The past, present and future of Fountain Hills High School came together during the Governing Board meeting held on April 27.

For starters, current Principal Tom Brennan was on hand to give several presentations to the Board, highlighting a couple of the more recent initiatives he’s had a hand in when it comes to leading the high school campus. This year, he’s helped spearhead a committee to take a gander at a dress code that’s long overdue for some much-needed revisions, as well as implement the new civics exam local students will need to pass in order to graduate starting with the class of 2017. In other words, he’s been a pretty busy guy.

That was made even more evident when Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sweeney announced that Fountain Hills High School had been recognized by U.S. News & Weekly Report as not only one of the top high schools in the state of Arizona, but in the country as well. The recent study has FHHS ranked as the 19th highest performing high school in the state, and at just about 1,500th in the country. To put those numbers into perspective, Sweeney clarified that it means the Falcons are in the top four percent for Arizona and the top eight percent in the U.S. That kind of success doesn’t occur without top-notch leadership from administration and staff.

But now that Brennan is gearing up to leave the nest, the Governing Board also unanimously welcomed a new principal to the high school campus, Cain Jagodzinski.

No stranger to Fountain Hills, Mr. J taught at the local middle school several years ago, and his own children attend local schools. Over the past decade, Jagodzinski has held several administrative positions and, according to Dr. Sweeney, has some solid experience in bringing new and rigorous academic challenges to students.

The rankings compiled by U.S. News are largely based on students’ academic successes, including performances on standardized tests and college preparedness. According to Sweeney, Jagodzinski has some plans for FHHS that will help the Falcons continue to excel in those areas. We look forward to seeing the Falcons continue to soar.