Valley Christian High School (Arizona)

K-12 School in Chandler and Tempe, Arizona

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Valley Christian Schools

Address

6900 W Galveston Street

East Valley

Chandler

Maricopa

Arizona

85226

United States

Coordinates| 33°18′48″N 111°57′42″W﻿ / ﻿33.31326°N 111.961552°W﻿ / 33.31326; -111.961552
Information
Other name| Valley Christian Schools
School type| K-12
Motto| The mission of Valley Christian Schools is to equip students to be culture changers for Christ by delivering academic excellence, facilitating spiritual growth, and building lifelong community.
Religious affiliation(s)| Christian
Denomination| Non-denominational
Established| 1982
School district| Private
Chairman| Scott Crouch
Principal| Robin Rugg (High School), Dan Johnson (K-8)
Head of school| Troy Thelen
Chaplain| Greg Tonkinson
Grades| K-12
Years offered| 5-18
Language| English, Spanish, American Sign Language (ASL)
Hours in school day| 8:00am-3:10pm
Campus type| Suburban
Color(s)| Blue, silver, and white
Athletics conference| 3A
Mascot| Victor E. Trojan
Nickname| Trojans
Accreditation| Cognia, ACSI
Graduates| 2,720
Website| https://valleychristianaz.org/
Last updated: June 11, 2024

Valley Christian Schools is a private K-12, covenant Christian school with campuses located in Chandler, Arizona,[1] and Tempe, Arizona,[2] United States.

## History

[edit]

Valley Christian Schools was first conceptualized in 1981, when six men met together to consider the creation of a Christian high school in the East Valley, which at the time, had a lack of non-denominational Christian schools. A year later in 1982, Valley Christian High School opened its doors at Bethany Christian Community Church in Tempe, Arizona. Today, Valley Christian Schools features a nationally-ranked Christian school offering education from Kindergarten through high school, located across two campuses in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.

In 1997, Valley Christian (then only a high school) moved to its current high school campus in Chandler, Arizona. In 2017, Valley Christian announced[3] the addition of grades 6-8. Grades 6-8 were added for the 2018-19 school year. In 2018, Valley Christian announced[4] the addition of an elementary school. In the 2019-20 school year, grades K-5 were added. Grades K-8 are now located at Valley Christian Schools' K-8 campus in Tempe, Arizona.[5]

## Academics

[edit]

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Valley Christian Schools offers an education with a college prep emphasis with Biblical integration in every course. Historically, the majority of VCS graduates are accepted into the college or university of their choice, with a high percentage going on to pursue higher education. VCS students have enrolled in a wide variety of public and Christian colleges.[6]

In 2006, a special education program was implemented, known as VINE (Valley's Individual Needs Enhancements).[7] Valley Christian Schools is one of the only Christian high schools in Arizona to have a full-time special education program.

Valley Christian offers Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment college courses to its high school students. These programs give upperclassmen the opportunity to acquire college credits while attending high school. The school is accredited by Cognia[8] and Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI).[9]

## Athletics

[edit]

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Valley Christian Schools is a member of the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) 3A Conference.

Since 1989, Valley Christian athletic teams have won 80 Arizona State Championships in the AIA. This includes a streak of 33 consecutive years in which a VCS team has won a state championship. In addition, VCS teams have finished as the state runner-up 49 times and have earned more than 140 league championships.[10]

The school has won state championships in boys basketball, girls basketball, girls volleyball, girls beach volleyball, boys swimming, girls swimming, cheer, boys cross country, girls cross country, football, boys soccer, baseball, softball, boys track and field, girls track and field, and golf.

Valley Christian was awarded the inaugural Blue Cross and Blue Shield Directors Cup Award in 2004, given to the Arizona high school that is rated highest in participation, sportsmanship and success in all athletic programs. It has also received the Donald F. Stone Award seven times.

In 1999, the Valley Christian athletic program was named the #1 Women's High School Athletic Program in the nation by Athletic Management. In 1997-98, Valley Christian was a recipient of the Tony Komadina Award for Outstanding Girls' Athletic Program in Arizona.

In 2015-16, the school was voted as having the Best Athletic Program in Arizona and one of the Top 12 in the United States by The USA Today.

The school has had seven alumni (Courtney Blocher '00, Kim Wigboldy '07, Riley Barclay '08, Alaina Bergsma '08, Breanna Leslie '09, Chanel Brown '10, Ashton Wolf '11), four coaches (Deanna Anglin, Marlin Broek, Dan Kuiper, Scott Timmer, Greg Haagsma), one administrator (Troy Hanzal), and one team (1999-2000 girls volleyball) inducted into the Chandler Sports Hall of Fame.[11]

## Notable Alumni

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* Austin Moorehead '03, producer/multi-intrumentalist[12]
* David Melhorn '04, 2021 Boys Track & Field Coach of the Year in Arizona, Arizona State University track and field, 2006-08 Academic All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention[13]
* Alaina Bergsma '08, University of Oregon volleyball, University of Oregon Hall of Fame, 2012 National Player of the Year, 2011 AVCA All-American First Team, 2011 Pac-12 Volleyball Player of the Year,[14] Miss Oregon USA 2012[15]
* Kelsey Moore '08, University of Texas at El Paso volleyball,[16] Miss Texas USA 2010[17]
* Breanna Leslie '09, Azusa Pacific University track and field, American pentathlete, heptathlete, and 100m hurdler, Team USA 2015, 2012 NAIA Indoor National Championship 60 meter hurdles winner[18]
* Dominic Zvada, American football kicker for Arkansas State and the University of Michigan[19][20]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Chandler · Arizona". Chandler · Arizona. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
2. ^ "Tempe · Arizona". Tempe · Arizona. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
3. ^ MarCom, V. C. S. (April 20, 2017). "Valley Christian announces grade-level expansion at new Tempe campus". Valley Christian Schools. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
4. ^ MarCom, V. C. S. (March 1, 2019). "Valley Christian to Expand to Include Kindergarten-5th Grades". Valley Christian Schools. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
5. ^ Church, Sun Valley Community. "Sun Valley Community Church in Arizona Announces Sale of Property". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved November 13, 2023.
6. ^ "School Profile". Valley Christian Schools. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
7. ^ "V.I.N.E. Program (Valley's Individual Needs Enhancement)". Valley Christian Schools. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
8. ^ "NCA ACCREDITATION". Accelerated Schools. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
9. ^ "Why Pursue ACSI Accreditation". ACSI. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
10. ^ "State Runner-up". Valley Christian Schools. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
11. ^ "Chandler Hall of Fame". Valley Christian Schools. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
12. ^ Moorhead, Austin. "Austin Moorhead - AirGigs.com". www.airgigs.com. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
13. ^ TBD. "Player Bio: David Mehlhorn - Arizona State University Official Athletic Site". Arizona State University Athletics. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
14. ^ "Alaina Bergsma (2023) - Hall of Fame". University of Oregon Athletics. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
15. ^ "Miss Oregon USA", Wikipedia, October 28, 2023, retrieved November 13, 2023
16. ^ "Kelsey Moore - Women's Volleyball". UTEP Miners. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
17. ^ "Miss Texas USA", Wikipedia, October 8, 2023, retrieved November 13, 2023
18. ^ "Cougars Go The Distance For Indoor Title". Azusa Pacific University Athletics. March 3, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
19. ^ Hudgison, Chris. "Five-star kicker Dominic Zvada commits to Arkansas State". KAIT. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
20. ^ Gladstone, Mitchell (October 28, 2022). "'It's that elite:' Inside the rise of Dominic Zvada, ASU's nearly perfect freshman kicking sensation". Arkansas Northwest Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved August 31, 2024.