South Mountain High School

Last updated

South Mountain High School
Address
South Mountain High School
5401 South 7th Street

Phoenix
,
Arizona
85040

United States
Coordinates 33°23′53″N112°03′46″W / 33.398053°N 112.062762°W / 33.398053; -112.062762
Information
Type Public secondary school
Established1954
PrincipalFredrick Montoya
Staff111.20 (FTE) [1]
FacultyApprox. 205
Grades9–12
Number of students2,146 (2022–2023) [1]
Student to teacher ratio19.30 [1]
Color(s)   Columbia blue and red
MascotJaguar (Rebels 1954–85)
Website www.pxu.org/theacademies

South Mountain High School (The Academies at South Mountain) is a high school located in Phoenix, Arizona. The school is part of the Phoenix Union High School District.

Contents

Overview

The school was founded in 1954. [2] The school shares its name with South Mountain, which is located south of the campus.

The campus was designed by a group of noted local architects consisting of Mel Ensign as supervising architect, and H. H. Green, Lescher & Mahoney, John Sing Tang, Edward L. Varney and Weaver & Drover. The construction contract to build the school was awarded to The Wes Meyer Construction Co. [3] The campus was heavily renovated in 2019 with ADM Group serving as architect. [4]

The school partner's elementary district is Roosevelt. [2]

School boundary

Like all Phoenix Union High School District schools, students who live within a specific geographic area of Phoenix are automatically enrolled at South Mountain High School. [5] As of November 2017, the school serves students in an area south of the Salt River, north of the South Mountain, east of Central Avenue, and west of 40th Street. [6] However, open enrollment is allowed. [5]

Student population

Phoenix Union lists its overall ethnic breakdown as 81.7% Hispanic, 8.3% African American, 4.4% Caucasian, 2.4% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 1.6% Other. [7]

Magnet programs

South Mountain High School teaches five of the eleven Magnet programs in the Phoenix Union High School District.

Athletic and competitive achievements

Incidents

The school has seen incidents of violence over the years.

1970s

A riot brought on by racial tensions happened at the school at some point during the 1970s. [12]

1994

In October 1994, racial tensions between the school's African American and Hispanic population erupted into a riot. [13] A report by Phoenix newspaper Arizona Republic indicated the fight involved 1,000 students, [13] and the incident reportedly spilled into neighborhoods surrounding the school. [14]

The incident reportedly happened in the aftermath of a shooting that injured a Hispanic senior student was a member of a Bloods gang. [13] The suspect in the shooting was reportedly an African American Crips gang member. [13]

No guns or knives were used during the riot, but it involved other weapons such as metal pipes and tree branches. [13] Dozens were reportedly injured, and the incident resulted in the arrest of 18 people. [13] School security, along with Phoenix Police Department and Arizona Department of Public Safety officers, joined forces to separate the African American and Hispanic students, and stop the riot at the school. [15]

Overcrowding at the school was seen, at least by school officials at the time, as a cause for the incident. [16]

2009

In February 2009, a riot involving up to 300 people either fighting or cheering took place, as school was letting out. [17] A school resource officer, as well as a Phoenix Police officer, were assaulted, and in the end, 40 officers were called to subdue the riot. [18] 12 people, including 10 juveniles and 2 adults, were arrested. [18]

Notable alumni

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "South Mountain High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  2. 1 2 "School Information / School Profile". South Mountain High School. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  3. "Arizona Builder and Contractor, November 1953, Vol. 16, No. 4". azmemory.azlibrary.gov. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  4. Blufish (October 17, 2019). "ADM Group completes $27M renovation of Academies at South Mountain". AZ Big Media. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Experience High School / Enroll". Phoenix Union High School District . Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  6. "School Information / Boundary Map". South Mountain High School. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  7. "District Information / District Profile". www.pxu.org. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  8. http://www.phxhs.k12.az.us/education/dept/dept.php?sectionid=7479 [ dead link ]
  9. http://www.phxhs.k12.az.us/education/dept/dept.php?sectionid=7481 [ dead link ]
  10. http://www.phxhs.k12.az.us/education/dept/dept.php?sectionid=7480 [ dead link ]
  11. http://www.phxhs.k12.az.us/education/dept/dept.php?sectionid=7478 [ dead link ]
  12. Fitzpatrick, Tom (November 17, 1994). "A Process is Due At South Mountain High". Phoenix New Times . Retrieved November 27, 2017. When Roberto Frietz, now 39, was a student at South Mountain High School in the 1970s, a riot brought on by racial tensions broke out at the school.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "1,000 Students Riot At High School". The Seattle Times . The Arizona Republic. October 14, 1994. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  14. Fitzpatrick, Tom (November 17, 1994). "A Process is Due At South Mountain High". Phoenix New Times . Retrieved November 27, 2017. On October 13, South Mountain was the scene of another riot, which spilled over into the surrounding neighborhood.
  15. Fitzpatrick, Tom (November 17, 1994). "A Process is Due At South Mountain High". Phoenix New Times . Retrieved November 27, 2017. The fighting was so out of control on the day of the riot that it was halted only after school security guards, Phoenix police and Department of Public Safety officers entered the fray and separated the black students from the Hispanics. Even then, the fighting shifted off campus, erupting sporadically through the surrounding area.
  16. Fitzpatrick, Tom (November 17, 1994). "A Process is Due At South Mountain High". Phoenix New Times . Retrieved November 27, 2017. At South Mountain High, there are 3,600 students enrolled in a school built to handle only 2,500. The overcrowding at the 40-year-old school has been cited by Moody Jackson, South Mountain's principal, as a root cause of the disturbance.
  17. "Police say teen-fight became small-scale riot". KTVK . August 24, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  18. 1 2 Stern, Ray (February 5, 2009). "South Mountain High School Site of "Small-Scale Riot," Says Police". Phoenix New Times . Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  19. 1 2 Obert, Richard. "South Mountain High's all-time greatest football players". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  20. "South Mountain High community outraged over football coach's dismissal". ABC15 Arizona in Phoenix (KNXV). February 7, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  21. Obert, Richard. "Decades-long state track records holding up in age of specialization". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  22. Lutrell, Andy (August 31, 1994). "Freshman Terry Fair making an impression". The Daily Beacon. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  23. Olsen, Daniel (February 14, 2021). "Utah Sports Hall of Fame Athlete of the Week: Manny Hendrix". The Hive Sports. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  24. "DAUM'S CARL JOHNSON INDUCTED INTO NEBRASKA FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME – Daum Commercial" . Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  25. "Sandra Denise Kennedy - Arizona State Library". Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  26. "Player Bio: Jason Shivers - Arizona State University Official Athletic Site". Arizona State University Athletics. April 17, 2013. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  27. Obert, Richard. "Chandler creeping up on South Mountain for producing most NFL players among Arizona high schools". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  28. Staff (April 21, 2021). "NFL Players from South Mountain H.S. (AZ)". SuperWest Sports. Retrieved August 24, 2024.