Central High School is a high school in the

Phoenix Union High School District The Phoenix Union High School District is a high school-only school district in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is one of five high school-only districts in the Phoenix area. Overview The school district serves students within a area of P ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, United States. The campus is located at 4525 North Central Avenue, just north of downtown. It was established in 1957.

History

The school was built in 1957. It was designed by noted Phoenix architect John Sing Tang. The construction of the school was completed by Weeks Construction Co. and D. O. Norton & Son Construction Co. both of Phoenix.

Enrollment

, Central’s enrollment was 2,370 students. That year over 60 percent of the population was Hispanic. Central also has the highest percentage of Caucasian students in the district, as well as the highest percentage of Native Americans. Central also is noted for its substantial

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

population, one of the largest in the state. The school predominantly serves students from partner elementary districts

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ar, الْحَمْرَاء, Al-Ḥamrāʾ, , ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the ...

, Creighton,

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, Osborn, and Phoenix Elementary. However, students from across the district come to Central for its Phoenix Union Magnet Program in International Studies. Students zoned to Arthur M. Hamilton School of the Murphy School District, meaning those in the district east of

Interstate 17 Interstate 17 (I-17) is a north–south Interstate Highway entirely within the US state of Arizona. I-17's southern terminus lies in Phoenix, at I-10, and its northern terminus is in Flagstaff, at Milton Road north of I-40. Most of I-17 ...

and north of the

Maricopa Freeway The Maricopa Freeway is one of the named principle freeways in the Phoenix metropolitan area. It consists of the following segments: *Interstate 17 in Phoenix, from the Durango Curve to The Split (Interstate 10) *Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I- ...

, are zoned to Central. The

Arizona Department of Education Arizona Department of Education (ADE) is a state-level department tasked in Arizona with oversight of public education from kindergarten to secondary school. The ADE is run by an elected Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction. History Th ...

has designated Central a "performing" school. Central has had 96 students recognized as National Merit Scholars in the past 15 years. The International Studies program includes foreign exchange programs.

Notable alumni

Sports

Trung Canidate Trung Jered Canidate (born March 3, 1977) is a former American football running back in the NFL. Drafted out of Arizona, Canidate was selected with the 31st overall pick of the 2000 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. Professional career Pre-dra ...

–

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) running back *

Bryan Colangelo Bryan Paul Colangelo (born June 1, 1965) is an American basketball executive who was the former general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also served as president ...

–

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

executive *

Lois Drinkwater Lois Anne Drinkwater (born April 15, 1951) is an American sprinter. She competed in the women's 400 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics while still a student at Central High School in Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix ...

– sprinter and the first Arizona female to run in the Olympics (1968 as a junior) *

Azur Kamara Azur Kamara (born September 26, 1998) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Kansas. He signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent. He has also played for the Carolina Panthers. Early ...

– NFL defensive end *

Damon Mays Damon E. Mays, Jr. (born May 20, 1968) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers and Washington Redskins. He was drafted in the ninth round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowb ...

– NFL wide receiver * Darryl Morrison – NFL safety *

Dave Rajsich David Christopher Rajsich ( ; born September 28, 1951) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1978 to 1980 for the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. He also played one season in Japa ...

–

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) player *

Jay Schlueter Jay D. Schlueter (July 31, 1949 – May 13, 2010) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder during the season for the Houston Astros. Listed at , 182 lb., he batted and threw right-han ...

– MLB player

Entertainment and music

Mark Coggins Mark Coggins is the Choctaw and American author of a series of novels featuring private eye protagonist August Riordan. He is also a photographer. Biography Coggins was born in New Mexico in 1957 and attended Stanford University, where he ear ...

– author *

Samantha Ponder Samantha Ponder ( née Steele; born December 11, 1985) is an American sportscaster who is the host of '' Sunday NFL Countdown'' on ESPN. Prior to hosting Sunday NFL Countdown, Ponder worked as a reporter/host for ESPN college football and as a ...

–

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

personality *

Richard Page Richard Lewis Page (born 22 February 1941) is a former Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and from December 1979 to 2005. Early life Born the son of Victor Charles Page, he went to the independent H ...

(class of 1971) – lead singer and bassist of the

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band Mr. Mister

Politics

* Phil Gordon – 58th mayor of Phoenix *

Rosanna Gabaldón Rosanna Gabaldón is an American politician serving as a member of the Arizona Senate from the 21st district. She previously served as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from January 14, 2013, to January 11, 2021, and as a member of ...

– member of the

Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Senate. The House convenes in the legislative chambers at the Arizona State C ...

Other

* Ian Bruce (class of 1962) – professor and vice-president of the

Royal National Institute of Blind People The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is a UK charity offering information, support and advice to almost two million people in the UK with sight loss. History The RNIB was founded by Thomas Rhodes Armitage, a doctor who had eye ...

(RNIB) *

Cindy McCain Cindy Lou McCain (; born May 20, 1954) is an American diplomat, businesswoman, and humanitarian. McCain has served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture since November 5, 2021. She is the widow of U.S. Sena ...

– American businesswoman, philanthropist, humanitarian, special educator, and author

References

External links

Central High School

Arizona Department of Education School Report Card
{{authority control Public high schools in Arizona High schools in Phoenix, Arizona 1957 establishments in Arizona Educational institutions established in 1957