Rock Canyon High School
Rock Canyon High School | |
---|---|
Address | |
5810 MacArthur Ranch Road Highlands Ranch, Colorado 80124 United States | |
Coordinates | 39°31′12″N 104°55′17″W / 39.51993°N 104.92149°WCoordinates: 39°31′12″N 104°55′17″W / 39.51993°N 104.92149°W |
Information | |
Motto | "To Empower, to Explore, to Encourage, and to Excel in Education" |
Established | 2003 |
School district | Douglas County School District RE-1 |
CEEB code | 060748 |
Principal | Andy Abner |
Teaching staff | 65.4 (FTE) (as of 2006-07)[1] |
Grades | 9–12 |
Enrollment | 2075 as of Fall 2015 |
Color(s) | Black and gold |
Slogan | "The school that leads" |
Athletics | CHSAA 5A |
Athletics conference | 5A |
Mascot | Jaguar |
Rival | Highlands Ranch High School |
Newspaper | The Rock |
Yearbook | Black & Gold |
Website | RCHS homepage |
Rock Canyon High School is a public high school in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, United States. It is part of Douglas County School District RE-1.
The school is adjacent to Rocky Heights Middle School, and serves students in Highlands Ranch, Castle Pines North, Castle Pines Village, and Castle Rock.
The school has a reputation for academics, offering numerous AP Classes, and being consistently ranked "Excellent" by Colorado School Accountability Reports.
History
Rock Canyon High School became a member of the Douglas County School District RE-1 (Douglas County, Colorado) for the 2003–2004 school year. The school's first year opened with just a freshman class, a common practice for opening high schools. Rock Canyon's case was unique, however, as the construction on the school was not yet complete, forcing the freshman class to spend their first year in a wing of nearby Rocky Heights Middle School.
In April 2011, Principal Kim Rauh announced that she had accepted an administrative position at Cherokee Trail High School, to be closer to her family. She had been at Rock Canyon since 2007. Assistant Principal Greg Doan also announced his departure to be principal at Eagle Valley High School in Eagle, Colorado. Doan had been with the school since its inception, originally as a social studies teacher.
In May 2011, the new principal was announced to be Andy Abner, an administrator from nearby Douglas County High School. Abner assumed administrative duties in June 2011.
Rock Canyon was listed 403rd on Newsweek's list of America's Best High Schools in June 2011.[2]
Campus
Rock Canyon High School has a relatively modern campus. Its floor plan, consisting of several "pods" or wings into which the classrooms are organized, is similar to other relatively newer DCSD high schools. The building itself has two stories and an open-building layout. It recently added the 4000 wing to its campus, allowing for more space for its growing number of students. The new wing features a sophisticated recording studio and the facilities for several types of vocational classes.
Curriculum
The curriculum of Rock Canyon High School follows all Douglas County School District regulations. It complies with state and federal law, as well as the standards set by the AP Board. Advanced Placement (AP) is a program of college-level courses and exams that gives high school students the opportunity to earn credit, advanced placement, or both for college while still in high school. AP classes are the most rigorous courses offered at Rock Canyon. Students receive weighted grades.[3]
Athletics
Rock Canyon's sports teams include:
- baseball,
- boys' and girls' basketball
- cheer
- boys' and girls' cross country
- football
- boys' and girls' golf
- boys' ice and inline hockey
- boys' lacrosse
- Poms (dance team)
- girls' and boys' rugby
- girls' and boys' soccer
- softball
- girls' swimming
- boys' and girls' tennis
- boys' and girls' track
- girls' volleyball
- wrestling
Students also have opportunities to play for other schools on co-op teams for sports not offered at Rock Canyon. Such teams include girls' field hockey, girls' lacrosse, boys' rugby, and boys' swimming.
Rock Canyon is the host school for the local co-op girls' gymnastics and boys' volleyball teams.
References
- ↑ "School Detail for Rock Canyon High School". National Center for Education Statistics.
- ↑ America's Best High Schools 2011 - Newsweek and The Daily Beast
- ↑ Archived February 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.