From roughly 800 students to 3600 students, many things have changed over the course of ten years.

Perry High School was the first school Principal Dan Serrano opened.

“When the school opened 10 years ago, we only had sophomores and freshman; only 20 students drove to school,” Principal Serrano said. During Perry’s earlier years, there was enough parking spaces for students and faculty and every teacher had their own space to teach in. Unfortunately, Perry now lacks parking spaces available to students and even teachers are forced to travel from classroom to classroom due to lack of space.

“When we first opened, we had to beat these other schools,” Serrano stated. “I want to be one of the leading schools in sports, fine arts, and academics.”

Last year, Perry dominated the other schools in test scores, a fact Principal Serrano takes great pride in.

“Our ACT and AZMerit scores were in the top 90 percent in the district,” Serrano continued. “This is the first time in our history that we are number one in most categories.”

With the large population of students feeding into the school, Perry’s programs have grown to accommodate the students.

“We had one section of orchestra when we first opened, now we have five.” Serrano said.

English teacher Patrice Strojny has taught at Perry since its inaugural year in 2007. Strojny transferred from Chandler High School to Perry upon hearing about a new school opening.

“Being from Northeastern Ohio-the “Rust Belt,” schools close or consolidate. It’s rare to open a new school, so I was very excited to come to PHS,” Strojny said.

Transferring to a school with a small population of students and teachers allows better teacher-student relationships and closeness with fellow faculty.

“The faculty was extremely small. We were like a family…not that we aren’t close today, but many of the original teachers have moved on to the private sector or transferred to other schools in other capacities-this is not bad, just different” Strojny added.

The student population of Perry now has grown so much that teachers like Strojny teach in the Bus Barn, instead of a classroom closer to the majority of campus. Teaching in the Bus Barn makes it difficult for teachers like Strojny to be as close with students as they once were when the population was so small.

“It does create problems with space and class size; however, I think it’s a tribute to the administration and faculty who have made such a tremendous contribution to our students that so many parents, including parents from out of the boundary, who want their kids to be Pumas,” Strojny continued.

English teacher Kate Copic has also taught at Perry since its opening. During Perry’s first year, a majority of the classrooms were empty and unused.

“There were benefits to being small,” Copic said. “Yet, we did not have the things we needed to improve yet.”

With Perry starting off so small, it was never thought that the student population would hit 3600, but new schools attract students from all over.

“When schools open and are brand new, schools have a tendency to attract students who wanted a fresh start… and who want to do well.”Copic stated.

Perry has now grown into the one of the biggest public school in the district, allowing students from all over to become Pumas. With an always increasing student population and academic scores in the top 90 percent in the district, this could be, as Principal Serrano said, “This is the beginning of us staying and being one of the best schools in Arizona.”