Paradise Valley High School (PVHS) is a high school located in
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 ...
and was the first of five high schools built in the
Paradise Valley Unified School District
Paradise Valley Unified School District #69 (PVSchools) is a school district serving northeast Phoenix, Arizona, and Scottsdale, Arizona. The district serves students in kindergarten through grade 12 with 30 elementary schools (free, full-day kin ...
. Paradise Valley High School opened in 1957. The school's athletic teams are referred to as the Trojans. Featuring a Block Schedule, Paradise Valley teaches a wide selection of courses in not only core academics but also technology and the arts. The football program installed one of the first artificial turfs in the state, the only
Sprinturf installation in Arizona, as its main football, soccer, and track field at a cost of $1 million.
History
Paradise Valley opened in 1957 at Bell Road and 40th street which at the time was on the outskirts of Phoenix. The campus was designed by local architect Mel Ensign, and built by H. A. Kramer Construction Co. The original campus consisted of an administration building, several small classroom buildings and a small gymnasium and athletic fields located to the north of the classroom buildings. In the 1960s a library, cafeteria, shop building and three larger classroom buildings were added to the campus. The gymnasium was also expanded in the 1960s. In the early 1970s a new building called the 700 building was constructed.
Between 1976 and 1979 several new buildings designed by the Tempe architecture office of
Michael & Kemper Goodwin Ltd. The plan included a new vocational education building and an additional physical education building. In 1982 the remaining 1957 classroom buildings were demolished to make way for a larger classroom building. The new building was nearly complete when the 1983–1984 school year began. At that time the 1960s buildings were updated. In 1983 the 700 building was demolished to make way for a new 1,200 seat auditorium and associated fine arts building. The auditorium and fine arts building were completed in 1984. In 1990 it was decided that Paradise Valley would close its original campus and move to a new campus being constructed at Union Hills Drive and 16th Street. The new campus opened for the 1991–1992 school year. It was then decided that the original campus would be renovated and reopened. The original gymnasium as well as the administration building were demolished and rebuilt and the campus was thoroughly spruced up. The updated school reopened for the 1993–1994 school year.
The new campus on Union Hills was then renamed
North Canyon High School
North Canyon High School (NCHS) is a nationally recognized public high school located in north central Phoenix, Arizona. It features an International Baccalaureate (IB) program.
Construction started in 1989, the campus was designed by Hickman, S ...
.
The CREST STEM program was established in 2010 offering students classes in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics. In 2013 the three 1960s classroom buildings were demolished to make way for two new twin story buildings housing the science department and CTE classes. In 2013 the auditorium was also completely renovated. The 2013 projects were completed by McCarthy Construction.
When the school was established the Paradise Valley High School District was also created. In July 1976 the high school district unified with the elementary district to form the
Paradise Valley Unified School District
Paradise Valley Unified School District #69 (PVSchools) is a school district serving northeast Phoenix, Arizona, and Scottsdale, Arizona. The district serves students in kindergarten through grade 12 with 30 elementary schools (free, full-day kin ...
.
Notable people
;Alumni
*
Steve Bush
Steven Jack Bush (born July 4, 1974 in Paradise Valley, Arizona) is a former tight end and fullback in the NFL. He went to Arizona State University.
Bush was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1997. After several ...
, professional football player
*
Matt Clapp
Matt Clapp (born December 6, 1986) is a former American football fullback. He was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at Oklahoma.
Professional career
Detroit Lions
Clapp was signed by the ...
, football player
*
Joel Filani
Joel O. Filani (born December 8, 1983) is a former American football wide receiver, and is the current wide receivers coach for the Washington State Cougars Football Team. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL ...
, football player
*
Matt Dallas
Matthew Joseph Dallas (born October 21, 1982) is an American actor, best known for playing the title character on the ABC Family series ''Kyle XY''.
Early life
Dallas was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and attended Arizona School for the Arts. He ha ...
, actor
*
Ryan Finley, football player
*
Paul Watson
Paul Franklin Watson (born December 2, 1950) is a Canadian-American conservation and environmental movement, environmental activist, who founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an anti-poaching and direct action group focused on marine c ...
, basketball player
*
Jordan Brown, football player
;Faculty
*
Rob Babcock
Robert "Rob" Babcock (1953 – May 15, 2019) was an American basketball executive. He served as a Vice President of Basketball Operations with the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA, and also as general manager of the Toronto Raptors from 2004 to ...
, basketball coach and teacher
*
Dennis Van Roekel
Dennis Van Roekel is an American labor leader who served as president of the National Education Association, the largest labor union in the United States.
Background
Van Roekel was born in Le Mars, Iowa. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from t ...
, math teacher
References
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Public high schools in Arizona
High schools in Phoenix, Arizona
1957 establishments in Arizona
Educational institutions established in 1957