Original Research by School Decision on Andrada Polytechnic High School
Andrada Polytechnic High School is a regular public high school serving grades nine through twelve in the Vail Unified District, located in the southeastern part of Tucson. The school sits on Houghton Road, in an area of the city that has seen steady suburban expansion. Tucson itself is a large desert city, the second-largest in Arizona, with a historic downtown and the University of Arizona anchoring much of its economy and culture. The Vail district has been growing; it opened its twenty-second school in 2025, a sign of increasing enrollment in this part of the metro area. Andrada is not a charter school and there is no indication it operates as a magnet. The school’s name includes “Polytechnic,” which in other contexts signals an emphasis on applied and career-connected learning, but program offerings for this school were not available in the data reviewed, so a parent would need to confirm directly with the school what that designation means in practice.
Academically, the school has recent state assessment results. On the English language arts test, roughly three out of every five students met the state’s proficiency standard. In math, the share was slightly lower, with just over half of students scoring proficient. These figures represent a single year’s snapshot; no clear trend line is available since only the most recent year’s data was reported as usable for comparison. The school’s graduation rate was not included in the data, so that important measure is missing. State testing is not administered to all grade levels in Arizona in the same way, but for a comprehensive high school, graduation rate is a standard metric. A parent may want to ask the school directly about its four-year graduation rate and how it tracks student progress through the grades.
The student body is composed predominantly of white students, who make up a majority. Hispanic students account for roughly a third of enrollment. Smaller shares of students identify as two or more races, Black, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Information on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch was not reported, and data on students with disabilities or English learners was also absent. Without these figures, it is hard to assess the level of economic diversity or the extent of specialized support systems.
The school’s enrollment is substantial for a high school but not among the largest in the county. Most students are in grade nine, with a smaller number in each successive grade, which is common in high schools. The surrounding housing market reflects a mid-range cost of living for the Tucson area; home values have softened slightly in the most recent year, while rents have held steady. The national mortgage rate context is moderate.
The Vail district’s growth, with a new school opened recently, suggests that Andrada may be part of a broader community where school capacity is expanding. Families moving into this corridor of Tucson will find the school situated in a suburban setting, with access to the wider amenities of the city — the university, cultural institutions, and mountain recreation areas — but the immediate neighborhood is likely automobile-dependent, typical of the city’s outer areas.
Several pieces of information that many families rely on were not available in the data reviewed. Beyond the missing graduation rate, there were no discipline records, no chronic absenteeism data, no information on Advanced Placement or dual-enrollment course access, and no staffing ratios. The school’s Title I status was not reported. These gaps mean that a parent looking to understand the school’s academic rigor, student support structure, and school climate will need to gather that information from the school’s website, a visit, or conversations with current families. What is clear is that Andrada Polytechnic High School is a standard public high school in a growing district, with test results in a middle range, and the name points to a possible technical emphasis worth investigating.
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