Desert Mountain High School
Encyclopedia
Desert Mountain High School (DMHS), opened in 1995, is in northeast Scottsdale, AZ and serves a community which strongly supports the school system. The school has a joint-use city library facility, four computer labs, media studio, theater, college/career center, yearbook/newspaper production labs, child development department, business-regulated curriculum, off-school campus medical education facilities and extensive athletic facilities.
Desert Mountain has a two semester scheduling format to serve its student population of almost 2,700 students in grades nine through twelve. In 1998, Desert Mountain became an International Baccalaureate Member School and is a magnet program for the Scottsdale Unified School District. Desert Mountain offers students the choice of standard, honors, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes.
Special programs are available for gifted (including Advanced Placement), English Language Learners and Special Education students. Extensive vocational programs are available through a partnership with the East Valley Institute of Technology
(EVIT).
Desert Mountain High School is accredited through North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Desert Mountain is a member of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors and complies with the NACAC Statement of Principles of Good Practice.
Desert Mountain High School was named, for the second consecutive year, as one of the top 1300 high schools in the country according to Newsweek's Web site. DMHS is one of a handful of public high schools in Arizona to make the list and was ranked 867th.
Desert Mountain's drama club, DMHS Players, was the only Arizona high school invited to perform at the world's largest arts festival, the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe
in Scotland, nominated for their production of Urinetown: The Musical. The DMHS Players also received numerous awards at the 2008 Center Stage Awards including Best Play, for their production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
Desert Mountain's Invisible Children
Club has been the recipient of multiple awards, including multiple club of the quarter/year awards and three Schools for Schools
awards. Since its inception, it has raised over $50,000.
Desert Mountain students won eight varsity team championships and twelve individual state championships in 2007.
Angela Duckworth was the 2007 Wendy's High School Heisman
national winner. She excelled in swimming.
program My Super Sweet Sixteen. http://www.azcentral.com/ent/tv/articles/0426marissa0426.html
, Heather Morris, was a graduate of Desert Mountain High School class of 2005.
Desert Mountain has a two semester scheduling format to serve its student population of almost 2,700 students in grades nine through twelve. In 1998, Desert Mountain became an International Baccalaureate Member School and is a magnet program for the Scottsdale Unified School District. Desert Mountain offers students the choice of standard, honors, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes.
Special programs are available for gifted (including Advanced Placement), English Language Learners and Special Education students. Extensive vocational programs are available through a partnership with the East Valley Institute of Technology
East Valley Institute of Technology
The East Valley Institute of Technology is a joint technological education district serving the eastern portion of the Phoenix, Arizona metro area...
(EVIT).
Library
The school's library is shared with the Scottsdale public library system as the Palomino Branch Library. It opened with the rest of the school in August 1995. The library features 18000 square feet (1,672.3 m²) of space. At the time of its opening, the then-50,000-volume collection was 60% owned by the library and 40% by the school. It was the district's first such combined library.Academics, Honors & Awards
The Desert Mountain Faculty includes five administrators, nine professional support staff members and one hundred twenty-three teachers, of whom seventy-five hold Master's degrees and seven hold doctorates.Desert Mountain High School is accredited through North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. Desert Mountain is a member of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors and complies with the NACAC Statement of Principles of Good Practice.
Desert Mountain High School was named, for the second consecutive year, as one of the top 1300 high schools in the country according to Newsweek's Web site. DMHS is one of a handful of public high schools in Arizona to make the list and was ranked 867th.
Extracurricular activities
Desert Mountain students participate in a variety of extracurricular activities including Student Council, National Honor Society, performing arts, athletics at the freshman, junior varsity, and varsity levels, as well as over fifty student clubs and organizations.Desert Mountain's drama club, DMHS Players, was the only Arizona high school invited to perform at the world's largest arts festival, the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
in Scotland, nominated for their production of Urinetown: The Musical. The DMHS Players also received numerous awards at the 2008 Center Stage Awards including Best Play, for their production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
Desert Mountain's Invisible Children
Invisible Children
Invisible Children: Rough Cut is a 2003 American documentary film. Its subject is the abduction and forced enlistment of children by the sectarian Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda.-Synopsis:...
Club has been the recipient of multiple awards, including multiple club of the quarter/year awards and three Schools for Schools
Schools for Schools
Schools for Schools is a fundraising program created by the nonprofit Invisible Children Inc. The goal of the program is to have students and schools in the western world creatively compete to raise money and rebuild schools in northern Uganda, a region whose education standards and facilities have...
awards. Since its inception, it has raised over $50,000.
Athletics
Although Desert Mountain has won many minor titles in high school athletics, their first major state title was earned in 2007 when the boys' basketball team became 5A-II state champions by defeating Paradise Valley High School 65-55. In 2009, the girls soccer team won a 5A-II championship title as well. The 2006 girls volleyball team also won the 2006 state championship.Desert Mountain students won eight varsity team championships and twelve individual state championships in 2007.
Angela Duckworth was the 2007 Wendy's High School Heisman
Wendy's High School Heisman
The Wendy's High School Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , named after former college football player and coach John Heisman, is a prestigious award in American high-school athletics. It is sponsored by Wendy's Restaurants...
national winner. She excelled in swimming.
Media
In 2006, Desert Mountain High School was featured on the MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
program My Super Sweet Sixteen. http://www.azcentral.com/ent/tv/articles/0426marissa0426.html
Notable Alumni
The actress who plays Brittany S. Pierce on GleeGlee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
, Heather Morris, was a graduate of Desert Mountain High School class of 2005.