| University High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 421 N. Arcadia Ave. Tucson, Arizona, USA |
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| Information | |
| Type | Public (magnet) secondary |
| Established | 1976 |
| Oversight | Tucson Unified School District |
| Principal | Elizabeth Moll |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 847; 2,072 combined with Rincon(Oct. 1, 2010)[1] |
| Campus | Urban |
| Color(s) | Black and white |
| Mascot | Penguin |
| Newspaper | "The Perspective"' |
| Website | edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/uhs/ |
University High School (UHS) is an accelerated public high school located in Tucson, Arizona, originally known as Special Projects High School (SPHS), University High School is in the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD). The mission statement of UHS identifies it as "a special function high school which serves students who are academically focused and intellectually gifted and provides curriculum and social support not offered in the comprehensive high school."
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The school currently shares a centrally located campus with Rincon High School. UHS was located at the Tucson High School campus before moving to Rincon's campus at the beginning of September 1985.
The mascot at UHS is the penguin. When it was known as Special Projects High School, the mascot was the skunk. Both mascots give the school its reputable colors of black and white. While UHS is a public school, entry is based upon a combination of exam scores and 7th and 8th grade GPAs. Unlike most schools, the only students who are admitted after freshman year replace the students who leave.
University High students participate in Rincon's athletics and fine arts programs. Students from both schools are generally able to participate in classes that are only offered by the other school. A few extracurricular activities are separate between the schools, mostly competitive clubs such as Academic Decathlon, the chess team, Mock Trial, Model United Nations, and Science Olympiad. Generally, school clubs are commonly open to both Rincon and UHS students.
UHS students graduate after taking a minimum of 4 Advanced Placement (AP) classes (AP English as upperclassmen and AP US History and AP US Government), while many opt to take additional AP courses, some even complete as many as 16. In 2004, the school had the greatest percentage of students passing the AP exams for United States History, Comparative Politics and English Language of any high school in the world. Also, nearly all of students continue on to college with 50-75% achieving one or more scholarships. As of 2009, the following AP courses are offered (28 of the 31 that the College Board offers):
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In December 2009, US News and World Report identified UHS as one of "America's best high schools- Gold Medal list".[2] In 2007, US News and World Report ranked UHS at 13 among public high schools as well as earning a gold medal in achievement according to US News' ranking system.[3] In May 2006, Newsweek named UHS as one of "The Public Elites," schools that, "NEWSWEEK excluded...from the list of Best High Schools because so many of their students score well above average on the SAT and ACT."[4]
In 2005, it was honored as a Blue Ribbon school[5].