Mesa High School (Mesa, Arizona)

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Mesa High School
Motto	CARRY ON
Established	1898
Type	Public secondary (U.S.)
Principal	Mr. Pete Lesar
Students	3,000
Grades	10–12
Location	1630 East Southern Avenue, Mesa, Arizona,, USA 85204
Oversight	Mesa Public Schools
Campus	Suburban
Colors	Purple & Gold
Mascot	Jackrabbits
Website	http://www.mpsaz.org/mesa

Mesa High School is a public high school in Mesa, Arizona, United States.

1 Description
2 Feeder patterns
3 Alumni of note
4 External links

[edit] Description

Mesa High School accommodates grades 10-12 as part of Mesa Public Schools. Enrollment in 2005 was just over 3000 students. Fifty-six percent of the student body is white (not Hispanic); 36% is Hispanic or Latino.

[edit] History

The first high school classes in Mesa began in September 1899 on the second floor of the red brick north Elementary School, later rebuilt and known as Irving School. The first Mesa Union High School district was organized on December 26, 1907 with John D. Loper as Superintendent. The Town Council had leased all of Block 20 to the University of Arizona for 99 years to use as experimental farm. This was the land bounded by Center and Macdonald, Second and Third Avenues. It didn't take long to discover that the block was not large enough, and so, on January 4, 1908, they sold it to the school district for $75. Construction began immediately on the building known as "Old Main". The 1909 graduating class graduated from that original twelve room building. The school had a main floor auditorium with a swimming pool in the basement. The auditorium was used for assemblies, with folding chairs for the early comers and standing room only for the rest. Ten years later, eight more rooms were added plus a small auditorium-gymnasium. During basketball games, spectators sat in the balcony (above the freshman section) or on the stage because the gym was not wide enough for sideline bleachers.

In 1936 the WPA and PWA provided funds for new construction and the New Building was constructed west of the Main Building with an arcade in between. The land for this was purchased from Harvey Bush, for $4000. A new gymnasium building which included an agriculture shop and auto shop, was also built south of the Main Building -- the new site for school dances and basketball games.

On October 1, 1967, Mesa won their homecoming football game against rival Westwood High. That night students returned to find a disastrous fire, started in the science lab, completely destroying the sixty-year-old "Old Main". Classes continued to graduate from the old campus until 1972 when the new Mesa High was built.

[edit] Academics

AIMS test scores for MHS were below the state average in reading, math, and writing for 2002 through 2004, but they improved to substantially above average for 2005. The average number of students per teacher is 23. About three quarters of the faculty has more than ten years of experience, and more than two thirds have a master's degree.

[edit] Sports

The school mascot is the Jackrabbit, and the school recently won state championships in 2004 for Basketball, and won three straight years in wrestling 2006 and 2007 and 2008. Noted one-legged wrestler Anthony Robles won individual state championships in 2005 and 2006. He later went on to win the nationals and wrestle for ASU.

[edit] Traditions

Some traditions at Mesa High have been propagated for over 100 years. Traditions include Homecoming Football game, dance, parade, and carnival, and the bonfire out at the soft ball field. The bonfire also included the tradition of the burning of the Westwood Warrior. This tradition was founded on suspicions that Westwood had burnt down the "old main" campus after losing the state championship. A tradition of more recent invention: T-shirts in purple or gold, reading "BAM" which stands for Be Atop the Mountain. MHS even holds a traditions assembly in honor to Zedo Ishikawa who, as school propaganda would have it, coined the school's slogan "Carry On". The video originally stated that Zedo broke up a fight between two "quarreling dogs," but it has recently been taken out of the Traditions video.

[edit] Feeder patterns

The following elementary schools [1] feed into Mesa High School[2]: Holmes, Irving, Johnson, Keller, Lincoln, Lindbergh, Longfellow, Lowell, Madison, Porter, Robson, and Wilson.

Junior high schools [3] that feed into Mesa High School include Brimhall, Mesa, Powell, and Taylor.