Desert Vista High School

During the 2014-2015 academic year, 3,037 students attended the school,[2] constituting 21.74% of Tempe Union High School District's population.[1] Due to the demographic makeup of Ahwatukee, which is overwhelmingly Caucasian, the school is noted to have a bigger proportion of Caucasian students than other comparable high schools, even Mountain Pointe High School.[4] According to data from the 2014-2015 academic year, 63.22% of the school's student population are classified as Caucasian.[2] Students classified as "Hispanics"[5] form the second biggest demographic bloc, constituting 15.74% of the school's population

The school is ranked 54th in Arizona, in 2017, by the U.S. News & World Report, noting that while the Advanced Placement participation rate is only 24%, the passage rate is 88%.[6]

Desert Vista is an Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) member school offering boys and girls sports complying with Title IX. Student athletes can participate in varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen only teams as well as individual sports under the AIA's 6A Conference.[7] Desert Vista Athletics consist of these sports:[8]

The Desert Vista Thunder Marching band is run by the director Josh Thye, and the assistant director Michael Krill. The director of percussion is Vicente Lopez.[9] The marching band has won many competitions, being 8 time champions for the state of Arizona. The credits earned by being in the marching band are 0.5 fine arts credits due to it being a half semester 0 hour class, and 1 P.E. credit if you do marching band for 3 years.[10]

In 2001, the school's registrar at the time, Jane Jones, accused then principal Joe McDonald of approaching three teachers at the schools to change the grades for a student-athlete who was being recruited, but was ineligible to compete at an Division I school.[11] McDonald allegedly approached the teachers after was asked by then-Tempe Union High School District Superintendent James Buchanan to see what can be done to help the student.[11] School district administrators admitted four years later, in 2005, that grades were changed for the softball student-athlete two months after her graduation, after which she was cleared by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to play at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi.[12]

In 2002, Jones was given her first negative evaluation of her career, and was subsequently fired on McDonald's recommendation.[13] Following her termination, Jones filed a wrongful termination lawsuit under the state's whistleblower protection law, alleging that she was fired because McDonald said she was "not a team player."[14] Subsequently, Jones claimed the school district officials also engaged in retaliation following her dismissal by claiming she was not eligible for rehiring to an investigator working for a California-based reference checking company, thus allegedly implying she has committed wrongdoing.[15] A $140,000 settlement between the district and Jones was approved by a judge in 2006.[16]

In 2005, reports surfaced that the school's former football coach, Jim Rattay, was accused by female students of engaging in unprofessional conduct.[17]

According to a report compiled by district officials, Rattay, in one incident, asked a 14-year-old female student to walk to the front of the class, and read, out loud, passages from a pamphlet about teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Rattay claimed to the class that he had seen the girl's name in the boys' bathroom.[17] The girl, who was not identified, claimed that Rattay made false claims that she had white marks on her lips or chin, after she read a passage from the pamphlet about herpes, after which the students interpreted the comment to mean that the girl in question either engaged on oral sex or had herpes. The girl also claimed that Rattay made another false comment about her promiscuity as she sat down.[17]

School district officials, in their report, claimed that an investigation of Rattay found "insufficient evidence" to support allegations of sexual harassment.[17]

In a separate, unrelated complaint, Rattay was accused of calling another female student "ugly", and making other comments about her appearance.[17] The school district later disciplined Rattay, but did not reveal details of the disciplinary actions taken.[17] In 2009, the Phoenix New Times revealed that Rattay was suspended without pay for 10 days from his role as the head of the school's Physical Education Department.[18]

In 2004, the school's basketball program came under scrutiny as school records showed that player Xavier Kirby did not attend 247 classes during the first three quarters of the 2003-04 school year, yet remained eligible for varsity team.[19] In the same report on Kirby's absences, the East Valley Tribune reported that a former school varsity football player, Chris Snow, claimed he was paid by the school district to tutor other student athletes on the team, and in the case of one football player he helped tutor, Snow claims he did 70% to 80% of the work for the player, in an arrangement made to ensure the player remains eligible for football.[19]

District officials say while the district has a peer tutor program, the district does not pay tutors. The East Valley Tribune, however, claims that Snow's allegations were confirmed by two other sources, which were not identified by name.[19] Snow would later clarify his statement to the East Valley Tribune, and the district would later investigate Kilby's absences.[20]

In 2018, The Phoenix Police Department said a social media threat was directed toward Desert Vista High School. It was later determined that the threat was not an original photo, and it had come from outside the United States. The account was not created by a Desert Vista student. The threat showed a rife which was found to be pasted from the website of a gun store. The school continued to operate normally, although there were police officers placed on campus. Administrators asked parents to not come to the school to take their children out of class, as it posed a further safety risk. [21]

In 2005, security guard Loretta Avent filed a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against McDonald, accusing him of retaliation after she coordinated a meeting that exposed Native American students' claims of harassment by students, in addition to unfair treatment by teachers.[22] During that meeting, which took place in April, 36 parents, students and tribal leaders with the Gila River Indian Community met with school and district leaders to talk about allegations of racial discrimination and harassment, including claims of racial profiling, being called "savages", and inaction by teachers to rectify the problems.[23]

After the aforementioned meeting, which took place in April, Tempe Union High School District received a letter from four women, demanding an investigation into allegations of racial bias against the school's African American students, including unfair grading practices and a student assault, among other claims.[24]

Closed door mediation sessions were later held with school district officials, school administrators, Gila River Indian Community Lt. Gov. Mary Thomas, and US Attorney Paul Charlton, which resulted in sensitivity training for faculty and the creation of a Native American Club on campus.[25][26]

In 2014, former teacher Cicely D. Cobb sued the school district and then principal Anna Battle, alleging a number of racially motivated incidents, some of which targeted African Americans at the school, had taken place.[27] Cobb accused school administration of inaction, following a number of incidents.[28]

In 2016, the school made headlines over an incident that took place after a panoramic picture session for the graduating seniors. The students had shirts which spelled out "BEST*YOU'VE*EVER*SEEN*CLASS*OF*2016", but another picture was taken of six female students, who arranged the shirts in such a way that it spelled out the racial slur nigger, with the two "G"s in the middle replaced with the asterisks[29] The picture of the students quickly spread over social media and garnered a significant backlash, and the incident received national and global attention.[30][31]

School district officials condemned the incident via a statement,[32][33] and the female students involved were given 10-day suspensions. In addition, the students would complete their courses through the districts online learning option, in an disciplinary action some described as "mini-expulsion". At least one of the students reportedly had an offer to play soccer at Northern Arizona University withdrawn.[34]

The incident reportedly sparked confrontations on campus. One incident, which involved a student trying to stop another student from being interviewed by a television reporter with Phoenix ABC affiliate KNXV-TV, was captured on camera.[35] Subsequent protests related to the controversy also saw counter-protesters who, according to at least one account, used the word "nigger" against the protesters, while calling on them to "stay on their side of the mountain".[34]

Three months after the incident, the school, along with the school district, held school assemblies and class workshops to address diversity and social media, among other topics.[36] The incident was thrusted back into the media-cycle when the school's yearbook contained an article. Ultimately DVHS offered two yearbooks, one with subsequent article and the other with the corresponding pages glued together.[37][38]

In 2019, the school once again found itself at the center of a racism controversy, after a tweet made by a Twitter account titled "Desert Vista Senior Prank" implied that graduating seniors will pretend the front gate to the high school is the border into Mexico,[39] with "cops searching cars, window washers, and people selling tortillas."[40] School district officials distanced themselves from the tweet, and say the prank will not take place.[40] In addition, a notice was sent to parents that called the tweets "insensitive and thoughtless and absolutely unacceptable."[39]