Mesa High School achieves top grade for first time in its history

PHOENIX — Mesa High School has earned an “A” grade for the first time in its history, marking a major academic milestone.

The Arizona Department of Education assigns letter grades each academic year based on student proficiency and overall growth.

Mesa High School Principal Kirk Thomas, who joined the school a decade ago when it held a “C” rating, said the progression to a “B” and now an “A” for the 2024–2025 school year reflects years of focused academic effort.

“Last year, we had a program called Making Moves where we had assemblies and talked to kids about giving their best effort,” Thomas told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

He credited new academic programs and a renewed emphasis on student success for the transformation.

“Recently we’ve started, this year, what we call the academic task force, where 3.0 (GPA) students and above are actually tutors to other students,” he added.

Andres Huerta, a junior at Mesa High School, said earning an “A” feels rewarding for the student body that put in the work. He believes the school’s culture played a role in the grade change.

“I feel like here at Mesa it’s hard to explain it’s just this this sort of zing that isn’t really displayed, you know, among other schools,” Huerta told KTAR News.

Mesa High School celebrates historic achievement

The school celebrated the achievement with an assembly on Nov. 3 featuring performances by the band, cheer team, dance team, and more.

However, Thomas emphasized that the accomplishment doesn’t mean the work is done.

“The ‘A’ is not the finish line. The ‘A’ is now the baseline,” he said. “The baseline is a promise to ourselves, to our community, to our school that we got to continue to progress, continue to develop, continue to seek academic excellence.”

Funding for this journalism was made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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