Corona del Sol High School

Corona del Sol High School
Location
1001 E Knox Road
Tempe, AZ
United States
Information
Type Public
Established 1977
School district Tempe Union High School District
Principal Mr. Brent Brown
Staff approx. 200
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 2460
Color(s) Orange and Yellow
Athletics conference AIA 5A[1]
Mascot Aztec
Website Official Website

Corona del Sol High School located in Tempe, Arizona, United States, was established in 1977 and is a part of the Tempe Union High School District. It was expanded in 1986.[2] It was expanded again in 2001.

Contents

Campus

As of 2010, Corona del Sol is an open enrollment school. Corona enforces a closed-campus policy. Students attending through grades 9, 10 and 11 may not leave campus without an adult checking them out for the day. Seniors are only permitted to leave campus with a special ID which can only be obtained with a signed and notarized parent permission form.

Academics

Corona's AIMS and TerraNova test scores as well as student pass rates are consistently above its district and state averages, as is its graduation rate (99%). Corona is also among the top schools in the state in the number of National Merit Semifinalists produced each year (16 in 2006). These and other achievements are recognized by the school's NCLB rating of "Excellent" for the past three years.

Arts

Corona del Sol has a large music and fine arts program, with three concert bands, a percussion program, an award winning marching band, a concert orchestra and chamber orchestra, as well as five choir classes. Piano, Guitar, and World Music (Steel Drums) are also offered. Other fine arts that students may enroll in include Intermediate Dance, Advanced Dance, Dance Performance, Photography, three Levels of Drama, Film Study, Stagecraft, Ceramics, Basic Art and Design, Drawing and Painting, Culinary Arts.

Orchestra

There are two orchestra classes offered;Chamber and Concert.

Choir Program

The Choir Program has about 300 students involved in the program. There are 5 choirs (listed from most advanced to least): Jaztecs, A Capella, Encore, Men's Chorus, and Women's Ensemble. Their website: http://www.cdschoir.com/

Band Program

The Corona del Sol band and percussion program has over 250 students enrolled. There are 3 concert bands (listed from most advanced to least): Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and Concert Band. There are 4 different classes of Percussion with similar performance skill classifications. The school also has an award-winning marching band, 5 jazz ensembles, and a large steel drum band. The Corona del Sol Band Program is considered one of the best in Arizona, earning consistent "Superior with Distinction" ratings in Marching Band and Concert Bands for the past 25 years. However in recent years, the Corona Del Sol Band had deteriorated in rating from a "Superior" to an "Excellent". The Marching Band placed 2nd in the Fiesta Bowl National Band Championship in January 2000. The Band has a parent fundraising arm called the Band Booster Club. Band Booster club website

Activities

The school has over 100 clubs and activities including an award-winning school newspaper and yearbook, various sports teams, speech and debate, and a plethora of community service organizations. Other clubs also include Monday Mythology Madness, the Random Acts of Kindness Society, and a ping pong team.

Clubs

Community service clubs

Controversies

2007 Columbine anniversary week

In April 2007, threats were issued for Corona over supposed violence to take place on the 20th, the anniversary of the Columbine shootings. The first message was found on a boys' bathroom stall on April 10; an olive tree was burned down and a message on the ground nearby found on April 13. Subsequent messages were found later on April 13 and on April 16 in bathroom stalls.[6][7] On April 19, 2007 the school was evacuated to the stadium due to a suspicious package found in a bathroom. The box turned out to be a student's physics science project in a shoebox.

Despite high tensions, April 20 passed without incident, exactly as the administration predicted. Still, the false alarm from April 19 as well as the coincidental Virginia Tech shootings earlier in the week served to magnify fears that had already been raised by the unprecedented repetition of the graffiti threats. Although Corona has been threatened every April for the past several years, this is the first year that 4 messages have been found in succession making the same threat. Few classes had over 50% attendance, and it is estimated that over 2000 of the school's 2900 students took Friday off.

The administration and faculty were unfazed by the threats, but troubled by the exaggerated rumors that the threats spawned and occasionally inaccurate media reporting. The threats were taken seriously, and extra police were deployed to Corona pending completion of the investigation. A monetary reward for information leading to an arrest has since been increased to $5,000. Tips may be directed to the Tempe Police. The school and Tempe Union District are soliciting donations to increase the reward further.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ Corona del Sol High School
  2. ^ http://www.azsfb.gov/sfb/sfbweb/sfbaays/agmn/mn070607.pdf p16
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ Announcements
  5. ^ Brainstorm
  6. ^ http://www.tuhsd.k12.az.us/cds/CdSAdminLetter17April.pdf
  7. ^ http://www.tuhsd.k12.az.us/cds/TempePoliceStatemet.pdf
  8. ^ http://www.brophyfootball.org/scooter.html
  9. ^ http://www.wranglernews.com/fp012608.htm
  10. ^ http://www.hawaiisurfteam.org/2010-Team/
  11. ^ http://www.usasoftball.com/bios.asp?uid=1026
  12. ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/19/john-huppenthal-keith-wag_n_618317.html
  13. ^ http://eelstheband.com

External links