Peoria Unified School District

Peoria Unified School District #11 is a school district headquartered in the District Administration Center in Glendale, Arizona. It provides both primary and secondary education for most of Peoria, some areas of Glendale and Youngtown, and a small area of Surprise, and numerous unincorporated areas of Maricopa County. With 39 schools, it is the third largest school district in Arizona.Early historyPeoria Unified School District #11 began in 1889, covering 49sqmi. During the first school year, the class size expanded from 5 to 15 students.The following year the district opened with a class size of three students. Maricopa County was considering merging Peoria District #11 with Washington Elementary School District #6. According to William Bartlett: One day early in July, Mr. Mann, stopped a covered wagon along Grand Avenue; the wagon had several children inside. Mann discovered that the driver had 9 children and was heading to Phoenix or anywhere else that would provide employment, and told the driver "You have got a job right here". Eight of the Bills children enrolled in Peoria School and District 11 survived.In 1905, the first building was destroyed by fire; a bond election to build a new school passed by only one vote. A controversy arose about how many rooms the new school should have; many residents claimed that Peoria would never need more than two rooms in a school. A $3,200 two-room school was finally built on 83rd Avenue and Madison Street.