Cienega High School
# Cienega High School

Cienega High School (also known as CHS) is a public high school in Pima County, Arizona. It opened in the fall of 2001 with approximately 400 students (freshmen and sophomores). It is a member of the Arizona Interscholastic Association's 5A Conference.

Cienega is currently the largest school in the Vail Unified School District in terms of student enrollment.

## History

Its opening was scheduled for 2001.

## Softball Hazing Incident

In 2016, eight students on Cienega High School's softball team were suspended after attempting to haze new varsity members at an away game. They purportedly filled a trash can with ice, water, and urine as the team was staying at a motel in February 2016 and placed it near a door with the expectation that it would drench the new members. Once the incident was reported, the principal at the time suspended the four students who were directly involved for five days and the other four for two days for being aware of the prank but not reporting it. He was quoted as saying, "We will not tolerate pranks. We will not tolerate bullying. We will not tolerate hazing or any kind of harassment."

## Sexual Misconduct

In 2018, Senecca Turner, an assistant basketball coach and member of the security staff at the high school, was arrested on suspicion of sexual misconduct with a teen. School officials had been informed that Turner has been sending explicit messages to a 17-year-old female student. He was sentenced the following year to serve 10 years probation, 12 weekends in the Pima County Jail, one thousand hours of community service, and must register as a sex offender.

## Band Programs

Cienega's Instrumental Music Program offers a variety of different ensembles.

* Copper Thunder Marching Band
* Color Guard
* Bobcat PepBand
* Concert Band
* Symphonic Band
* Jazz Band
* Orchestra
* United Sound

## Sports Programs

### Fall Sports

Cienega organizes sports during the fall season

* Football
* Spirit Line "cheerleading" (male and female)
* Cross Country
* Volleyball (female)
* Golf (male and female)
* Swimming

### Winter Sports

Cienega organizes some sports during the winter season.

* Basketball (male and female)
* Soccer (male and female)
* Wrestling

## Commitment to Graduate Program

The Commitment to Graduate Program, or C2G, was made to address the increasing rate of high school students dropping out before graduating in the United States.

## Notable alumni

* Seth Mejias-Brean - former professional baseball infielder for the San Diego Padres (Class of 2009)
* Andre Jackson - pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers (Class of 2014)
* Isaiah Murphy - professional basketball player for Hiroshima Dragonflies (Class of 2016)
* Nick Gonzales - infielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates (Class of 2017)
