Ninety years ago in New River, Arizona, the Deer Valley Unified School District was born. The year was 1934 and started with a couple of families getting together to find a way to provide a formal educational path for their children. The local school ca. me to life with one objective: To provide educational opportunities for children in a community setting. That same mission is the life-blood of DVUSD today.
Dr. Curtis Finch
DVUSD Superintendent
The world was an interesting and volatile place back in 1934. Adolf Hitler declared himself the Führer of Germany by decree, Alcatraz prison officially opened, Michigan broke their coldest day record of -14 F (which still stands today), Russia put the first man into space, and the first Master’s Golf tournament was played. Yes, the Great Depression was in full swing, but America survived, and eventually thrived. In 1934, insulin was also discovered, Donald Duck came on to the screen for the first time, and Babe Ruth played his last game with the New York Yankees.
New River School during the 1960s.
In Arizona during 1934, the biggest event was the attempted construction of the Parker Dam by California on Arizona’s territorial soil to divert water to Southern California from the Colorado River. Neither the federal government nor California had permission from Arizona to build the Parker Dam on Arizona’s soil. The governor of Arizona at the time, Benjamin Baker Moeur, declared Martial Law and deployed the first “Arizona Navy” to patrol the water of our section of the Colorado River. The two family wooden boats were commanded by newly appointed “Navy Admiral” Mrs. Nellie T. Bush, who commanded the fleet for two days with the support of 100 National Guard troops from the 158th Regiment of Phoenix to send a message to the invaders. The federal government recanted in 1935 and gave the federal project to Arizona which eventually became the Gila River Irrigation system. Mrs. Admiral Bush was inducted into the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame in 1982.
A lot has happened in the last 90 years in Arizona and the United States. The same is true for DVUSD. We’ve expanded from our one-room school house and a dozen students to 42 schools and 34,000 students, covering one of the largest land-based districts in the state, 367 square miles. Last year may have been one of the best years in our district’s history. To see the #extraordinary student, staff, and school awards from last year alone (over 70 state titles in athletics, fine arts, and academics), visit www.dvusd.org/extraordinary.
To learn more about DVUSD’s history, visit www.dvusd.org/90. Here’s to another 90 years of being the community school.
Happy Birthday, DVUSD!
By Dr. Curtis Finch – DVUSD School Superintendent
superintendent@dvusd.org