Parents camp out 36 hours to register for top-ranked Sunnyslope High School

Lindsey Krassner missed last year's cut off for registering her child at Sunnyslope High School — one of the top-rated public high schools in the Phoenix area — by just six spots.

She wouldn't let that happen again.

Krassner and a team of parents she assembled began camping Saturday night on the school grounds to get their spots for fall registration, which doesn't officially occur until Monday morning. They will have waited more than 36 hours to be among the first in line to register their children.

She wasn't alone.

Hundreds of parents, including entire families, were also camping Sunday to enlist their sons and daughters in what the adults called a "public school that's doing everything right."

Some parents even hired contractors to sit for them through online apps like TaskRabbit.

The marathon wait at Sunnyslope, in Phoenix near Dunlap and Central Avenues and part of the Glendale Union High School District, is one of the most extreme examples of Arizona's school choice experiment that has occurred the past quarter century.

Parents in the Grand Canyon state are free to enroll their children in any public school, as long as there is room. There is a financial incentive for school districts to recruit kids, as thousands of dollars in state aid follow each student to the campus.

Several parents seeking spots for their kids at Sunnyslope High School, which was recently given an "A" letter grade from the state Department of Education, were leaving the Phoenix Union High School District, where most of its schools have "C" letter grades.

The Arizona Republic also has found there are few quality charter school options within the Phoenix Union High School District, as most high-performing charters have located in affluent suburbs.

Meanwhile, Sunnyslope boasts on its website that the school's 2,000 students are part of an education system that has been continuously listed on U.S. News & World Report's Best High School Ranking list.

Educational inequality continues in Arizona despite a 2018 teacher strike that pushed Gov. Doug Ducey and the Legislature to give educators a three-step, 20% raise that will conclude this year. Even with tens of millions more in tax dollars going to Arizona public schools, the state remains among the bottom five for educational funding.

Parents like Krassner said Sunnyslope is worth the long wait because of the educational opportunities it provides compared to neighboring high schools.

"This is a sign of a problem in public education in Arizona," Krassner said about the line that formed outside of Sunnyslope over the past day.

Inequality of Opportunity

Families who couldn't afford to spend a weekend camping outside Sunnyslope — or pay someone to do it for them — will have to choose another public high school and possibly a lesser-rated school.

One couple used TaskRabbit to hire Gregory Hicks, who was paid $25 an hour to wait in line. For his 13 hours of waiting, he'll make $325.

Yet, he was only 96th in line and was holding the space for parents who missed the cut-off last year to enroll their child.

"I'm just saving the spot for the night and then the parents will come in the morning," said Hicks, while playing Candy Crush on his iPhone.

He's been in contact with the parents, and their one question for him was whether he's reliable enough to get through the night.

"If it was my own child, and it was a good school that I really wanted them to get into, and I knew that it could be a good education for them, then it would definitely be a good idea," Hicks said. "Especially if I was busy and wouldn't be able to make it."

OPINION: Sunnyslope's wait list is a problem. But not the one you think

Krassner and a group of friends controlled the first 10 spots. Some of their children would have gone to a Phoenix Union High School District campus.

"What's happened over the past few years is a lot of Madison (School District) families realize that Sunnyslope is right here, so kids start coming and it's kind of a community of people that everybody knows from Madison," said Krassner, a public school teacher.

Her friend, Eve Richards, was fourth in line. She said Sunnyslope was her first choice, but she has backups in case she isn't able to enroll her son, Nicolei.

Her son shadowed a senior last year at Sunnyslope, so he could get a feel of what the school was like.

"He really felt like this is where he wanted to come," Richards said. "This is what he wanted to do and what he really wanted."

Camping for spots

By Sunday evening, the sun was beginning to dip below the mountains to the west and a chill set in.

Tents were peppered on the sidewalk outside the school and recreational vehicles took up spots in the parking lot. Every space in the parking lot was taken, so many cars double-parked.

Some parents say this is the first camping they've done in years, as fire pits and propane tanks were used to cook and provide heat.

A few parents brought luxuries from home, with a roughly 40-inch TV broadcasting a NFL playoff game.

Nearly everyone appeared to have a book.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Tender Is the Night" was laying on a vacant chair while Sara Latham stretched her legs. She's 41st in line, and wasn't sure her child would make the cut.

"I have no idea," Latham says about her chances to enroll her son. "It depends on how many kids are at other schools seeking out variances within the district to come here. I've heard estimates anywhere from 40 to 150 in the past two years."

She too wants her son to attend Sunnyslope High School for its academics.

"I suppose it would be nice to know that you're camping out overnight for something solid, it's not a sure thing," Latham said.

Reach the reporter at chase.budnieski@arizonarepublic.com or (480) 262-9452 or on Twitter @chase_hunterb.