Desert Mountain High School
| Desert Mountain High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 12575 East Via Linda Scottsdale, Arizona United States |
|
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Information | |
| Type | Secondary Public School |
| Established | 1995 |
| School district | Scottsdale Unified School District |
| Principal | Ms. Nichole Wilfert (2013-2014) |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Number of students | 2,285 (2012-2013)[1] |
| Color(s) | Maroon and Gray |
| Mascot | Wolves |
| Accreditation | North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary School Systems |
| Newspaper | Wolf's Print |
| Yearbook | Archives |
| Website | http://desertmountain.susd.org |
Desert Mountain High School (DMHS) is a public high school in northeast Scottsdale, Arizona which opened in the fall of 1995. It is the newest of 5 high schools in Scottsdale Unified School District. The school has a joint-use city library facility, four computer labs, media studio, theater, college/career center, yearbook/newspaper production labs, child development department, business-regulated curriculum, off-school campus medical education facilities and extensive athletic facilities.
Desert Mountain has a two-semester scheduling format to serve its student population of almost 2,300 students in grades nine through twelve. In 1998, Desert Mountain became an International Baccalaureate Member School and is a magnet program for the Scottsdale Unified School District. Desert Mountain offers students the choice of standard, honors, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes.
Special programs are available for gifted (including Advanced Placement), English Language Learners and Special Education students. Extensive vocational programs are available through a partnership with the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT).[2]
Contents
Library
The school's library is shared with the Scottsdale Public Library system as the Palomino Branch Library. It opened with the rest of the school in August 1995. The library features 18,000 square feet (1,700 m2) of space. At the time of its opening, the then-50,000-volume collection was 60% owned by the library and 40% by the school. It was the district's first such combined library.[3] Library hours when school is in session are Monday- Thursday 7:15 am to 7 pm, Friday 7:15 am to 6 pm and Saturday 10 am to 2 pm.
Academics, honors and awards
The Desert Mountain faculty includes five administrators, nine professional support staff members and one hundred twenty-three teachers, of whom seventy-five hold master's degrees and seven hold doctorates.
Desert Mountain High School is accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Desert Mountain is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling and complies with the NACAC Statement of Principles of Good Practice.
Desert Mountain High School has been ranked by Newsweek as one of the top 1300 public high schools in the country. DMHS is one of a handful of public high schools in Arizona to make the list and was ranked 867th.[4]
In 2013 U.S. News listed Desert Mountain as one of the 22,000 of the best public high schools in the United States. Desert Mountain ranked 18 on the list among Arizona schools.
Extracurricular activities
Desert Mountain students participate in a variety of extracurricular activities including Student Council, National Honor Society, performing arts, athletics at the freshman, junior varsity, and varsity levels, as well as over fifty student clubs and organizations.
Desert Mountain's drama club, DMHS Players, was the only Arizona high school invited to perform at the world's largest arts festival, the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe in Scotland, nominated for their production of Urinetown: The Musical. The DMHS Players also received numerous awards at the 2008 Center Stage Awards including Best Play, for their production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
Desert Mountain's Invisible Children Club has been the recipient of multiple awards, including multiple club of the quarter/year awards and three Schools for Schools awards. Since its inception, it has raised over $50,000.[citation needed]
Athletics
DMHS is a member of the Arizona Interscholastic Association. Although Desert Mountain has won many minor titles in high school athletics, their first major state title was earned in 2007 when the boys' basketball team became 5A-II state champions by defeating Paradise Valley High School 65-55.[5] In 2010, the girl's soccer team won a 5A-II championship title as well. They defeated Horizon High School, after 3 OT's and winning 5 to 4 in PK's. The 2006 girl's volleyball team also won the 2006 state championship. Desert Mountain students won eight varsity team championships and twelve individual state championships in 2007.The Desert Mountain High School club and soon to be school sponsored Lacrosse team the "Wolves Lacrosse" won a major title as Division 2 champion in 2014-2015 season [Against Hamoltion] (5-4) especially after the drought the team had since 2007 when they almost shut down.The team is doing better than it has been and is Division 1 as of 2015
Swimming team member Angela Duckworth was the 2007 Wendy's High School Heisman national winner.[6]
Media
In 2006 Desert Mountain High School was featured on the MTV program My Super Sweet Sixteen.[7]
Notable alumni
- Tyeler Davison (2010), professional NFL player
- Heather Morris (2005), actress who plays Brittany S. Pierce on Glee[8]
- Lauren Gottlieb (2006), TV dancer and contemporary Bollywood actress
- Kyle Allen (2014), current quarterback for the Houston Cougars, previously played for the Texas A&M Aggies
- Natalie Westling (2014), professional fashion model for Marc Jacobs, Prada, and others
- Peter Bourjos (2006, transferred), MLB outfielder attended for his freshman year, transferred to Notre Dame Prep
External links
References
- ↑ AIA 2012 enrollment figures
- ↑ http://www.susd.org/desertmountain/
- ↑ Olson, Renee. "2 in 1." School Library Journal Feb. 1996: 24-7.
- ↑ http://www.newsweek.com/id/39380
- ↑ http://www.aiaonline.org/story?id=213
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.azcentral.com/ent/tv/articles/0426marissa0426.html
- ↑ http://www.wetpaint.com/glee/cast/heather-morris
