About the Dysart Unified School District

Dysart Unified School District (DUSD) proudly serves the vibrant and growing community of Surprise, Arizona, and its neighbors in El Mirage and unincorporated sections of Maricopa County.  Located in the northwest corner of the Phoenix metropolitan area, Surprise has witnessed unprecedented growth.  In fact, DUSD has gone from some 7,000 enrolled students in school year 2001-2002 to over 24,000 enrolled students now.  And we’ve rapidly outgrown our original four elementary schools and one high school to become the twenty K-8 schools, 4 high schools, one early childhood center, and one alternative program that we are today.

Safe Schools Healthy Students

This incredible growth created a need within DUSD, so in
2008 the District applied for and was awarded $6 million by the U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Justice.  Safe Schools/Healthy Students grant funding provides resources for twenty of the District’s schools over a period of four years, through school year 2011-2012.  We strive to promote safe and healthy learning environments because, as we all know, violence and substance abuse in schools compromise the educational climate and endanger teachers and students.  Through the collaborative federal grant funding, we work together to provide comprehensive educational, mental health, social, law-related, and juvenile justice services.

Safe and Supportive Schools

However, school safety and order remained a concern at one high school and the alternative school, both of which were not covered by the SS/HS grant, so DUSD was invited to participate in the state-awarded $1.3 million Safe and Supportive Schools grant that will assist us through school year 2013-2014. This grant provides for school connectedness and for the prevention programs so essential to building academic success and a positive school climate. It is a process of events and opportunities that leads to students gaining the skills and confidence to cope and feel safe in the school environment.  School safety encompasses both emotional and physical safety and is influenced by positive and negative behaviors of students and staff as well as the presence of substance use in the school setting and during school-related activities.

• Safe and Supportive Schools Parent Survey - This survey is to measure the parents perceptions of safety at Dysart's high schools.
• Click here to view the Safe Schools, Healthy Students Survey