90th Anniversary

Key Moments in DVUSD History

1934

A Maricopa County Accommodation School located 3 miles west of New River is opened. The single-room schoolhouse known as New River School was the first school in what would become Deer Valley Unified District.

1950s

Another Maricopa County Accommodation School on 59th Avenue near present day Union Hills Road opens. The school's original name was going to be John Barry School, named after the current county superintendent. Instead, the school was named Arrowhead School, for the children of the Arrowhead Citrus groves in the area.

1955

A school district covering 367 square miles of Northern Maricopa County was formed. The new district, consisting only of New River and Arrowhead schools, was called Sierra Vista School District #97.

1958

Village Meadows School, now Village Meadows Elementary, opens with 10-12 classrooms, a front office, and a small cafeteria. Enrollment for the new Sierra Vista School District is officially tallied at 143 for the 1958-59 school year.

Meanwhile at Arrowhead School, then housed in a small frame house, is experiencing overcrowding. This forces second grade students to be taught at a nearby home.

1962

At a bargain rate of only $2.50 an acre, Sierra Vista School District purchases 28.75 acres of land from the federal Bureau of Land Management adjacent to the New River School property. The land will be used to build a more modern school at New River.

1967

Sierra Vista School District is renamed Deer Valley School District #97 on July 1. The name reflects the geographical heart of the district-- Deer Valley.

1970s

As district enrollment approaches 1,500 students, 7th and 8th grade students from New River and Village Meadow schools begin attending the new Deer Valley Junior High School, now known as Deer Valley Middle School. Also opening that decade: Park Meadows (1972), Constitution (1976), Sunrise (1977), and Mirage (1979).

The growth in Deer Valley isn't all positive though. A bond initiative in 1971 that would have funded construction of a high school for the district failed. With no high school to call its own, Deer Valley students have to attend high schools in neighboring districts.

1980s

After decades of attending high school miles away from home, a bond passes in 1978 to fund the construction of Deer Valley High School in 1980. With the Deer Valley School district now covering grades K-12 and in multiple city limits, Deer Valley becomes a Unified School District. The district's second high school, Barry Goldwater High School, opens in 1986.

The district saw plenty of growth along the southern portion of the district boundaries as several new schools opened: Desert Sky Middle School (1981), Desert Winds (now Vista Peak, 1981), Bellair (now Traditional Academy at Bellair, 1982), Greenbrier (1984), Desert Mountain (1986), and the new Arrowhead (1988).

1990s

As enrollment eclipses 16,645 in 1991, half of today's enrollment in DVUSD, more schools are constructed to handle the growth of what would soon be the suburbs around the new 101 highway. In addition to a new Middle School (Hillcrest) in 1990 and a nearby high school (Mountain Ridge) in 1995, eight additional schools open: Esperanza (1990), Desert Sage (1991), Las Brisas (1993), Desert Mountain (1994), Copper Creek (1997), Paseo Hills (1998), Highland Lakes (1999), and Anthem (1999).

2000s

The remaining 12 schools, including two high schools, have been built since the turn of the century. Many of the newest schools came up around the Anthem community, although several have more recently come around the Norterra and Biscuit Flats areas of the district. With TSMC's three factories scheduled to come on line by 2030, and numerous other associated businesses and residents filling the areas around the Loop 303 and I-17 junction, another 10,000 students could be attending DVUSD schools by the time today's kindergarteners are walking the stage for high school graduation!