Independence High School (IHS) 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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

located in Glendale,

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, United States, and is the most recent high school in the Glendale Union High School District. The school's name was picked by the school board because of the bicentennial observance. The school was scheduled to open in the summer of 1976, but was postponed due to construction and lack of demand from the district's student population. It opened during the 1977–1978 school year under principal Fed McClure. The initial enrollment was 420 students consisting of freshman and sophomore students only. The first graduating class was in 1980. The school celebrated its thirtieth anniversary during the 2007–2008 school year. The school was designed by the local architecture firm Varney, Sexton, Sydnor Associates and built in the

Brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the b ...

style. Two weeks after the school opened, a fire broke out destroying parts of the lower level, however classes resumed a few days later. A formal dedication was held on November 17, 1977, with the Honorable Bob Stump, representative, as guest speaker. On February 12, 2016, the school was the site of a murder suicide shooting that killed two 15-year-old girls.

Ethnic diversity

Independence's student ethnic diversity as of November 2023: * Asian: 81 (3.95%) * American Indian/Alaskan Native: Not Specified * Black/African American: 130 (6.34%) * Hispanic/Latino: 1633 (79.7%) * Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: Not Specified * Multiple Races: 27 (1.32%) * White: 154 (7.52%)

References

External links

* {{authority control Educational institutions established in 1977 Public high schools in Arizona Education in Glendale, Arizona Schools in Maricopa County, Arizona 1977 establishments in Arizona School shootings in Arizona