DVUSD Parent Update
February 2024
Three DVUSD Schools Earn 2024 A+ Schools of Excellence
The Arizona Educational Foundation (AEF) announced on February 15, that 37 Arizona schools earned A+ School of Excellence Status for 2024, with three DVUSD schools picking up the honors.
Boulder Creek High School has earned its first A+ designation in school history. Boulder Creek principal Brittany Sutton was thrilled to hear of the news: "The A+ School of Excellence Award is truly a testament to the dedication, commitment, and pride of Boulder Creek High School staff, students, and community. BCHS is a special place because of the people that bring it to life! I am so incredibly proud of our Jaguars each and every day as they work to learn, lead, create, and dream with the help of incredible adults that surround them. This is such an exciting step in our journey as a school that validates our hard work while also giving us so much energy to keep striving for our next goal."
Diamond Canyon School has earned its third A+ designation in school history, and first since 2019. Principal Tara LeCount had this reaction after learning the news, "Diamond Canyon is PROUD to achieve this distinction for the third time. We truly have the best students, staff, and community. We are thankful for Arizona Education Foundation verifying the excellence that happens daily across our school. Congratulations Coyotes!"
Mountain Ridge High School has earned its district-best fifth A+ designation, and first since 2018. Principal David Vines shared his thoughts upon learning the news: "We are very excited to receive our A+ School of Excellence recognition renewal. I believe this is a reflection of the amazing staff, students, and community at Mountain Ridge. We look forward to continuing our success in providing an excellent learning environment for our students and exemplifying The Ridge Way!"
With Boulder Creek's first A+ designation, 23 total DVUSD schools have earned A+ designation since 1991.
Congratulations to Boulder Creek High School, Diamond Canyon School, and Mountain Ridge High School on being named a 2024 AEF A+ School of Excellence!
All DVUSD elementary and K-8 schools are hosting a Kindergarten Preview Night for families to learn the #extraordinary experiences that await them in a DVUSD classroom! These events began in late February and run through March 8. Kindergarten Preview Night offers a chance to receive registration information, meet our #Extraordinary DVUSD staff, and get your Kindergarten questions answered! View a complete list of events at dvusd.org/kinderevents.
Ready to register your child for Kindergarten? Register your student at any K-6 or K-8 DVUSD school by visiting dvusd.org/register and completing the online enrollment process. Students need to be five years old by August 31, 2024 to register for Kindergarten. If your child will be five years old between September 1 to December 31, 2024, you can have your child tested for early entry.
Hear First Hand What it's Like to be a DVUSD Kindergartner!
Find Your Career Event for High School Students-- April 3
DVUSD is bringing back the Find Your Career event for current high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors Wednesday, April 3 from 5:30 -7 p.m. at the DVUSD District Office Governing Board Room (20402 N. 15th Ave) and Innovation Center (located in the same parking lot as the District Office) parents and students are invited to talk to representatives from community partners, community colleges, military, and more that represent post-secondary options in a variety of different career fields.
High School State Testing April 4th & 9th
High School State Testing Schedule
Arizona state assessments for high school students will begin after spring break. All high school junior students will take the ACT college readiness test as well as the AzSCI assessment. All 9th grade students will take the ACT Aspire assessment.
On April 4th, all students in 11th grade will take the AzSCI assessment and 9th grade students will take the ACT-Aspire assessment. To accommodate the length of the test sessions, we will have an asynchronous learning day on April 4th. This means, all 9th and 11th grade students as well as students who ride special needs buses will begin school at the normal time and all 10th and 12th graders will not report to the school campus but will instead complete their class assignments remotely on Canvas.
On April 9th, all 11th grade students will take the ACT test which includes test sections for English, math, reading, science, and writing. Students in 11th grade, as well as students who ride special needs buses, will begin school at the regular start time. Since this is a timed test, students must report to school on time. Students in 9th, 10th, and 12th grades will have an asynchronous learning day on April 9th. This means, all 9th, 10th, and 12th graders will not report to the school campus but will instead complete their class assignments remotely on Canvas.
Registration for Prekindergarten, Preschool & Summer Camp is NOW OPEN!
Registration for DVUSD's Community Education Summer Break Camp is NOW OPEN! The camp is scheduled for May 28-July 19. See the flyer below for details. Register at: HTTPS://DEERVALLEY.CE.ELEYO.COM
Register NOW for DVUSD's Preschool & Prekindergarten classes! Spots fill up quickly, with some campuses already on a waitlist. See the flyer below for details. Register at: HTTPS://DEERVALLEY.CE.ELEYO.COM
Sign up for West-MEC Summer Camps!
Be a part of a select group of students to engage in hands-on, interactive career camps this summer through West-MEC.
Students in 6-8th grades can explore future careers with industry-standard equipment and labs.
For more information visit: west-mec.edu/camps (sign up will be active after March 6).
Families are responsible for the transportation to and from these camps.
DVUSD's Community Education Spotlight Night-- March 21!
Spotlight Night for DVUSD's Community Education is March 21 from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. in the DVUSD governing Board Room (20402 N. 15th ave., Phoenix 85027). This event highlights all the various components of Community Education - Before & After Care, Preschool/Prekindergarten, Camps, Family Resource Center, Enrichment Classes...and more! We will have activities for students, cotton candy, popcorn, cookies and lemonade. Come check it out!
DVUSD Portrait of a Graduate
Each month DVUSD will feature a graduate who meets the five qualities of excellence in alumni: Community Contributor, Effective Communicator, Intellectually Curious, Problem Solver, and Sense of Self and Others.
February's Portrait of a Graduate features Jake Phillips a 2014 graduate from Deer Valley High School. While he was there, he took advantage of team sports opportunities, journalism classes, and the Junior Air Force ROTC program. All of these experiences made Jake who he is today-- the director of the Pentagon Tours Program, and a member of the prestigious Air Force Honor Guard. Watch his story in the video below.
See more Portrait of a Graduate videos at DVUSD.org/PortraitofaGraduate.Nominate a Portrait of a Graduate alumni for us to spotlight. DVUSD will consider all suggestions, but in no way guarantees that any suggested alumni will be featured in a future episode of the video series.
Winter Sports Teams Win Big!
Three DVUSD basketball teams left it all on the hardwood last week on their quest toward three respective state championships!
First up, Deer Valley High School battled with Tucson's Sahuaro in an overtime thriller to secure the school's first-ever Boy's Basketball 4A State Championship.
In the 6A division, both Sandra Day O'Connor High School's girl's and boy's teams squared off on Saturday with their sights set on a title. The lady Eagles cleared their path to a state title after an adjustment in the third quarter. The team didn't let their lead slip below double digits until the final minutes of the the third quarter and they walked away with their first 6A Girl's Basketball state title following the first state championship game appearance in program history!
The Sandra Day O'Connor Boy's Basketball team rounded out DVUSD's playoff run with a tough game against Liberty High School Saturday afternoon. Despite their best efforts, the Eagles came up short, earning a 6A State Championship Runner-up title.
SDOHS' Simcoe goes up for a dunk against Liberty!
SDOHS Lady Eagles Celebrate their 6A State Title!
SDOHS Boy's Basketball Presented with their Runner-up Trophy!
Pom & Cheer Teams Win National Titles
Congratulations to the pom and spiritline teams representing DVUSD- Deer Valley High School, Mountain Ridge High School, and Sandra Day O'Connor High School on bringing home a lot of hardware from nationals in Anaheim! The dedication to their routines and leaving it all on the floor paid off! See a list of all the accolades DVUSD teams achieved below.
Mountain Ridge: BACK TO BACK Game Day National Champions, first-ever JV Pom National Champions, first-ever Varsity Pom National Runners-Up, JV Jazz National Runners-Up, and top 3 out of 21 teams in Varsity Jazz
Sandra Day O'Connor High School:
State Runner Up- Small Advanced Pom, Varsity Show Cheer 3rd in the nation, Varsity Crowdleader 7th in the nation
Deer Valley High School: Varsity Pom- 3rd Place in the nation
DVUSD Wrestlers Earn State Runners-Up
DVUSD wrestlers battled during the Arizona Interscholastic Association state championships! Four DVUSD students proved what they are made of on the mat and earned state runner-up titles!
Congratulations:
Girls D1: Syria Smith, Barry Goldwater High School
Boys D1: Dax Monestime, Boulder Creek High School
Boys D3: Tyler Metcalf & Santiago Reyes, Deer Valley High School
MRHS DECA Racks up State Titles!
This past weekend, Mountain Ridge High School's (MRHS) Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) team represented Mountain Ridge and DVUSD well at the State Career Development Conference, competing against 2,000 peers statewide.
Over three days, they showcased their skills in various competitive events, engaged in leadership workshops, and connected with local businesses and fellow students.
Mountain Ridge students achieved remarkable success, with numerous top-five placements, securing their spots at the International Conference in April where they will compete against nearly 20,000 students from around the world.
Here's a summary of MRHS achievements:
- 12 first-place finishes (State Champions!)
- 6 second-place finishes
- 9 third-place finishes
- 9 fourth-place finishes
- 5 fifth-place finishes
DECA advisor and Mountain Ridge Marketing Teacher, Jeff Samaniego, also earned Chapter Advisor of the Year for the state of Arizona during the conference!