2016
Get your badge
Award Winners

NBRS Badge for University High School

University High School - Tucson, AZ

For 40 years, UHS Seniors debate through their AP Government classes for the entire school.

For 40 years, UHS Seniors debate through their AP Government classes for the entire school.

University High School is a college preparatory exam high school in Tucson, Arizona. Since being awarded the National Blue Ribbon School award in 2006, University High School has been able to increase their enrollment from 675 to 1,100 students in the 2016-2017 school year. Since 2006, UHS has expanded their Advanced Placement course offerings from 14 to 28 courses and has both diversified and increased their enrollment. For the first time in the history of the school, Latino students are the ethnic majority in the class of 2020. The class of 2017 has 41 National Hispanic Scholars identified, which is the most in the country. Students of all racial and economic backgrounds are successful on AP exams. Students take a minimum of 8 Advanced Placement classes during the 4 years and most students take many more than this. UHS students boasted a 91% passing rate on Advanced Placement exams in 2016.

The single most effective practice at University High School is the meshing of incredible pedagogy with incredible relationships. The UHS faculty has a mutual respect for students so that in the same way that students do not want to disappoint their teachers, the teachers do not want to disappoint their students. This creates a situation in which students know they will get great lessons from teachers, that the teachers will treat them with respect, that they will care about their present work and their future successes, and that the teachers will continue to push themselves and their curriculum to those ends.

2016 Awardee

University High School

422 North Arcaida Avenue
Tucson, AZ, 85711-3033

(520) 232-5900

Principal at time of Nomination:
Amy C. Cislak

Choice School

Tucson Unified School District

Urban or large central city

School Website

School Facebook

Mission

UHS will be the premiere regional college preparatory school that serves academically focused and intellectually gifted students by providing a rigorous and challenging curriculum and by offering programs that reflect the diverse backgrounds, talents and cultures of our students within a supportive school wide community.

Student Demographics

  • Asian: 9%
  • Black/African American: 2%
  • Hispanic: 34%
  • White: 48%
  • Two or more races: 7%
  • Economically Disadvantaged: 17%
  • Application