Rock Canyon High School

Rock Canyon High School
Address
5810 MacArthur Ranch Road
Highlands Ranch, Colorado, 80124
United States
Coordinates 39°31′12″N 104°55′17″W / 39.51993°N 104.92149°WCoordinates: 39°31′12″N 104°55′17″W / 39.51993°N 104.92149°W
Information
Motto "To Empower, to Explore, to Encourage, and to Excel in Education"
Established 2003
School district Douglas County School District RE-1
CEEB Code 060748
Principal Andy Abner
Teaching staff 65.4 (FTE) (as of 2006-07)[1]
Grades 9–12
Enrollment 2001 as of Fall 2014
Color(s) Black and gold         
Slogan "The school that leads"
Athletics CHSAA 5A
Athletics conference 5A
Mascot Jaguar
Newspaper The Rock
Yearbook Black & Gold
Website School website

Rock Canyon High School is a public high school in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. It is part of Douglas County School District RE-1.

The school is adjacent to Rocky Heights Middle School, and serves students in Highlands Ranch, Castle Pines North, Castle Pines Village, and Castle Rock.

The school has a reputation for academics, offering numerous AP Classes, and being consistently ranked "Excellent" by Colorado School Accountability Reports.

History

Rock Canyon High School became a member of the Douglas County School District RE-1 (Douglas County, Colorado) for the 2003–2004 school year. The school's first year opened with just a freshman class, a common practice for opening high schools. Rock Canyon's case was unique, however, as the construction on the school was not yet complete, forcing the freshman class to spend their first year in a wing of nearby Rocky Heights Middle School.

In April 2011, Principal Kim Rauh announced that she had accepted an administrative position at Cherokee Trail High School, to be closer to her family. She had been at Rock Canyon since 2007. Assistant Principal Greg Doan also announced his departure to be principal at Eagle Valley High School in Eagle, Colorado. Doan had been with the school since its inception, originally as a social studies teacher.

In May 2011, the new principal was announced to be Andy Abner, an administrator from nearby Douglas County High School. Abner assumed administrative duties in June 2011.

Rock Canyon was listed 403rd on Newsweek's list of America's Best High Schools in June 2011.[2]

Campus

Rock Canyon High School has a relatively modern campus. It consists of several "pods" or wings into which the classrooms are organized. The building itself is two stories with an open-building layout. It recently added the 4000 wing to its campus, allowing for more space for its growing number of students. The new wing features a sophisticated recording studio and the facilities for several types of vocational classes.

Curriculum

The curriculum of Rock Canyon High School follows all Douglas County School District regulations. It complies with state and federal law, as well as the standards set by the AP Board. Advanced Placement (AP) is a program of college-level courses and exams that gives high school students the opportunity to earn credit, advanced placement, or both for college while still in high school. AP classes are the most rigorous courses offered at Rock Canyon. Students receive weighted grades.[3]

Athletics

Rock Canyon has several sports teams: baseball, boys and girls basketball, cheer, boys and girls cross country, football, boys and girls golf, boys ice and inline hockey, boys lacrosse, Poms (dance team), girls and boys rugby, girls and boys soccer, softball, girls swimming, boys and girls tennis, boys and girls track, girls volleyball, and wrestling.

Students also have opportunities to play for other schools on co-op teams for sports not offered at Rock Canyon. Such teams include girls field hockey, girls lacrosse, boys rugby, and boys swimming.

Rock Canyon is the host school for the local co-op girls gymnastics and boys volleyball teams.

References

External links