Basha High School


Basha High School is a public high school located in Chandler, Arizona and was the third high school built by Chandler Unified School District.

History

Basha High School was named after Eddie Basha Jr., who donated millions of dollars to the Chandler Unified School District and lived in the community until his death in 2013. The CUSD school board appointed Marques Reischl, former Basha High School Vice Principal and athletic director, as the school's new principal on July 1, 2020.

Academics

Basha abides by the standards set by the Arizona Department of Education and implements the state's Education and Career Action Plan, which is required for all students in the 9th-12th grade to graduate from a public high school in Arizona. CUSD high schools also have an open enrollment policy, meaning students outside the intended school boundaries may attend without tuition or other penalties.
Arizona requires that all high school students take six credit-bearing courses during their freshmen, sophomore, and junior years, and they can reduce to four credit-bearing courses if they are on track to graduate. The CUSD requires all students to complete 22 credits, while the public university system, controlled by the Arizona Board of Regents, requires 16 credits from the following areas:
  • English - 4 credits
  • Mathematics - 4 credits
  • Science - 3 credits
  • Social Studies - 3 credits
  • Career and Technical Education/Fine Arts - 1 credit
  • Physical Education - 1 credit
  • Comprehensive Health - ½ credits
  • Elective Courses - 5 ½ credits

    Other programs

Separate from EVIT and CGCC, the University of Arizona implemented a pilot program in 2014 to give university credits to students pursuing introductory engineering courses. Basha has an Accelerated Middle School Program on campus, which allows AMS students access to high school teachers and equipment.

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

Basha is an Arizona Interscholastic Association member school offering boys and girls sports complying with Title IX. Student-athletes can participate in varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen-only teams, as well as individual athletics in the following sports:
The Basha girls' softball team has won two state titles in back-to-back years, and another in the 2022-2023 season.
The Basha Boys Basketball team won the Arizona state championship in 2017.
The Basha Bears won the 2022 State Open Championship, the highest-tiered Arizona high school football title.

Competitive musical programs

The Basha Bear Regiment won their first state championship in Division II in 2009, and the Indoor Percussion Ensemble won eight consecutive state championships from 2007 through 2014 and again in 2019. The Basha Winter Winds ensemble also won the state championships in 2019.

Campus

Basha High has a branch of the Chandler Public Library within the school.

Notable alumni