Scribner has led several successful educational initiatives in his tenure, thus far. Phoenix Union recently became the only district in Arizona to offer International Baccalaureate programs at two schools, North High School and Betty Fairfax High School. Central High School has become Arizona’s first Cambridge International Centre, adopting the prestigious Cambridge Curriculum. All Phoenix Union schools have aligned curriculum to both state and national standards through the ACT Quality Core. For the fourth year in a row, the ACT College Entrance Exam will be administered to all 11^th grade students at no cost to students, and ACT EXPLORE and PLAN exams will measure 9^th and 10^th grade college readiness benchmarks.

Scribner implemented the mission of “Preparing every student for success in college, career and life, and the District has responded. Every school was rated Performing, Performing Plus, Highly Performing or Excelling by the state accountability labels for 2011. Honors and Advanced Placement course-taking has doubled. AVID, or Advancement Via Individual Determination curriculum has been introduced on every comprehensive campus, and 250 teachers have been trained in AVID strategies. Students applying for college and earning acceptance have dramatically increased, as have merit scholarships, which totaled $24 million in 2011.

In the wake of severe budget cuts to education in Arizona, District voters have passed a $13.6 million per year Maintenance and Operations Override in 2010 and a $230 million Construction Bond in 2011 during Scribner’s tenure. 

Before he joined Phoenix Union, Scribner, was the superintendent of the Isaac Elementary School District in Phoenix from 2003 to 2008. In that position, he oversaw 14 different school sites, which served over 8,000 students in grades Pre-K-8. During his time at Isaac, Scribner established certified, classified and parent advisory councils, whose input led to programmatic and policy improvements resulting in documented increases in student achievement, improved customer service and the integration of parents and community.

Prior to his service with the Isaac School District, Scribner served as the Executive Director of the Department of Human Resources for the Tempe School District #3 from 1999-2003. He has also served as both a principal and district administrator in the Roosevelt School District in Phoenix.  

“The Phoenix Union High School District is perfectly poised to become a national model for urban education. We will continue to work with our entire school-community to transform the district’s new mission of ‘preparing every student for success in college, career and life’ into a tangible reality. It is an honor to lead the 2,700 talented and dedicated employees of Phoenix Union toward that end.”

Scribner was appointed by Governor Janet Napolitano to the Arizona School District Redistricting Commission in 2005. Scribner has been actively involved with several Arizona boards and commissions, including the Valley of the Sun United Way, YMCA and the Arizona Business and Education Coalition.

In October 2011, President Barack Obama appointed Scribner to the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.

Born in Los Angeles, California, Scribner earned a B.A. in Latin American Studies from Carleton College in Minnesota, an M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology from Temple University and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Arizona State University. He began his education career as a high school Spanish teacher in Philadelphia. He moved to Arizona in 1992 as a graduate research assistant at Arizona State University, where he examined issues of quality and diversity in Phoenix Union regarding the district’s court-ordered desegregation.

Scribner, who received the Excellence in Educational Leadership Award from the University Council of Educational Administration in 2008, is married and has two children.