, and things look good, so far.”

One of the biggest changes on the McQueen Road campus in the year ahead will be the ICAN program moving onto the campus. ICAN, which stands for Improving Chandler-Area Neighborhoods, is a 35-year-old nonprofit organization responsible for a variety of afterschool programs.

Chandler Unified has been sending some students to leased space within ICAN’s facility, located near Folley Park and Frye Elementary School. The $102,000 annual lease and staffing cuts will be a cost savings to the district as those students will be served at Chief Hill’s McQueen campus.

“The teachers and the social worker will be the ones they’re familiar with already,” Hickey said in describing the staffing overlap that was already used at the ICAN site.

Hickey said longtime colleagues of Ken Hill have formalized their support of the school by recently forming an HLA booster club.

He also explained the basic procedures of how a student and their parents are first introduced to the Chief Hill campus and its programs, starting with a referral from a counselor at the student’s home school.

The school’s various pathways are oriented toward high school graduation and leaving Chief Hill with some type of job skills.

CUSD Board President Patti Serrano asked how special education, students on federal 504 disability accommodations and students on individualized education programs, or IEPs, will be accommodated at Chief Hill.

Hickey said currently, ICAN doesn’t have SPED services, so none of the ICAN students coming to the Chief Hill campus will need such support.

“As we graduate students, certainly, if we enroll students that need supports, we see our campus as ‘Independent study with support and accountability,’” Hickey said. “We’ll have one resource teacher, so that’s one case manager as well. So if we get a 504 or IEP student, we will actually have more ability to serve them (starting in 2026-27) than we do now.”

Email Jason W. Brooks at jbrooks@iniusa.org. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

INDEPENDENT NEWSMEDIA

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.