TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Mica Mountain High School and Andrada Polytechnic High School were awarded with the A+ School for Excellence Award from the Arizona Educational Foundation.
53 schools were awarded the 2025 A+ grade which is given to schools who have qualities like, "strong leadership that inspires collaboration and embraces professional development; high-quality teachers and staff who create engaging learning experiences and help students thrive academically and socially."
This is Mica Mountain and Andrada's first A+ award.
One of the requirements for the award is that the school has to be opened for at least 3 years. Mica Mountain opened in 2020, meaning this was the first time they were eligible.
"We really focus on leadership for our students and building leaders through their service and our staff have encompassed that and helped move that along," says Neemer Hassey, principal at Mica Mountain, "And so it's just everybody involved makes our makes the place special."
Andrada opened in 2012 but has grown slowly, being the only school south of I-10, and now they have their first A+ award.
"Everybody from the custodian to security guards to the assistant principals to the counselors, all had a say in the a plus app. And so the nice part about doing that is there were some things that I learned about that some of the programs were doing," said Geoff Parks, principal at Andrada.
A full list of the award winners can be found here.
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Blake Phillips is a reporter for KGUN 9. Originally from St. Louis, Mo., Blake grew up in Sierra Vista. During his college tenure at the Missouri School of Journalism, Blake worked for the NBC affiliate KOMU-TV in Columbia. He is excited to return to a place he calls home and give back to the community in which he grew up. Share your story ideas and important issues with Blake by emailing blake.phillips@kgun9.com.
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