PHOENIX — Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix enrolls nearly 2,000 students each year. It also scores high marks for education and extracurricular activities.
Because of its reputation, parents will go to great lengths to get their children enrolled, including camping outside the school's administrative offices.
"I'm here for my son, Lucas," said Martin Jay Hernandez. "He's an 8th grader and this is where he wants to go to high school."
Hernandez was the very first person in line at 9 a.m. on Sunday. He waited all day, overnight, and into the morning Monday to enroll his son in the school along with more than 100 other parents.
Many brought chairs, blankets, tents - some even brought televisions!
ABC15 talked to one man who was too cold to come out from his tent. But, he read us a text message from his son that made it all worth it.
"Here he says, 'Thank you for staying out there for me even though it's uncomfortable,'" read Brian Dowling. "So, yes. My son does appreciate it."
The wait in the rain and the cold is worth it to him because of the school's reputation.
"The recommendations of friends who have sent their kids here have been nothing but stellar," Dowling said.
U.S. News has often ranked Sunnyslope on its list of the best high schools in the country.
It did dip in the rankings for 2018. But, there is good news for education in Arizona overall.
Six of the top 10 spots went to our state with charter school BASIS Scottsdale taking the number one slot as best high school in the nation.
To read the full list, click here.
