Patagonia Union High School
Encyclopedia
Patagonia Union High School (PUHS), is a public high school
located in Patagonia, Arizona
, which serves rural eastern Santa Cruz County, Arizona
, including the communities of Patagonia, Sonoita
, and Elgin
. PUHS is a 1A school, with an enrollment of about 90 students in grades 9-12. Its mascot is the Lobo, the Spanish word for "wolf."
National and state authorities have lauded the school for its academic excellence. PUHS has met the federal standard of "adequate yearly progress
" every year since the passage of No Child Left Behind. The Arizona Department of Education
has given the school its highest rating (Excelling) for the past three years. PUHS is the only "Excelling" high school in Arizona south of the Tucson metro area.
U.S. News & World Report
recently recognized PUHS as a bronze medal school, a designation that indicates unusually good test scores for the school's demographics. Patagonia is the only bronze medal school in southern Arizona outside the Tucson metro area.
Great Schools currently gives PUHS a rating of 8 (out of 10), better than any other high school in Santa Cruz County.
No Child Left Behind Adequate Yearly Progress
U.S. News & World Report America's Best Schools
Arizona Regional Brain Bee
Arizona Academic Decathlon
Willow Canyon Scholastic Bowl Invitational
Basketball (Boys)
Basketball (Girls)
Football
Volleyball (Girls)
Arizona Educational Foundation Arizona Teacher of the Year finalist and Ambassador for Excellence, 2009
Patagonia Union High School Teacher of the Year, 2008
Veterans of Foreign Wars
Arizona High School Citizenship Education Teacher of the Year, 2008
Arizona 1A South Baseball Coach of the Year, 2003
National Rural Teacher of the Year, 2001–2002
Arizona Rural Schools Association Teacher of the Year, 2000-2001
Superintendent of the Year for Small & Rural Schools, 2004
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
located in Patagonia, Arizona
Patagonia, Arizona
Patagonia is a town in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. As of 2010 Patagonia had a population of 913. Patagonia was formerly a supply center for nearby mines and ranches. Currently, it is a tourist destination, retirement community and arts & crafts center. The Nature Conservancy's...
, which serves rural eastern Santa Cruz County, Arizona
Santa Cruz County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*73.5% White*0.4% Black*0.7% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.0% Two or more races*22.9% Other races*82.8% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
, including the communities of Patagonia, Sonoita
Sonoita
Sonoyta, Sonora is a town in the northern Mexican state of Sonora. It stands on the U.S.-Mexico border, facing Lukeville, Arizona, in the United States. It is the municipal seat of the municipality of Plutarco Elías Calles.-Demographics:...
, and Elgin
Elgin, Arizona
Elgin is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 309 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Elgin is located at ....
. PUHS is a 1A school, with an enrollment of about 90 students in grades 9-12. Its mascot is the Lobo, the Spanish word for "wolf."
General information
The student population is 54% low income (i.e., eligible for free & reduced-price lunches by the federal definition). Ethnically, the student population is 52% Anglo and 48% Latino.National and state authorities have lauded the school for its academic excellence. PUHS has met the federal standard of "adequate yearly progress
Adequate Yearly Progress
Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, is a measurement defined by the United States federal No Child Left Behind Act that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing academically according to results on standardized...
" every year since the passage of No Child Left Behind. The Arizona Department of Education
Arizona Department of Education
Arizona Department of Education is an Arizona state agency overseeing public education. It is headquartered at 1535 West Jefferson Street in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona, United States.-External links:*...
has given the school its highest rating (Excelling) for the past three years. PUHS is the only "Excelling" high school in Arizona south of the Tucson metro area.
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
recently recognized PUHS as a bronze medal school, a designation that indicates unusually good test scores for the school's demographics. Patagonia is the only bronze medal school in southern Arizona outside the Tucson metro area.
Great Schools currently gives PUHS a rating of 8 (out of 10), better than any other high school in Santa Cruz County.
Academic awards
Arizona Department of Education Report Cards- 2008-2009: Excelling
- 2007-2008: Excelling
- 2006-2007: Excelling
- 2005-2006: Excelling
- 2004-2005: Performing
- 2003-2004: Highly Performing
- 2002-2003: Excelling
No Child Left Behind Adequate Yearly Progress
- 2007-2008: Met
- 2006-2007: Met
- 2005-2006: Met
- 2004-2005: Met
- 2003-2004: Met
- 2002-2003: Met
U.S. News & World Report America's Best Schools
- Bronze Medal, 2007, 2008
Arizona Regional Brain Bee
- 1st place: 2008
- 2nd place: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009
Arizona Academic Decathlon
- 2nd place among 1A schools in regional & state competition, 2008
Willow Canyon Scholastic Bowl Invitational
- 3rd Place, 2008
Athletic achievements
Baseball- 1st place, 1A South division, 2003 (Head Coaches: Brian MacKenzie & Alvaro Monteverde)
Basketball (Boys)
- 3rd place, 1A South division, 2008 (Head Coach: Jim Paul)
- 1st place, 1A South division, 2007 (Head Coach: Jimmy Lewis)
Basketball (Girls)
- 4th place, 1A South division, 2007 (Head Coach: Michelle Shadrick)
Football
- 3rd place, 1A South division, 2008 (Head Coach: Jim Paul)
- 3rd place, 1A South division, 2007 (Head Coach: Brian MacKenzie)
Volleyball (Girls)
- 1st place, 1A South division, 2005 (Head Coach: Lance Sabbe)
Faculty and staff recognition
- Brian MacKenzie
Arizona Educational Foundation Arizona Teacher of the Year finalist and Ambassador for Excellence, 2009
Patagonia Union High School Teacher of the Year, 2008
Veterans of Foreign Wars
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...
Arizona High School Citizenship Education Teacher of the Year, 2008
Arizona 1A South Baseball Coach of the Year, 2003
- Lois Rodgers
National Rural Teacher of the Year, 2001–2002
Arizona Rural Schools Association Teacher of the Year, 2000-2001
- Susan Stropko
Superintendent of the Year for Small & Rural Schools, 2004
Notable alumni
- Dinesh D'SouzaDinesh D'SouzaDinesh D'Souza is an author and public speaker and a former Robert and Karen Rishwain Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He is currently the President of The King's College in New York City. D'Souza is a noted Christian apologist and conservative writer and speaker....
, author, conservative activist, Reagan Administration policy analyst
- Jim KolbeJim KolbeJames Thomas "Jim" Kolbe is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for Arizona's 8th congressional district, serving 11 terms from 1985 to 2007.-Early life:...
, Republican U.S. Congressman for southern Arizona, 1985–2007
- John Kolbe, reporter and columnist for the Phoenix GazettePhoenix GazetteThe Phoenix Gazette was a newspaper published in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. It was founded in 1881, and was known in its early years as the Phoenix Evening Gazette....
and Arizona Republic
- Cynthia Matus-Morriss, 2003 president of the Arizona School Boards Association and 2004 vice-chairman of the National Hispanic Caucus of the National School Boards AssociationNational School Boards AssociationThe National School Boards Association, or NSBA, is a nonprofit organization operating as a federation of state associations of school boards across the United States. Founded in 1940, NSBA represents 95,000 local school board members who govern 14,890 local school districts serving more than 47...