Principal: Kristi Hammer

Assistant Principals: David Serafin, Chris Webb, Adrienne Perry

School start time: 7:20 a.m. 

Dismissal time: 2:20 p.m.

Enrollment: 1300

Year Built: 1977

Achievement Profile: A rated

The mission of Cactus High School is to teach students to think critically, problem-solve effectively, and utilize technology proficiently in order to prepare them to meet the demands and expectations of post-secondary college and the 21^st Century workplace.

At Cactus High School, we believe in our students and value the unique gifts and talents each one brings to the table. Our teachers exist to serve kids, are passionate about ensuring their success, and desire to impact their lives for the greater good. Teachers at Cactus believe that: “Cactus High School is a great place for all students to learn at all different levels”, that, “Cactus High School embraces ALL students with the expectation that we collectively strive for excellence in all endeavors”, that ,“every student should have access to the vast tools and experienced staff knowledge available at Cactus to build a successful future”, that, “we at Cactus work very hard every day to do what is best for kids”, and that, “every student can succeed at Cactus High School”. At Cactus, we are a family, and we live by the ideal of “Ohana” where no kid is left behind and no one is invisible. We offer many programs to meet the many varied needs and interests of our students, from AP classes, to Dual Enrollment, to both honors and extension classes. Besides the many academic programs on campus, we expect our students to be involved in our many clubs and activities, and we have over 30 clubs and activities offered for students. Our students take great pride in being involved and love to celebrate each other, and there is much to celebrate. Here is just a snapshot of what Cactus is all about:

Artist and senior Sofia Garcia – won the 2015 Design a Transit Wrap Contest for Arizona and the Arizona Department of Education Art Contest

Team 498 Robotics won the Region Championships and went to the World Championships in 2016

Vincent Alejandro was chosen to for his leadership skills to attend the Honeywell Leadership Challenge Academy (HLCA) at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center and was accepted and attended the 2016 ASU Cesar E. Chavez Leadership Institute. Vincent's record of academic excellence and community service qualified him to join a prestigious group of students from around the world for a week of workshops to expand his knowledge of current issues in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

In athletics, we have dominated over the years. We have 36 Team State Championships and 34 State Runner-ups. We have even more individual state champions, and although athletics are important, academics are critical. The top 10% of our 2016 senior class consisted of 15 students, all of which were athletes and/or in our marching band. At Cactus, we focus on developing the whole student and celebrate academics as much as we honor athletics or activities.