{"id":1705,"date":"2026-06-09T07:33:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T07:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1705"},"modified":"2026-06-09T07:33:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T07:33:05","slug":"sunnyside-freshman-program-aims-to-boost-student-readiness-graduation-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1705","title":{"rendered":"Sunnyside freshman program aims to boost student readiness, graduation rates"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Arizona has the lowest high school graduation rate in the country. <\/p>\n

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The Sunnyside Unified School District is working to change that by bringing incoming freshmen to campus over the summer.<\/p>\n

High school is stressful, especially for students who are not prepared.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince you know you\u2019re coming from another school to a new one that\u2019s a huger campus, more people,\u201d said Madeline Miranda Ramirez, a Mission Ready student.<\/p>\n

Sunnyside High teacher and program coordinator David Nguyen said students struggle academically if they don\u2019t feel a sense of belonging.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat can result in lack of attendance and going to school. If they\u2019re not feeling belonged, like \u2018why should I go and who can I talk to as teachers, as counselors,\u2019\u201d Nguyen said.<\/p>\n

Addressing low graduation rates<\/b><\/h3>\n

Arizona\u2019s high school graduation rate is the lowest in the country at 77%. Sunnyside Unified School District\u2019s is even lower at 76%.<\/p>\n

Mission Ready is one of Sunnyside\u2019s solutions to low high school graduation rates.<\/p>\n

For 10 days, 300 incoming freshmen have been learning to navigate high school at the Sunnyside High and Desert View campuses. It\u2019s a free, optional program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a student that was really shy, really came in not wanting to talk. A lot of our class in Mission Ready really focuses on trying to speak more academically and more like a high schooler,\u201d said Fernando Jimenez, a Mission Ready teacher.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe kids who do go, from what I hear \u2013 more connectedness, more with-it-ness when the school year starts,\u201d Nguyen said.<\/p>\n

Building confidence and looking ahead<\/b><\/h3>\n

Jimenez\u2019s student, who was too shy to speak, found a voice through Mission Ready.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe student went on to try out volleyball, really stuck to it, and really became a more confident version of themselves,\u201d Jimenez said.<\/p>\n

Mission Ready helps some students through high school. Others are already looking beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cFind out new things about universities, college, stuff that I really want to get into,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n

The freshman transition program ends Tuesday but will return next year.<\/p>\n

Isabela Lisco<\/b><\/u><\/i> is a <\/i>Report for America<\/b><\/u><\/i> corpsmember covering education solutions for 13 News. Her position is made possible through funding from Report for America and the <\/i>Arizona Local News Foundation\u2019s<\/b><\/u><\/i> Arizona Community Collaborative Fund.<\/i><\/p>\n

Are you streaming 13 News?<\/p>\n

Watch a free live stream of Tucson Now and 13 News at TucsonNow.Live.<\/p>\n

Be sure to download the free Tucson Now app, which you can find on Apple and Google.<\/p>\n

If you are using a desktop computer, you can use your mobile device to scan the QR code below.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018I just want justice\u2019: Family mourns toddler killed in west Phoenix hit-and-run<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

High school is stressful, especially for students who are not prepared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nSunnyside freshman program aims to boost student readiness, graduation rates - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1705\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sunnyside freshman program aims to boost student readiness, graduation rates - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"High school is stressful, especially for students who are not prepared.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1705\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-09T07:33:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1705#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1705\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"Sunnyside freshman program aims to boost student readiness, graduation rates\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-09T07:33:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1705\"},\"wordCount\":473,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1705#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c28cb5ecd2a4e4f3927c2c3cf0623915.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1705#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1705\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=1705\",\"name\":\"Sunnyside freshman program aims to boost student readiness, graduation rates - 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