Deer Valley High School

Deer Valley high school is a wonderful school with great teachers and a diversity of students. The school is extremely family oriented as many of the current teachers went to Deer Valley themselves. AP and duel credit programs are offered as a head start to achieving college credits and a variety of clubs and artistic classes are offered. I'm a sophomore this year.
—Submitted by a student

We are thinking of buying a house here and would like to know if there are gates or metal detectors at the entrance of the schools?

I have spent a total of two years so far at this school, and I don't regret it one bit. Teachers give so much of their spare time to make sure their students are understanding the lessons and nearly all of them help with a sport or sponsor a club. Fellow students treat each other nicely, and there are never any fights. In comparison to the other schools in the district, this school has no drug problems. Except all of my peers are slackers, so the only way to get a class that is guaranteed to be focused for learning is an honors class. Nothing against the teachers, though. I can't wait to come back as a junior next year.
—Submitted by a student

I have to say that when it comes to children with disabilities they are not very helpful or knowledgeable unless you go in with a great team who knows the in an outs of what your child or childern are intitled to or not intitled to you are pretty much thrown under the bus literally...so i got myself a great IEP team and had my childern get what they deserve.
—Submitted by a parent

I have 3 kids that are either going or have graduated from this school, all with a wide range of abilities... Special Ed., Reg. Ed and Advance. I truly feel confident about this school and their main focus, teaching our kids. I have a sports child and one, well not so much. The sports kept my daughter focused on her grades and the teachers helped out wonderfully. My son is having a different take in high school and has gotten into a little trouble. Both issues were resolved in a manner appropriate to the issue and with true concern from the staff. While not all teachers are the best (one spanish teacher just needs to retire), the majority of the teachers are there is to aid in my childs success. I have been very happy with DVHS from all aspects.
—Submitted by a parent

Deer Valley is an outstanding school with high academic standards and quality teachers!
—Submitted by a parent

This school has some amazing teachers and some of the worst teachers I have ever seen. As in most high schools athletics rule the campus. The staff can be rude at times and not very helpful. The quality of education depends on the teacher. I would think twice about sending your kids to this school.
—Submitted by a parent

Deer Valley High School should be a model to all High Schools in the valley. Academics are strong, extra activities are amazing and very well organized. Dicipline is conducted in a positve way that will help our teens become more productive and educated. The overall experience has been nothing but wonderful for my daughter. Please visit this school and feel the incredibly awesome atmosphere.
—Submitted by a parent

I go to Deer valley and i can honestly say that i am happy to wake up and go to school. The teachers really care about you and want the best for you. If you are thinking about coming here DO IT! You will not regret it. Deer valley is like one big family;it is truly amazing and i will be very sad to leave
—Submitted by a student

In the next school year (09-10) I am going to be attending DVHS as a Junior, and thus far I am extremely happy with the experience I've had there. In the area that I live, students either go to Mountain Ridge HS or to Deer Valley, due to zoning. I know many people who chose to go to Ridge over DV, because 'it's newer, prettier, richer' etc. Sure DV is an older campus (it opened in 1980), and so it shows a bit of wear and tear, and yes, the DV tax base is not the white collared workers that surround Ridge, but Deer Valley has phenomonal teachers, administration, counsellors and programs, that are all given equal credence. We have Honors and AP programs that are taught by highly qualified teachers, dual-enrollment courses through Rio Solado, and, frankly, our regular classes aren't half bad either. I highly reccomend DV.
—Submitted by a student

Deer Valley High is an excellent school. They have a strong academic program, great teachers, and excellent leadership in Principal Dobbs.
—Submitted by a parent

We have found Deer Valley to be a great school in many ways. The key is to be actively involved as a student, and stay in communication as a parent. The basic classes (non honors, non AP) tend to lack challenge - which may leave college bound kids a bit unprepared.
—Submitted by a parent

This is a large school and deals with the normal issues a large school is faced with. I am happy with the quality of the education and the staff. As with any school some teachers are better than others. Parental involvement is always the key! Any issues that I have had have always been resolved to my satisfaction.
—Submitted by a parent

Deer Valley fails as a school. They only care about money and they don't care for any of their students. Only the athletes and cheer leaders are important to the school, it's like no one else in the school matters we're just there to fill in more seats.
—Submitted by a student

Take honors programs/Rio Salado programs, as many as possible, too. You'll save some time taking those pesky 'intro-to' classes once college starts. I made great friends who actually wanted to make something out of their lives by doing this. Join clubs and take as many fun classes your senior year as you can!! Learn to tough it out or ignore when some teachers act like high-schooler s, which they will. Overall, 4 years wasn't a complete tragedy.
—Submitted by a student

DVHS is an excellent school. They seem to excel in all aspects of education. They care so much about the kids and if they are accomplishing what is necessary to carry on in adult life. I have a son that will be a senior this year (06-07) and am so proud of his accomplishments and know that DVHS is a BIG part of his wanting to succeed. He is in several sports and the coaches at DVHS are awesome. They keep a group of nice respectful young men that they can be proud of in any crowd. You can give DVHS a high grade for excellence and this is visible as soon as you walk on campus. It is a school with alot of pride and this reflects throughout the campus from the staff through to the students.
—Submitted by a parent

This school has fairly decent programs. One of the teacher's, Mr. Torres, who made a difference in my child's life as well as others alike has been 'let go' and this is his last year teaching here. It is a shame to see this happen and to let a good one get away! The office staff are by far the worst most unprofessional group of women ever! I have never dealt with such rude women in any school office ever. They have yelled and made such crude, snide remarks to my child on numerous occasions. The school principal has made a 'new rule' that allows only five passes in the whole school year, other than that, you are not allowed to enter into the classroom. It seems that she would rather they not receive an education, and make them sit in a room and do absolutely nothing whatsoever, not even study.
—Submitted by a parent

Deer Valley High School was innovative and supportive in its approach to my special needs child. It provided a highly knowledgeable staff who led us through the end of the special ed process which is just as complicated as the beginning.
—Submitted by a parent

This is a great school. The education is good and so are the extracurricular activities. It has a good cultural and economical diversity.
—Submitted by a former student

Although Ap, Honors and Duel Enrollement calsses are offered, the quality of education is still quite poor. The knowledge presented does not challenge the students and its often a complete waste of an hour. Programs implemented, such as SET (a 40 minute period every tuesday) could be a good idea, but the time is often wasted. Better ideas for using the time is needed. Also, the administration is quite irregular with its decisions on situations that occur. There are a variety of sports programs for the students, such as track, volleyball, and baseball. There are quite a few clubs, but the turn out every year is poor.Lastly, the parents and students seem to not care about the school, so no good ideas or changes ever occur.
—Submitted by a student