Patagonia Union High School (PUHS), is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

located in

Patagonia, Arizona Patagonia is a town in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 913. It developed in the mid-19th century as a trading and supply center for nearby mines and ranches. In the 21st century, it is a t ...

, which serves rural eastern Santa Cruz County, Arizona, including the communities of Patagonia, Sonoita, and Elgin. PUHS is a 1A school, with an enrollment of about 90 students in grades 9–12. Its mascot is the Lobo, the Spanish word for "wolf."

General information

The student population is 54% low income (i.e., eligible for free & reduced-price lunches by the federal definition). Ethnically, the student population is 52% Anglo and 48% Latino. National and state authorities have lauded the school for its academic excellence. PUHS has met the federal standard of "

adequate yearly progress Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is a measurement defined by the United States federal No Child Left Behind Act that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing ac ...

" every year since the passage of No Child Left Behind. 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 given the school its highest rating (Excelling) for the past three years. PUHS is the only "Excelling" high school in Arizona south of the Tucson metro area. U.S. News & World Report recently recognized PUHS as a bronze medal school, a designation that indicates unusually good test scores for the school's demographics. Patagonia is the only bronze medal school in southern Arizona outside the Tucson metro area. Great Schools rated PUHS at 7 out of 10.

History

In 1989 the ''

Arizona Daily Star The ''Arizona Daily Star'' is the major morning daily newspaper that serves Tucson and surrounding districts of southern Arizona in the United States. History L. C. Hughes was the Arizona Territory governor and founder of the ''Arizona Star'', ...

'' ran an article about

recreational drug Recreational drug use indicates the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime by modifying the perceptions and emotions of the user. When a ...

use being a rampant issue among the student body.

Academic awards

Arizona Department of Education Report Cards * 2002–2003: Excelling * 2003–2004: Highly Performing * 2004–2005: Performing * 2005–2006: Excelling * 2006–2007: Excelling * 2007–2008: Excelling * 2008–2009: Excelling No Child Left Behind Adequate Yearly Progress * 2002–2003: Met * 2003–2004: Met * 2004–2005: Met * 2005–2006: Met * 2006–2007: Met * 2007–2008: Met U.S. News & World Report America's Best Schools * Bronze Medal, 2007, 2008 Arizona Regional Brain Bee * 1st place: 2008 * 2nd place: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009 Arizona Academic Decathlon * 2nd place among 1A schools in regional & state competition, 2008 Willow Canyon Scholastic Bowl Invitational * 3rd Place, 2008

Athletic achievements

Baseball * 1st place, 1A South division, 2003 (Head Coaches: Brian MacKenzie & Alvaro Monteverde) Basketball (Boys) * 3rd place, 1A South division, 2008 (Head Coach: Jim Paul) * 1st place, 1A South division, 2007 (Head Coach: Jimmy Lewis) Basketball (Girls) * 4th place, 1A South division, 2007 (Head Coach: Michelle Shadrick) Football * 3rd place, 1A South division, 2008 (Head Coach: Jim Paul) * 3rd place, 1A South division, 2007 (Head Coach: Brian MacKenzie) * Co-State Champion, Class C division, 1991 (Head Coach: Bill House) * State Champion, Class C division, 1988 (Head Coach: Bill House/Darrell Howell) * State Champion, Class C division, 1987 (Head Coach: Bill House) Volleyball (Girls) * 1st place, 1A South division, 2005 (Head Coach: Lance Sabbe)

Faculty and staff recognition

* Brian MacKenzie ** Arizona Educational Foundation Arizona Teacher of the Year finalist and Ambassador for Excellence, 2009 ** Patagonia Union High School Teacher of the Year, 2008 **

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or a ...

Arizona High School Citizenship Education Teacher of the Year, 2008 ** Arizona 1A South Baseball Coach of the Year, 2003 * Lois Rodgers ** National Rural Teacher of the Year, 2001–2002 ** Arizona Rural Schools Association Teacher of the Year, 2000–2001ARSA: Teacher of the Year
/ref> * Susan Stropko ** Superintendent of the Year for Small & Rural Schools, 2004

Notable alumni

* Dinesh D'Souza, author, conservative activist, Reagan Administration policy analyst *

Jim Kolbe James Thomas Kolbe (June 28, 1942 – December 3, 2022) was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives. He represented Arizona's 5th congressional district from 1985 to 2003 and its 8t ...

, Republican U.S. Congressman for southern Arizona, 1985–2007

References

{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1926 Public high schools in Arizona Schools in Santa Cruz County, Arizona 1926 establishments in Arizona School districts in Santa Cruz County, Arizona