The Laveen Elementary School District’s David Glasser Athletic Complex is the new home of the sod used in the 2017 Cactus Bowl thanks to a rather large donation by the Fiesta Bowl Charities.

Following December’s Kansas State vs. UCLA game, the sod was removed from Chase Field and transported to Laveen where it was installed at the district’s new community football/soccer field. The organization unveiled the new turf, freshly painted with the Fiesta Bowl logo, on March 8. An added gift was permanently fixed electronic scoreboard that was installed just days earlier.

The field sits on the site of the former Laveen School which was rebuilt a mile away. Once demolished, the Laveen community voiced interest in using the site for community ball fields.

The district utilized a $185,000 grant, awarded by the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, as well as almost $850,000 in capital funds to renovate the site. However, there was not enough funding available for sod, meaning the fields would not be ready for spring season sports. In came Fiesta Bowl Charities to the rescue. “Today, thanks to Fiesta Bowl Charities, we have an absolutely beautiful lush green lawn on the new football field,” remarked district superintendent Dr. Bill Johnson at the official unveiling.

The site now includes the new football/soccer field, two baseball fields, a practice area, snack shack and expanded parking.  The athletic complex was named in honor of fallen Phoenix Police officer David Glasser who was killed in the line of duty while serving the Laveen community in 2016.

“This new quality athletic field provides a much needed amenity for the Laveen community. It has already created a tremendous amount of interest and excitement in youth sports. We are extremely grateful to Fiesta Bowl Charities for helping a dream become a reality,” Johnson added.

The district will dedicate the completed complex on April 12 just before the intramural football championship game that will be played on the new field. It will be primarily used by local youth ball leagues.

Beginning in August 2017, Laveen schools will utilize Peachjar’s e-flyer system to distribute flyers, newsletters, and other student-centered information to parents.

E-mail blasts containing flyers from your child’s school, PTO, or non-profit student-centered activities will be sent to parents generally once a week. Flyers are maintained on a dedicated webpage for later reference.

Only school information such as school newsletters, event flyers, and PTO happenings as well as approved flyers from non-profit child-centered organizations such as Girl Scouts, ball leagues, and local community groups will be sent to the email addresses on file for each family. Parents should make sure their school office has their current email address.

Parents may sign up for a free Peachjar account to utilize added features, like combining schools. But, this is not necessary to receive flyers.

Visit laveenschools.staging2.juiceboxint.com/e-flyers for more information.

Beginning in August 2017, all students attending Laveen schools will be required to wear a student identification badge at all times while on campus or on the bus.

In addition to serving as school identification, the badges will contain a bar code for students to use as they go through the cafeteria line. Students utilizing Laveen’s bus transportation will also swipe their badge as they board and exit the bus. Read more about the Zonar bus pass system.

At February’s Governing Board meeting, the Board approved opening school boundaries beginning in the 2017-18 school year and allowing parents to enroll their child in any Laveen school of their choosing.

For more details on the plan, visit our Open Boundaries page.