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This Phoenix Union school has only been open for a year. Now, the district might close it

The Phoenix Union High School District is considering closing a school that’s only been open for a year. 

The district is recommending the closure of Phoenix Educator Preparatory (Ed Prep) at the end of this school year. Ed Prep opened with the hope of addressing the educator shortage, but enrollment at the school remains low. 

Several educators at the school spoke against the closure at Thursday's governing board meeting. Board member Stephanie Parra echoed their concerns.

“We set out on a vision to make Educator Prep a national model to help solve a national crisis and I don’t feel like we can just throw our hands up and say it was too hard," Parra said. 

Parra suggested they get help from others who want to solve the teacher shortage.

"I know that there are partners here locally, nationally who are ready to partner with us," she said. "I know that there are funders across the country who want to solve this. So I would like us to reject this school closure and request an alternative solution."

Other board members and members of the public said if the school does close, they’d like to see an in-depth report about why it failed.

The board will vote on the closure at its meeting on June 6.

Senior field correspondent Bridget Dowd has a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.