The school's design was based on the layout of Basha High School, another school in the Chandler Unified School District, with an additional "F" building built exclusively for Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes in the same place as the "H" building in Basha High School.[3] As of 2019, construction is underway for a similar expansion on the east side of the campus.
Academics
Perry abides by the standards set by the Arizona Department of Education and implements the state's Education and Career Action Plan (ECAP)[4][5] required for all 9-12 grade students to graduate from a public Arizona high school.[6] CUSD high schools also implements an open enrollment policy, meaning students from outside the intended school boundaries may attend without tuition or other penalties.[7]
Arizona requires that all high school students take 6 credit bearing courses during their freshmen through junior years, and have the option of reducing credits to 4 credit bearing courses if they are track for graduation. However, CUSD requires all students must complete 22 credits whereas the public university system controlled by the Arizona Board of Regents requires only 16 credits in the following areas:[6]
English - 4 credits
Mathematics - 4 credits
Science - 3 credits
Social Studies. - 3 credits
Career and Technical Educator/Fine Arts - 1 credit
Community college credits can be awarded through a partnership with Chandler-Gilbert Community College (CGCC) and cooperative credits for vocational courses are provided by East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT). Students must be dually enrolled for the Arizona community college or the Arizona public university system to accept the credits towards a degree. CUSD Transportation Department provides routes between Perry, EVIT, and CGCC with after school hours transportation intended for students participating in activities.[6]
In the fall of 2014, the Perry High School department was invited to perform their production of The Addams Family at the Arizona Thespians State Conference, where they were also awarded for other achievements. In 2015, their production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was chosen as Arizona's chapter select at the International Thespian Festival. In 2017, their spring production of Mary Poppins was also awarded Best Overall Production at the ASU Gammage High School Musical Theatre Awards. Additionally, they were named A.I.A. state champions of the Central Region for seven consecutive years until 2019, when the Arizona Thespian Society discontinued its competitive ranking system.
Perry’s marching band has repeatedly earned high scores at competitions around the state.
Perry High also has a choir who in 2011 sang at Carnegie Hall in New York City,[9] as well as an Orchestra who played there in 2015, earning first place at the event.
Campus
Library
When Hamilton High School and Basha High School were built, the city of Chandler incorporated branch libraries into those sites. Perry is within Gilbert town limits, and so the Chandler Unified School District worked to incorporate a Maricopa County Library District branch into the site. The Perry Branch Library opened in June 2007.[10][11] It was the first public library located in a high school in Gilbert, and the first public library in the nation to not use the Dewey Decimal System, opting instead for a bookstore-like system that places non-fiction books into categories based on subject.[11][12][13] This change brought national attention to the library and provoked debate about the effectiveness of the Dewey Decimal System.[11][13][14]
The county library is the second to be integrated inside a high school, after the library at Boulder Creek High School in Anthem, which also features a Maricopa County regional library
