Home of the Wolves and WoofStock!
SCHOOL INFORMATION Provided by susd.org
Principal: Mr. Greg Milbrandt
Grades: 9-12
Colors: Maroon and Gray
Mascot: Wolf
Year Opened: 1995
School and the Community
Opened in 1995, Desert Mountain High School is located in northeast Scottsdale 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 and extensive athletic facilities.
Desert Mountain utilizes a year long scheduling format to serve its student population of 2,500 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, English Language Learners and Special Education students. Extensive vocational programs are available through a partnership with East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT)
School Year
The school year consists of 180 days. Semester classes meet for 53 minutes, five days a week. There are two semesters in a school year and students receive .5 credit per semester.
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 students won eight varsity team championships and twelve individual state championships in 2007.
Faculty
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.
Accreditation
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.
- 9 National Merit Semi-Finalists
- 6 National Merit Commended Students
- 39 AP Scholars, 18 AP Scholars with Honors, 5 AP Scholars with Distinction
- 1 Rensselaer Medalist
- 42 International Baccalaureate Diplomas
- Over $25,586,811 in scholarships
- Graduation Requirements
A total of 22 credits are required to graduate:- English 4 credits
- Social Studies 3 credits
- Mathematics 3 credits
- Science 3 credits
- Physical Education 1 credit
- Fine Arts or Vocational Education 1 credit
- Electives 7 credits
- High school computer proficiency and passage of Arizona ‘s Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) tests
are required for all students
Grade Point Average and Class Rank
Class rank is calculated on a weighted overall cumulative GPA for all courses grades 9 through 12. Honors, AP and IB classes carry a weighted grade value; an A=5 points, B=4 points, C=3 points. Honors credit is denoted with an “H” next to the class. Official ranking is reported as a percentile ranking at the end of the student’s sixth semester. The higher the GPA of a student, the higher their percentile ranking. (Percentile rankings are shared by more than one student)
| Grading Scale | ||
| Grade | Rank | GPA |
| A | 90-100% | 4 |
| B | 80-89% | 3 |
| C | 70-79% | 2 |
| D | 60-69% | 1 |
| F | 0-59% | 0 |
| The following classes are weighted in computing class rank: | |
| AP or IB | Honors |
| ENGLISH IB English III (HL) English IV AP IB English IV (HL) |
ENGLISH English I –H English II-H English III-H English IV – Humanities – H |
| MATH Calculus AB-AP Calculus BC-AP IB Math (SL) IB Math II (HL) |
MATH Geometry/Trigonometry- H Algebra II-H Trigonometry/PreCalculus- H Statistics AP |
| SOCIAL STUDIES American/AZ History AP Government AP IB History of Americas (HL) IB 20th Century History (HL) |
SOCIAL STUDIES World History/Geography -H Economics -H Am/AZ History – H |
| BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES IB Biology (HL) Biology II-AP |
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Biology–H Human Physiology/Anatomy-H |
| PHYSICAL SCIENCES Chemistry II AP IB Chemistry (SL) IB Chemistry (HL) IB Physics (SL) |
PHYSICAL SCIENCES Chemistry -H Physics -H Astro Physics – H Earth/Space Science H Physics First – H |
| FOREIGN LANGUAGE IB Spanish (SL) IB French (SL) Spanish V AP |
FOREIGN LANGUAGE Spanish IV-H French IV-H |
| OTHER ACADEMICS Psychology AP3 IB Music (S) IB Psychology (SL) Art IV AP IB Art Design(SL) IB Theory of Knowledge IB Theater (SL) IB Business Management (SL) |
OTHER ACADEMICS 3-D Art III-H Art III H Fashion and Textiles III – H |
| SAT mean scores for 2010 Critical Reading-551; Math-569 Writing– 542 ACT Composite mean score for 2010 is 24.24 97% of DMHS 2009 graduates went to a University or Community College
Go to “Guide to McDowell Mountain Ranch” Go to “Video Tour McDowell Mountain Ranch”
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480-652-2004