Chaparral High School is a public high school located in

Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...

, in the United States. Its mascot is the

firebird Firebird and fire bird may refer to: Mythical birds * Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures ** Fenghuang, sometimes called Chinese phoenix * Vermilion bird, one of the four symbols of the Chinese constella ...

, and the school colors are black, red, and gold. Chaparral opened in February 1973 with 800 students, comprising freshman, sophomore, and junior classes. The principal was Spencer Saunders Sr. The initial structures were built at a cost of $3.5 million. Chaparral's first graduates were the class of 1974. The original campus was designed by Varney, Sexton, Sydnor Associates. TGK Construction Company built the campus with construction starting in 1971. In 2008 many of the outdated buildings were demolished and replaced with new ones designed by Orcutt , Winslow Architects. In 2014, ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' ranked Chaparral No. 22 among top American high schools, and No. 1 in Arizona.

Student body and academics

Chaparral High School has consistently ranked in ''

''s list of Best High Schools in America. In 2007, Chaparral High School was one of only 12 schools ranked in Arizona. The high school holds the state record for having the most National Merit Scholars in one year (37 in 2014). Additionally, the school has also earned the record most in-state Presidential Scholars in Arizona, with 17 in 2003.

Former Principals

Joshua Pantier (2022-Present) Todd Dreifort (2018-2022) Dr. Angela Chomokos (2017-2018) Gayle Holland (2011-2017) Mary Lou Mucino (2002-2011) Dr. John Kreikard (1995-2002) Kim Greenwalt (1993-1995) John Paul Jones (1988-1993) Evelyn Caskey (1983-1988) Tom Smith (1980-1983) Stuart Kammerman (1976-1980) James Curlett (1972-1976)

Notable alumni

Athletes and coaches

* Max Aaron (born 1992), figure skater * Chance Adams, baseball player for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

* Brian Bannister, baseball player for the

* Charles Brewer, baseball player for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

* Darrell Bevell, football coach for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

and former

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

* Daniel Coulombe, professional baseball player * Dylan Cozens, baseball player for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

Kenny Dillingham Kenny Dillingham (born April 28, 1990) is an American football coach who is currently the head football coach at Arizona State University. He previously served as the offensive coordinator at the University of Oregon, Florida State University, Au ...

, head football coach for

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the sport, athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's Varsity team, varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Divisi ...

Ike Davis Isaac Benjamin Davis (born March 22, 1987) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. From 2010 through 2016, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics, and New York Ya ...

(born 1987), baseball player for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

Brianna Brianna, Breanna, Briana, and Bryanna are feminine given names. Brianna is a feminine English language form of the masculine Irish language name Brian as "Briana" is the original spelling. The name is a relatively modern one and was occasionally us ...

and Nicole Garcia-Colace, professional twin wrestlers known in the

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

as the Bella Twins or Brie and Nikki Bella. * Danielle Kamela, professional wrestler known in the

as Vanessa Borne * Paul Konerko, former baseball player for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

* Taylor Lewan, professional football player for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

* Darren Mougey, professional football player and executive * Craig Roh, former football player for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

* Taylor Ruck, one of first two Olympic medalists born in the 21st century * Wes Schweitzer (born 1993), football player for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

* Lyle Sendlein, former football player for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

* Kyle Williams, former football player for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Entertainment, Government and Media

* Dustin Lee Abraham, actor, producer and screenwriter * Yassamin Ansari, Congresswoman for Arizona's Third Congressional District (2025 to present). * Jason Bellini, journalist, lead news anchor for '' CBS News on Logo'', former

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

correspondent * Jarrett Bellini, former host of News of the Absurd for CNN.com, comedy writer, music journalist, social media influencer * Alexandra Bracken, author * Ashley Brewer, TV personality for

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

* Lauren Hildebrandt, pop singer, dancer, and actress * Kongos, band *

Stephenie Meyer Stephenie Meyer (; Morgan; born December 24, 1973) is an American novelist and film producer. She is best known for writing the vampire literature, vampire romance series ''Twilight (novel series), Twilight'', which has sold over 160 million ...

, author of ''

Twilight Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surf ...

'' book series * Lymbyc Systym, band * Jenny Mollen, actor and author * Tyler Niknam, Twitch streamer * Busy Philipps, actress * Ray Herndon, country singer/songwriter and guitarist

References

{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1973 Public high schools in Arizona Education in Scottsdale, Arizona Schools in Maricopa County, Arizona 1973 establishments in Arizona