Mission View Elementary’s century-old campus has a new reason to celebrate, and it comes with fresh paint, new furniture and plenty of school spirit.

The South Tucson dual-language school received a $50,000 grant from the Big 12 Conference’s College Football Playoff Foundation, funding a colorful renovation of its multipurpose “cafetorium.”

What started as a simple reading visit from University of Arizona Athletics Director Desireé Reed-Francois blossomed into a full-fledged makeover, breathing new life into a neighborhood school that has served generations of families.

Students filled the brand-new tables during a recent visit to the teal-splashed cafetorium, a cafeteria and auditorium hybrid. The space doubles as a rainy-day playground or makeshift P.E. room, where students eat and socialize before school and during breaks.

Grant funding allowed the school to purchase new tables and graphic banners, and thanks to a TUSD bond, it will soon feature purple curtains to match the school colors.

The College Football Playoff Foundation is a nonprofit that partners with organizations to support educators and improve student outcomes. Mission View, the only school in South Tucson, is one of 81,000 schools the foundation has helped since 2014.

Mission View Principal Sandra Calkins called the award a “blessing” for the 102-year-old school.

“We take a lot of pride in our community here in our school, but it's aging,” Calkins told Tucson Spotlight. “When kids come to a school that's well cared for, they feel well cared for, and that just kind of exemplifies our pride in our school spirit.”

The award and renovations were celebrated during an Oct. 2 pep rally with students, teachers, community leaders and families.

“It is not every day and it gets into a wonderful gift of nice chairs and tables and spaces to put games, books and art supplies,” said Juliette, a fourth grader who lives in Sahuarita but is driven to Mission View every day by her parents. “I want you to know that current students and, most importantly, future students will enjoy this space and we promise to continue to use it to make good choices for ourselves now and in the future.”

The idea for the makeover was born in February when Reed-Francois visited Mission View during Love of Reading Week, an annual tradition that brings community members into schools to read to students.

Calkins didn’t know the school had been nominated until she received a call from the foundation, and only learned that Reed-Francois had submitted the nomination on the day of the cafetorium’s renovation reveal.

“Funding for school furniture is really hard to come by because most of our budget goes to maintenance and operation, and (most) of that is employee staffing and so there's typically no money allowed for things like furniture,” Calkins said. “It’s a really hard one to cover expenses for.”

Mission View recently adopted a $2.3 million fiscal year 2026 budget, with salaries making up 76% of total spending. Other categories include benefits, purchased services, supplies and property.

In addition to its annual budget, school bonds play a pivotal role in funding major capital projects and facility renovations. Bonds are voter-approved measures that allow public schools to borrow money to be repaid over time through property taxes. They fund new construction, equipment, technology, safety improvements and other long-term projects.

Mission View still has a long list of improvements in progress thanks to bond funding. Next summer, the school will replace aging water pipes, install new HVAC units to prevent AC outages during high-usage months and invest in enhanced security equipment.

Voters will decide on an additional TUSD funding measure on Nov. 4 that, if passed, would support teacher pay increases, career development, and expanded fine arts programming.

“Unfortunately, Arizona is one of the lowest ranked in terms of per-student funding and also teacher pay,” Calkins said. “There's always a need to invest in our schools. Any time that the voters can invest more money, we're able to provide better facilities and then offer our teachers that (competitive) pay.”

The school has seen generations of families, demonstrating the love, pride and close connection it shares with the community, Calkins said.

“It has grown, but I think the community, the people, are still the same because I've seen a lot of generations come and that still continue to bring their children, their grandchildren,” said Claudia Leon, who has worked in Mission View’s front office for 35 years.

Leon has lived in the neighborhood for 60 years, attended Mission View as a child and made sure her children and grandchildren did, too.

She’s seen the school evolve over the decades and was there for the unveiling of the renovations.

“I loved (it),” she said. “It freshened up the place and the kids love it. Watching them enjoy it, watching their excitement, even just seeing the graphics and stuff, I think it (instills) pride.”

Susan Barnett is a freelance journalist in Tucson and a University of Arizona alum. Contact her at SBarnett.journalism@gmail.com.

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