Peoria High School (Arizona)
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| Established | 1922 |
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| Type | Public school |
| Principal | Dr. Kayla Carter |
| Students | 2,000 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Location | 11200 North 83rd Ave, Peoria, Arizona, USA |
| District | Peoria Unified School District |
| Colors | Green and Gold |
| Mascot | Black Panther |
| Newspaper | The Prowler |
| Conference | 4A |
| Website | Peoria High School |
Peoria High School, located in the city of Peoria, in the community of Peoria, Arizona opened its doors in 1922 to a small community. Peoria High School is operated by the Peoria Unified School District. While concentrating on academic excellence, the Peoria High School student body has created a solid foundation of clubs, activities, and sports programs. Scholars, athletes, club members, and artists have emerged as leaders. Peoria High School began its journey 1922, with only a few Panthers on the prowl. Peoria High School has grown rapidly to several thousand currently enrolled students and over one hundred and fifty full-time staff members, as of 2008.
Principal Dr. Kayla Carter has continued to lead Peoria in a positive direction, allowing academics to flourish and the school spirit to run over the edge. School Pride, Pep Rally's, the State Champion Marching Band and Tradition make Peoria High School a true legend in the West.
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[edit] Academics
[edit] Highly performing school
By Arizona State Standard, Peoria High School has been ranked as a Highly Performing School. This ranking means that Peoria ranks in the uppermost region of academics in the state of Arizona. Mathematics, English and history scores have all improved drastically over the past 5 years and continue to rise. Part of this is in part to the teachers understanding what each student needs and helping each student to excel.
[edit] Honor programs
Many different academic tracks are offered for students to meet their needs. The first is the basic track which helps the student to take classes that interest them and allow a wide variety with no added weight in GPA. Another track is the honors program which offers somewhat of a harder work load and helps to boost the student's GPA by weighting the grades more. The last track is the A.P. program which offers college level classes and college credit for those that apply. This track weights the grades the same as an honors class, but allows the student to leave high school with a certain number of college credits already to their name. All students may take a mixture of basic, honors and AP if they wish.
[edit] Graduate ratio
Peoria High School has more than 95% of its students graduate after four years. The graduation day is often emotional and is filled with traditions Peoria has continued to do at graduations for years. The graduation ceremony is typically held in the University of Phoenix Stadium, home to the Arizona Cardinals and the 2008 Super Bowl.
[edit] Activities
[edit] Student government
A major club on campus is the Student Government. The Student Council is a very active club around campus, having many members of diverse backgrounds. Some of the council's functions include helping promote school spirit, with spirit weeks and pep rallies, planning dances, homecoming and the tradition of Prom. Student Council is run by Jennifer McNutt and is made up of Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors. Freshmen elections are ran in December for those wishing to join. All other elections are held at the end of each year for the following year.
[edit] Agriculture department
A nationally recognized program at Peoria is the Agriculture Department. As one of the only agriculture programs in Arizona, it continues to flourish. Students learn not only leadership, but build contacts and maturity for life. Every year, the students plan a 2 day conference for students throughout the state to attend. Mr. Fuller is the head of program.
[edit] Peoria Dance Theatre
The Peoria Dance Theatre is a club for females and males that are skilled in all forms of dance. The club holds a dance concert for the community and school twice a year; one in the winter and one in the spring. Each concert, the audience is continually surprised with the new forms of dance and the artistic approach taken by each member. To join, one must audition for the program, which traditionally occurs in the early spring for the following year. The dance instructor is Andrea Chesley.
[edit] M.E.S.A.
Originally designed for minority students, this engineering club is nationally recognized for its excellence and attention to detail. No longer for minority students, anyone may join, regardless of race or year in school. Judith Shipley is the advisor.
[edit] Athletic programs
[edit] Football
The football team at Peoria High School has a long history of tradition, state championships and pride. Every Friday night football game is a community event at the school. The team is coached by legendary coach Doug Clapp along with many assistant coaches. A tradition of wearing green and gold on Fridays during school to pump up spirit is seen every Friday by the campus. The football team wears their jerseys every game day as well to remind everyone what is going to happen that night. The Panthers are always a competitive bunch, and always compete for the state championship year in and year out. The class of 2011 had an undefeated freshman year at 9-0 and will be the favorites by some to win state during their junior and senior years. Teachers, alumni and community members bring out their entire families to each game, interacting with students and helping to break down the border between teacher and student.
[edit] Cheerleading
The cheerleaders at Peoria High School are top of the line. Practicing hours a day, perfecting stunts and selecting only the best, the cheerleaders continue to dominate. Try-outs for the squad are held every spring for a week long process. There are 2 squads to be made; Varsity and Junior Varsity. Captains are selected every year by the squad and coach to ensure that the leadership will be the best. Cheer Camps, practices and games are mandatory to being a member.
[edit] Men's wrestling
Wrestling holds many state titles as a whole and with individual students. The coaches push the students to be the best they can, while helping to build a family between all the guys. Many students recall the wrestling season as the time of their lives, while becoming better individuals. The season takes place during the winter and lasts until February.
[edit] Track and field
Occurring during the Spring, the track and field team at Peoria High School are not only state champions, but worldwide champions as well. Having only the best coaches and conditiong, the students continue to break school and state records. Having even represented the United States in world meets, Peoria High School continues to be the place for Track Stars.
[edit] Other sports
Peoria offers sports year-round for all students to participate in. The sports offered are listed below.
Fall:
- Football [Male]
- Cheerleading [Male and Female]
- Volleyball [Female]
- Cross Country [Male and Female]
- Swim and Dive [Male and Female]
- Golf [Male and Female]
- Marching Band [Male and Female]
Winter:
- Basketball [Male and Female]
- Wrestling [Male]
- Soccer [Male and Female]
- Cheerleading [Male and Female]
- Winter Drum Line [Male and Female]
Spring:
- Baseball [Male]
- Softball [Female]
- Track and Field [Male and Female]
[edit] Notable alumni
- Keegan Herring: Current starting running back for Arizona State University.
- Jessica Onyepenuka: Track (University of Southern California)
- Kenyanna Wilson: Track (Louisiana State University)
- Ross Luna: Utah State Football
- T.J. Simpson: Current Arizona State football player
- Vince Fiore: Former Scottsdale Community College quarterback
- Cade Becher: Offensive Lineman for Middle Tennessee State
- Tiffany Goss: Former Arizona Cardinals Cheerleader
- Kenny Mitchell: Former ASU Football player, also played in the Arena Football League
- Tavon Cooper: Colorado/Northern Arizona University Running Back
- Jeff Johnson: Former University of Washington player
- Eric Guliford: Former ASU Star, played with the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints
- JW Lucas: Former ASU Football Player
- Tim Toone: Current Weber State Football star
[edit] Trivia
- Peoria High School is the same size as the Disneyland Resort.
- Old Main used to be both the grade school and high school
- In almost 90 years, Peoria High has only had 6 principals.
[edit] External links
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