University High School (UHS) is an accelerated public high school located in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. Originally known as ''Special Projects High School'' (SPHS), University High School is in the

Tucson Unified School District Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) is the largest school district of Tucson, Arizona, in terms of enrollment. Dr. Gabriel Trujillo is the superintendent, appointed on September 12, 2017 by the Governing Board. As of 2016, TUSD had more than ...

(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."

Ranking and recognition

'' U.S. News & World Report'' has included UHS in their list of "America's Best High Schools" out of nearly 18,000 schools in the US: In 2014, the

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

listed UHS at No. 28 in its review of "America's Most Challenging High Schools," which ranked the 1,900 highest-performing high schools nationally. In 2013, the

Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

listed UHS at No. 19 in its annual list of the "Best 2,000 High Schools in the Nation. In May 2006,

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

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." In 2005 and 2016, it was honored as a Blue Ribbon school.

Notable alumni

Max Cannon ''Red Meat'' is a weekly three panel black-and-white comic strip by Max Cannon. First published in 1989, it has appeared in over 80 newspapers, mainly alternative weeklies and college papers in the United States and in other countries. It has be ...

, Creator of

Red Meat In gastronomy, red meat is commonly red when raw and a dark color after it is cooked, in contrast to white meat, which is pale in color before and after cooking. In culinary terms, only flesh from mammals or fowl (not fish) is classified as ...

comic strip *

Gabby Giffords Gabrielle Dee Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American retired politician and gun control advocate who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing from January 2007 until January 2012, when she resigned ...

, U.S. Representative from Arizona's 8th district * Martha Crawford Heitzmann, vice president for research and development, Air Liquide, France *

Kaiser Kuo Kaiser Kuo (; born March 7, 1966) is a Chinese American freelance writer and musician. Career Kaiser previously worked as director for international communications for Chinese search engine Baidu. Before that he was a technology correspondent ...

, writer, musician, podcaster, and Director of International Communications at

Baidu Baidu, Inc. ( ; , meaning "hundred times") is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products and artificial intelligence (AI), headquartered in Beijing's Haidian District. It is one of the l ...

Timothy Reckart Timothy Reckart is an American animator and director based in Los Angeles, specializing in puppet stop motion. He is best known for his 2012 film ''Head over Heels'', nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2013. Reckar ...

, Academy Award nominated filmmaker * Zach Selwyn, actor, TV host, musician and writer Guinness World Records Gone Wild * Michael Thompson, Professional golfer * Jessica Grace Wing, composer and filmmaker * Deja Foxx, reproductive rights activist and political strategist.

References

External links

UHS Website

UHS Foundation and Alumni Association

School Newspaper

UHS Parents' Association
{{authority control Public high schools in Arizona Schools in Tucson, Arizona Gifted education 1976 establishments in Arizona Educational institutions established in 1976