Agua Fria High School

Coordinates: 33°26′20.52″N 112°20′39.34″W / 33.4390333°N 112.3442611°W / 33.4390333; -112.3442611

Agua Fria High School is located in Avondale, Arizona. It is a part of the Agua Fria Union High School District and was its only school until 1999 when Millennium High School was built.

It was established in 1928 as Litchfield Park High School. In 1956, the school relocated to Avondale and obtained its current name. In the 1982-83 school year, it was honored as a Blue Ribbon school.^[3]

Fine arts

Agua Fria offers college preparatory coursework, along with career and technical education. Agua Fria also offers a respected music program; the Night Owl Jazz band regularly performs at jazz festivals throughout the Phoenix Area, and has qualified for the Arizona State Jazz Festival in both 2006, 2007 and 2009 when they were the first jazz ensemble to receive a rating of "superior with distinctions". Also in 2006, the Agua Fria Band of Owls was the first to receive a rating of "superior with distinctions" in the district.

Athletics

Agua Fria has had a track and field program worth recognition as well. Under the direction of coach Ted Campbell, as well as Brian Bogen, the Owls morphed into perennial winners. Between 1997 and 2007, the boys' track team had a duel meet record of 112 wins and 13 losses, came home with countless invitational trophies, took first place in its region five years in a row (from 2004 to 2008), and won state titles back to back in 2006 and 2007.

Agua Fria basketball has been prominent in tournaments and championships. From 2007 to 2009, the varsity team made it to the 4A-I state finals, but fell short of winning the championship to Millennium High School (division rivals) and Sunnyslope High School.

Solar panels

In the late spring of 2011, covered parking with solar panel installations was scheduled to be added to Agua Fria and Millennium high schools; the district had already added solar panels to the roofs at Desert Edge High School and Verrado High School in 2010.^[4] It was estimated that some 40 percent of the entire district's energy needs would come from solar panels at its high schools upon completion.

Notable alumni

• Aaron Altherr, baseball player
• Cardell Camper, baseball player
• Johnathan Doody, murderer (with Alessandro Garcia) convicted in the massacre of nine people at the Wat Promkunaram Buddhist Temple in Waddell, Arizona^[5]
• Alessandro Garcia, murderer (with Johnathan Doody) convicted in the massacre of nine people at the Wat Promkunaram Buddhist Temple in Waddell, Arizona^[5]
• Shawn Gilbert, baseball player
• Everson Griffen, football player
• Sam Johnson, football player
• Randall McDaniel, football player
• Sammy Solis, baseball player^[6]

References