Our District | Fountain Hills USD

Our Story

Just on the other side of the McDowell Mountain range from Scottsdale and a quick drive up the Beeline from Tempe and Mesa is the picturesque town of Fountain Hills. A quaint little town encompassing approximately twenty square miles, Fountain Hills is nestled against McDowell Mountain Regional Park, Fort McDowell, and Tonto National Forest. Serving approximately 1100 students, our district draws students from the town of Fountain Hills, nearby Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Scottsdale, and others whose parents prefer the safe, more intimate environment of the schools in FHUSD. At Fountain Hills Unified School District, we provide outstanding academic and extracurricular opportunities for every child. We have great students, dedicated staff, supportive administration, an engaged community and, incredible views. We are the largest employer in the town of Fountain Hills with 183 employees, of which 118 of are proud to call Fountain Hills home. Fountain Hills Unified School District is unlike any other! We pride ourselves on being able to meet the needs of not only our students, but our staff as well.

Here are some facts about our district we are especially proud of:

Fountain Hills Unified School District was named a Top 10 school district in Phoenix by niche.com

McDowell Mountain Elementary and Fountain Hills High School were both awarded the prestigious A+ School of Excellence designation by the Arizona Education Foundation.

Our standalone licensed Little Falcons Preschool for ages 3-5 was rated "Exceeds Quality Standards" by Quality First and offers students an amazing learning environment with experienced, certified staff with the option for before and after-school care.

Little Falcons Preschool is one of the few preschools offering specials, including STEM, PE, and Art.

McDowell Mountain Elementary offers honors and gifted placements utilizing the gifted cluster model.

McDowell Mountain Elementary’s campus was renovated in 2023 and offers collaborative team room spaces, an astronomy-themed library with a planetarium, new playgrounds for kindergarten and grades 1-5, a regulation-size gymnasium, and a football field and track.

McDowell Mountain Elementary offers free before-school care for families daily as early as 7:00 a.m.

McDowell Mountain Elementary has built-in support in the daily schedule for students who need additional help while offering enrichment for students to move forward during the same block of time.

Fountain Hills Middle School offers the project-based, Innovate 21 Honors & Gifted program, focusing on the connection between Science, English, and Social Studies in an accelerated schedule.

Fountain Hills Middle School was renovated in 2023, and the new library offers students a full virtual reality lab and access to the Multiball video game system during lunch and as part of our positive behavior program.

Fountain Hills Middle School offers Spanish, Art, Band, Percussion, Wind Ensemble, PE, Boys and Girls Athletics, and Dance as electives.

Fountain Hills High School offers the AP Capstone program that provides students with our most rigorous course of study, culminating with our highest distinction diploma and a diploma from the College Board.

Fountain Hills High School offers AVID for students who need additional assistance in preparing for college and careers.

Fountain Hills High School partners with Arizona State University to offer our students access to 54, free dual-enrollment courses for students to take with an FHHS teacher.

Fountain Hills High School has won 25 AIA team championships and multiple individual state titles.

Fountain Hills High School has one of the best marching bands in the state, winning the state championship in 2018.

Fountain Hills High School uses an innovative trimester schedule to allow students more opportunities to choose courses of interest, accelerate in a subject area quicker, and retake a course immediately if needed.

Fountain Hills High School partners with the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce to provide seniors with an internship with a local business to explore career interests and build connections with our community.