University High School (Tucson)

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."

University High School
Address
420 N. Arcadia Ave.

Tucson
,
Arizona

United States
Coordinates32°13′35″N 110°53′20″W
Information
TypePublic (magnet) secondary
Established1976
OversightTucson Unified School District
PrincipalJoel Bacalia
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,096 (2016-17)[1]
CampusUrban
Color(s)Black and white   
MascotPenguin
NewspaperThe Perspective
Websitehttp://edweb.tusd1.org/uhs/

Location and features

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 (CogAT) and 7th and 8th grade GPAs. Entry is competitive into UHS.

Relationship with Rincon

University High students and Rincon students share fine arts and athletics, competing under the name of Rincon University. However, the two are different high schools, with separate academic programs.

AP curriculum

UHS students graduate after taking a minimum of eight Advanced Placement (AP) classes (including AP English, AP US History, AP US Government and Politics, AP Physics, AP Environmental Science, etc.). However, many opt to take additional AP courses, with some students completing 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 to 75% achieving one or more scholarships. As of 2009, the following AP courses are offered (28 of the 31 that the College Board offers):

APs
  • AP Art History
  • AP Biology
  • AP Calculus AB
  • AP Calculus BC
  • AP Chemistry
  • AP Computer Science A
  • AP Computer Science Principles
  • AP English Language
  • AP English Literature
  • AP Environmental Sciences
  • AP European History
  • AP French Language
  • AP French Literature
  • AP German Language
  • AP Government & Politics: US
  • AP Human Geography
  • AP Macroeconomics
  • AP Microeconomics
  • AP Physics I
  • AP Physics C (Electricity & Magnetism)
  • AP Psychology
  • AP Spanish Language
  • AP Spanish Literature
  • AP Statistics
  • AP Studio Art
  • AP US History
  • AP World History

Honors as a college preparatory school

US News and World Report has identified UHS as one of "America's Best High Schools" out of approximately 20,487 schools nationwide.[2]

YearRank
2018Ranked #27
2017Ranked #15
2016Ranked #24
2015Ranked #8
2014Ranked #7 [3]
2013Ranked #28
2012Ranked #4

In 2014, the Washington Post recognized UHS at No. 28[4] in its review of "America's Most Challenging High Schools," which ranked the 1,900 highest-performing high schools nationally.[5]

In 2013, the Daily Beast listed UHS at No. 19 in its annual list of the "Best 2,000 High Schools in the Nation.[6]

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."[7]

On January 30, 2013, Jonathan Rothschild, the mayor of Tucson, Arizona, declared January 30 as University High School Day.

In 2005, it was honored as a Blue Ribbon school.[8]

Notable alumni

References
  1. "University High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  7. Best High Schools: The Public Elites - Newsweek America's Best High Schools - MSNBC.com
  8. http://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/list-2003.pdf
  12. , Martha Heitzmann (Crawford) profile
  19. http://kaiserkuo.typepad.com/ich_bin_ein_beijinger/2007/03/more_on_chinas_.html
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