Moon Valley High School - Phoenix, Arizona/AZ

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Moon Valley High School

3625 W Cactus Rd, Phoenix, AZ, 85029-3122 -

tel: (623)915-8000
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Definition of Terms

Moon Valley High School

School Level

High school

Grades Offered

Grades 9 - 12

County

Maricopa County, AZ

Students & Faculty

Total Students

1753 students

% Male / % Female

54% / 46%

Total Classroom Teachers

81 teachers

Students by Grade

Grade 9 - 458 students

Grade 10 - 470 students

Grade 11 - 419 students

Grade 12 - 406 students

This School

(AZ) School Average

Teacher : Student Ratio

1:22

1:18

Students by Ethnicity

This School

(AZ) School Average

% American Indian	3%	6%
% Asian	3%	2%
% Hispanic	24%	41%
% Black	7%	5%
% White	64%	44%

Additional Student Information

This School

(AZ) School Average

% Eligible for Free Lunch

33%

41%

% Eligible for Reduced Lunch

12%

% Migrant Students Enrolled

n/a

n/a

(AZ) Statewide Testing Performance

School Statewide Performance

View Education Department Test Scores

School District Name

Glendale Union High School District

This School's Agency

(AZ) District Average

Number of Schools Managed	12	1
Number of Students Managed	15,065 students	306 students
District Total Revenue	$123,739,000	$1,828,000
District Expenditure	$125,965,000	$1,582,000
District Revenue / Student	$8,214	$12,954
District Expenditure / Student	$8,361	$12,507
District Graduation Rates	80%	78%

Moon Valley High School is located in Phoenix, Arizona and is a part of the Glendale Union High School District.
Moon Valley is one of Arizona's leading educational establishments and is an excelling school according to the Arizona Department of Education.
History: Many of Moon Valley High School's original 565 students and 25 teachers will recall the unfinished buildings, blowing dirt, lack of grass and lack of facilities that caused Moon Valley's delayed opening in September of 1965. As the years went by, the faculty grew from the original 25 to the current number of 100, and the boundaries are now from Thunderbird Road to Peoria Avenue and Black Canyon Freeway to 51st Avenue. Students now number 1,677.
The new school was named Moon Valley because it was indicated on maps that the Moon Valley area was near the new school (since then, the areas have shifted). Many protest letters were written to the Board of Education stating that the school should be called either Deer Valley High, Northwest High, John F. Kennedy High or Westown High. The controversy raged for many months with petitions pouring in from the community, both for and against the name. The board, however, stuck with the original name, stating the Glendale schools are neither named after people nor directions, since that was the way Phoenix Union District named its schools.
Mr. Don Reed, an engineer at General Electric, contacted Hughes Aircraft and was able to have donated an Air Force GAR air-to-air guided missile shell for use as a mascot. In accordance with this, the student body chose the mascot name, "Rockets." The school colors are scarlet red, royal blue and white. Because there was no grass that first year, flower beds were planted around the school. Students refused to let janitors take out all the flowers, so the flowers have become a permanent fixture on the grounds.
Mr. Victor E. Lowman was Moon Valley's first principal for three and a half years. Moon Valley's present principal is Mr. Michael Fowler. The Rockets' administration also consists of Marie Kerwin, assistant principal (AP) for student services; Susan Hertneky, AP of operations and resources; and Eddie Lopez, AP of discipline and attendance.
Moon Valley began a closed campus in the fall of 2002, which means that students stay within campus grounds throughout the day. During the years of the "mini-skirt" and "sideburns," the dress code was a problem. The girls would roll up their skirts to make them shorter. When they were sent to the office, they would roll them down as if their skirts were never short. This didn't last very long. Things haven't changed so very much, but currently it is girls' short shirts that are getting pulled down, attempting to meet current dress code standards.
In the 1972-73 school year Moon Valley was on double session because Thunderbird High School was not yet open. The Moon Valley students came in the morning, while the T-Bird students came in the afternoon. According to Mr. Williams, the situation caused a great deal of confusion and many problems ensued during this year-long period. But once Thunderbird opened, things got back to normal.
Remodeling took place on the campus in 1976-77. The vocational automotives facility was expanded to allow for more equipment and technical instruction, and additions were made to the gym.
Moon Valley High has been accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges an Secondary Schools since its first graduating class in 1967.
About The Students: Moon Valley's student population of approximately 1700 comes mainly from middle class homes drawing from professional, high technology, and general service and construction trades. Students come from feeder middle schools like Cholla Middle School, Desert Foothills Middle School, and Sweetwater.
SCHOOL AND CURRICULUM: Moon Valley is a comprehensive four-year public high school with a strong college preparatory curriculum, business partnerships and extensive general education programs. Accelerated courses are offered in mathematics, English, social studies, science, and foreign language. Glendale Community College is located five miles from our campus and provides concurrent enrollment for qualified students in qualifying programs. In addition, Gateway Community College offers dual enrollment credit for many of our AP courses.
CLASS RANK AND GRADE POINT AVERAGE: Class ranking is determined by Honor Point Average for grades 9-12. The Honor Point Average is weighted and is based on a 5.0 scale. An Honor Point is added each semester in which a student takes six classes. Accelerated and AP classes earn extra Honor Points. The Grade Point Average is unweighted and is based on a 4.0 scale. Study hall, audit and TA grades are not computed for the purpose of Class Rank or Grade Point Average.
Moon Valley High School was awarded Healthiest School in Arizona by National Got Milk? Contest in September 2006. Moon Valley is the only school in Arizona to be recognized with this award.
Famous Alumni: Randy McClanahan, class of 1972, played for the Oakland Raiders and was in Super Bowl '82.
Ozzie Virgil, Jr., Class of 1976, played Major League Baseball for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays. He was in the World Series in '84.
Mark Kerlin, Class of 1980, played professional soccer for Phoenix Pride and the Dallas Sidekicks.
Richard Jefferson, Class of 1998, currently a forward for NBA's New Jersey Nets.
Steve Garrabrants, Class of 1999, currently plays Minor League baseball for the Tennessee Smokies which is a Class AA affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
State Championships: Moon Valley High School has won 18 State championships in its various athletic activities. It's winningest program is the Girls Softball team who has won 6 State Championship titles including two sets of back to back championships in the 1986-1987 and 1992-1993 seasons.
Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL
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About This Zip Code (85029)

School Zip (85029)

(AZ) State Average

Population (Approximate)

46,248 people

5,005,418 people

% (age 25+) w/College Degree

25%

25%

Population Average Age

32 years old

32 years old

Average Household size

2.6 persons

2.5 persons

Median Household Income

$40,105

$40,312

Avg. # of Rooms in Household

4.9 rooms

4.9 rooms

Median Age of Housing Structure

31 years old

30 years old

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Median Value of Housing Unit
Zipcode (85029)

What's a Zindex?
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% Owning / % Renting

58% / 42%

63% / 37%

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Nearby Schools:


1. Intelli-school - Metro Center - 164 students - view location
2. Pillar Academy Of Business & Finance - 25 students - view location
3. Thunderbird High School - 1733 students - view location
4. Unity High School - 22 students - view location
5. Unity Regional High School - 2 students - view location
View all schools in: Phoenix Town, Maricopa County, Zip 85029

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Note: Data has been gathered from several government and commercial data sources. School data reflects years 2002-04 statistics (most recent years available). Area and demographic data reflects year 2000 statistics. Public School Review does not ensure the timeliness or accuracy of the information on this site.

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