Central High School is a high school in the

Phoenix Union High School District The Phoenix Union High School District is a High school (North America), 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 serv ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) 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 over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, 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 John Sing Tang (1913 – December 3, 1987) was a modernist architect from Arizona. He worked in the Phoenix metropolitan area, and designed many homes in the Arcadia area in the 1950s and 1960s. He was the first Chinese-American architect lice ...

. 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, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

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

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, 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 * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

, 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 located entirely within the US state of Arizona. I-17's southern terminus lies in Phoenix, at I-10/US 60 and its northern terminus is in Flagstaff, at I-40. Most of I-17 is kn ...

and north of the

Maricopa Freeway The Maricopa Freeway is one of the named principal 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&nbs ...

, 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, public education from kindergarten to secondary school. The ADE is run by an elected Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruc ...

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 –

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(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 presiden ...

–

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

executive * Lois Drinkwater – sprinter and the first Arizona female to run in the Olympics (1968 as a junior) * Azur Kamara – NFL defensive end *

Damon Mays Damon E. Mays, Jr. (born May 20, 1968) is an American former professional football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers and Washington Redskins. He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the ninth round of th ...

– NFL wide receiver * Darryl Morrison – NFL safety * Dave Rajsich –

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(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 – author * Samantha Ponder –

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

personality *

Richard Page Richard Lewis Page (born 22 February 1941) is a former Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979, and from 1979 to 2005. Early life Born the so ...

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

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

band Mr. Mister

Politics

*Elizabeth Finn - (class of 1965) – judge in Phoenix, Glendale, Cave Creek, and Scottsdale; advocate for domestic violence laws. *

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 House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Arizona Senate, Senate. The House convenes in the le ...

* Phil Gordon – 58th mayor of Phoenix

Other

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

Royal National Institute of Blind People RNIB (formally, the Royal National Institute of Blind People and previously the Royal National Institute for the Blind) is a British charity, founded in 1868, that serves people living with visual impairments. It is regarded as a leader in th ...

(RNIB) *

Cindy McCain Cindy Lou McCain (; born May 20, 1954) is an American diplomat, businesswoman, and humanitarian who is the executive director of the World Food Programme. McCain previously served as List of ambassadors of the United States to the United Nation ...

– 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