Fountain Hills High School celebrated its distinction as an A+ School of Excellence at an event hosted out of the Falcons Nest on Wednesday, May 19.

The award, granted by the Arizona Education Foundation, was announced in November of last year, but a celebration was postponed due to COVID-19 safety concerns.

The final step in the application process for A+ designation is a campus visit, which took place this past September.

“It was a collaborative effort,” FHHS Principal Kris Alexander said at the time of the original announcement. “Dr. [Jagodzinski], myself and assistant principal Barrie Pinto, we worked together once we finalized everything in regards to when the virtual visit by A+ judges would be. The visit was supposed to take place after students returned from spring break last year, but obviously that didn’t happen.”

A delay was not the only hurdle that COVID-19 put in the way of the visit. Traditionally, the A+ judges would visit a campus in person, but that wasn’t possible given the limited number of people allowed on campus. So, the visit was virtual.

“Just being able to show what our high school is, what it is all about, was difficult,” Alexander said. “The climate and the culture, the rigorous academics, as well as our extracurricular activities are challenging to do in a normal setting, but is even more so virtually. I think with any good school, you can feel a strong climate and culture when you step foot on the campus and that wasn’t possible.”

Despite the unique circumstances, the students and staff of FHHS did their best to show off their school.

“We still had a group of students we selected to do a campus tour, which was a unique thing to do,” Alexander said. “We literally had a Chromebook set up with a camera and the kids walked it around just as they would have walked an adult around.”

The creative tour, combined with the extensive application process carried out by former principal Jagodzinski and his staff, was enough to earn FHHS the coveted A+ distinction.

At last week’s celebration, Superintendent Kelly Glass thanked the staff, students and administration for their “tireless efforts to show the great work happening at FHHS.”

“Through this process, they were able to demonstrate the exceptional education taking place at FHHS through the seven traits measured by the Arizona Educational Foundation,” Glass continued. “These seven traits are embodied in the Falcon Way – quality/equality of education, commitment to academic excellence, safe school environment, support of the whole child, innovative instruction and the desire to serve all stakeholders in our community and district.”

Mayor Ginny Dickey also addressed the teachers, staff and community members in attendance, highlighting the “wonderful accomplishment” of FHHS.

“Fountain Hills High School really rocks,” Dickey said. “Congratulations, thank you for what you are doing, and I look forward to seeing what comes next.”

Along with thanking everyone who got the ball rolling on the application process the previous school year, Principal Alexander said the entire FHHS community is responsible for the site’s continued success.

“They all do a tremendous job and are the reason we are so successful,” Alexander said. “It’s not just academics; they look at everything for A+ certification.

“It’s a pleasure to accept this [designation] on behalf of the school and community and to celebrate becoming another A+ school, alongside McDowell Mountain Elementary School.”