Carl Hayden High School is named after Carl Hayden, a U.S. Representative and Senator who represented Arizona for 57 years, from 1912 to 1969. The school opened in 1957 and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007-2008 with the completion of a $22 million renovation and administration building.
Carl Hayden has received worldwide acclaim for its , which won the FIRST International Chairman's award in 2008, recognized as the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST. The team first received recognition for beating MIT and other universities in an underwater robotics competition in 2004, a story that has been chronicled on ABC's Nightline and in , among others. A 2015 motion picture, Spare Parts, featured the story of these who defeated all odds: Cristian Arcega, Lorenzo Santillan, Luis Aranda, and Oscar Vasquez, are the real-life students whose huge accomplishment put Carl Hayden on the map. Not only this, but Carl Hayden again beat MIT and other elite universities for the next two years, thus making a hat-trick of wins. The Falcon Robotics team now hosts its own in Chandler each June.
Carl Hayden implemented a Pathways to Success partnership thanks to a $1.2 million grant from The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation to community organizations that helps high school students in Phoenix prepare for post-secondary education. The high school and agencies worked together to develop in-school and out-of-school programs that support students as they progress from high school to college and career opportunities. Phoenix was one of three communities in the nation participating in the initiative.
Hayden has also been adopted by the Maecenas Fund, which began awarding full-ride, four-year scholarships awards in 2006.
Hayden is also the home of legendary basketball coach Argie Rhymes, who won his 600th game in 2007, and has the second-most wins in Arizona among active coaches. Under his direction, Carl Hayden has won four state championships.
Carl Hayden's last state championship came in boys cross country in 5A Division II in 2005.
The school has two award-winning publications: The Corner Stone newspaper and The Statesman yearbook. Its Junior ROTC program has been designated as an "Honor Unit of Distinction" by the U.S. Army.
Carl Hayden is the first school in the Phoenix Union High School District to reach a Boys 5A-II soccer championship game but fell in overtime to Phoenix Pinnacle 2-1. For the great season, the Head coach Abner Calderon was named coach of the year for the 5A-II Conference for the soccer section.
Carl Hayden's boys' soccer program also won the prestigious Mustang Soccer tournament held in Dobson High School in Mesa, AZ and went undefeated throughout the tournament and only tied one game.
It is one of the few Phoenix Union High Schools that host two Magnet Programs which are Computer Science and Marine Science.
Oscar Vazquez, Cristian Arcega, Lorenzo Santillan and Luis Aranda - Winners over M.I.T. in the 2004 national underwater robotics competition and the inspiration for the Spare Parts film.
Tony Navarrete - District 30 State House Representative of Arizona Representative-Elect
In popular culture
The school is featured on the 2015 film, Spare Parts.
