Fernandez, Skye

Running For:

School Board

District:

Tucson Unified School District

Age:

37

Occupation:

Math Teacher

Education:

University High School, The University of Arizona (Economics, French, Sociology), Arizona State University (graduate math), Johns Hopkins University (Secondary STEM Education)

Religion:

Christianity

Biographical Info:

Skye Fernandez is a STEM educator, entrepreneur, and advocate with more than 15 years of experience across traditional and nontraditional learning environments. Her passion has always been education, and her mission is clear: restore dignity and respect for educators while ensuring students receive the high-quality education they deserve.

Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, Skye grew up on the South and East sides of town. She attended Gridley Middle School and University High School before earning her degree from the University of Arizona. As a 2007 Dorrance Scholar, she studied economics, sociology, and French, building the interdisciplinary foundation that would shape her career in education and advocacy.

Throughout her career, Skye has taught a wide range of subjects, including economics, secondary mathematics, physics, language acquisition, and college and career readiness. Her first teaching role took her abroad to Roubaix, France, where she worked as an English language instructor and taught at multiple schools, including Lycée Averroès, one of the country’s top-performing schools.

Skye later returned to Arizona as a teaching fellow with The New Teacher Project and was placed in Roosevelt School District in the South Mountain area of Phoenix. There, she quickly established herself as both a highly effective educator and a respected leader. In her first year alone, she helped drive an 80% increase in student math proficiency.

Her leadership extended far beyond the classroom. Skye served as a softball and basketball coach, guitar and chess club sponsor, treasurer of the Roosevelt Education Association, teacher advocate, and member of the meet-and-confer team negotiating teacher contracts. These roles gave her a deep understanding of how district policy directly impacts classroom success.

While teaching, Skye pursued graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University School of Education, focusing on secondary STEM education. She also mentored future teachers through Arizona State University’s Fulton College of Education, helping prepare the next generation of educators.

Since leaving the traditional classroom, Skye has built a sustainable independent career as an educator, analyst, consultant, and advisor. She has worked with students and professionals across industries including healthcare, construction, finance, energy, mining, and forensic science. Her work has helped students gain admission to prestigious academic institutions and competitive professional programs across the country.

Skye’s career has reinforced a belief she holds deeply: educators should not have to choose between doing meaningful work and achieving financial stability. She believes students thrive when schools attract, support, and retain talented educators.

Skye is running for the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board because she believes Tucson’s students, families, and educators deserve bold, thoughtful leadership rooted in real classroom experience. She is committed to advocating for strong educational standards, empowering families, supporting teachers, and helping build a future where every student has the opportunity to succeed.

Through advocacy, policy, and community partnership, Skye is working to help redefine what education can be—for educators, for students, and for Tucson’s future.

Statement:

I’m running, because as a student, I was a public school success story. I grew up with loving parents who struggled with stability, going through bouts of foreclosures, homelessness, substance abuse, and incarceration. Through the instability, school was my safe haven that helped me break cycles. It was my rock – a place where I could count on supportive adults and engaging activities to keep me on a positive path. As a student, I loved schools, and I didn’t understand why others didn’t.
As a teacher, public schools felt like an educational war zone. Every day was a battle of some mix of physical ailments, abusive administrators, drowning in academic interventions, or maybe an overwhelming amount of behavioral issues. I suddenly started to understand why students hated being at school, and I overexerted myself in trying to give them a comparable level of education as I received.
The issue was that I received little to no substantive support from district and administration in general. So I became very involved in district politics to the point that I was on the negotiation team for contracts for teachers and non certified staff. I wanted to have a direct influence in helping teachers and staff in our district. Still, I eventually came to the realization that the problems still could not be meaningfully changed at that level. So I’m running where I believe that change can be most effectively made.