Kent P. Scribner

Kent P. Scribner

Kent P. Scribner, PhD, is superintendent of the Phoenix Union High School District, a post he has held since 2008. Phoenix Union is the largest high school district in Arizona, serving more than 27,000 students in grades 9–12. In October 2011, President Barack Obama appointed Dr. Scribner to the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.

During his tenure at Phoenix Union, Dr. Scribner has led several successful educational initiatives. Phoenix Union recently became the only district in Arizona to offer international baccalaureate programs at two schools, North High School and Betty Fairfax High School. Central High School has become Arizona’s first Cambridge International Centre, adopting the prestigious Cambridge Curriculum. The first ever Montessori High School program in Arizona was established at Camelback High School in 2012. All Phoenix Union schools have aligned curriculum with both state and national standards through the ACT Quality Core®. For five years in a row, the ACT college entrance exam was administered at no cost to all 11th-grade students, and ACT EXPLORE and PLAN exams are measuring 9th- and 10th-grade college-readiness benchmarks.

Dr. Scribner implemented the mission of “Preparing every student for success in college, career, and life,” and the district has responded. Every school was rated as performing, performing plus, highly performing, or excelling by the state accountability labels for 2011. In 2013, Phoenix Union increased the number of “A” and “B” schools in the Arizona Department of Education accountability rankings. Honors and advanced placement course-taking has more than doubled. Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) curriculum has been introduced on every comprehensive campus, and 250 teachers have been trained in AVID strategies. Students applying for college and earning acceptance has dramatically increased, from $17.8 million in merit scholarships in 2009 to $53 million in 2014.

He earned a BA in Latin American studies from Carleton College, an MEd in counseling psychology from Temple University, and a PhD in educational leadership and policy studies from Arizona State University.