Four years ago, in the fall of 2022, 449 students walked into Catalina Foothills High School as freshmen while our schools were still finding their footing after the pandemic. This year, they graduated as one of the most accomplished classes in CFHS history, from a school that U.S. News & World Report ranks in the top 1 percent in the country.

Behind every number you are about to read is a student who showed up, who tried, who sometimes stumbled, and who tried again. Behind each of them is a teacher who saw what they could become, and a family who trusted us with their child, many of them since kindergarten. The Class of 2026 is what that partnership looks like.

Here is some of what they accomplished.

Where they are headed. Ninety-five percent of the class is off to a two-year college, a four-year college, or a military academy this fall. They were admitted to 180 colleges and universities across the country and around the world, including Ivy League and Ivy-equivalent schools, every flagship public university in Arizona and California, conservatories of music and art, and military academies. Along the way, they were offered $16.8 million in merit scholarships, averaging more than $37,000 per graduate.

A handful earned some of the most competitive awards in the state and country: the first Dorrance Scholar in CFHS history, a Stamps Scholar who is one of only five in Arizona, a Flinn Scholarship finalist, and five of the University of Arizona's inaugural President's Saguaro Scholars, each worth up to $60,000. The class also produced 5 National Merit Finalists and 10 Commended Students.

Academic depth. The record runs deep. Eighty seniors carried a weighted GPA of 4.0 or higher through their sixth semester. As of last spring's exams, 136 had already earned AP Scholar recognition, roughly one in three seniors, and several earned the demanding AP Capstone Diploma. Forty-seven students dual-enrolled at the University of Arizona through our biotech and physics pathways, two were selected as KEYS research interns at the U of A BIO5 Institute, and eight biotech seniors brought home awards from the Southern Arizona Research, Science, and Engineering Fair. Eighty graduates earned the Arizona Seal of Biliteracy across ten different languages, and eleven earned the Seal of Arts Proficiency.

Arts and athletics. Falcons shine well beyond the classroom. Our seniors led the Foothills Falcon Band to a first-place finish and the Nunamaker Award for Overall Excellence at the University of Arizona Band Day, sent musicians to All-State and regional honor ensembles, and earned the top rating of Superior at the JazzMad Choir Festival at NAU. One senior wrote and premiered an original choral composition for his classmates. Another exhibited work in the University of Arizona Museum of Art. On the courts, 19 seniors signed National Letters of Intent, the boys tennis team won its second straight Division II state championship, and the girls tennis team finished as state runners-up. One senior even earned Best Delegate at Model United Nations in Washington, D.C.

And they gave back. Two seniors designed an original curriculum to teach 3D printing to CFSD third graders, building on what they had learned and sharing it with the students coming up behind them. That is the Foothills way. Reach high, and then turn around and lift someone else.

Congratulations, Class of 2026. We could not be prouder of you.