Apple Valley High School (Minnesota)

Curriculum

The school boasts numerous AP, Honors, and On-level classes. In addition, through the Minnesota state Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program, students are eligible to take classes at local community colleges, state colleges and universities.

Awards

Apple Valley High School received an award from the Blue Ribbon Schools Program, which is considered the highest accolade an American school can receive. It has also been selected as one of the "140 best high schools" in the United States, and has gained recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Scholastic Coach and Athletic Journal, and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Science.

Athletics

Apple Valley High School competes in the South Suburban Conference of the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL). Since opening in 1976, the school has accumulated 68 state championships, the second most of any high school in Minnesota.

Forensics

Apple Valley's Speech and debate team is one of the best and most successful in the country. They've developed hundreds of state finalists and many more national qualifiers. Apple Valley High School also hosts the annual MinneApple annual debate tournament, and speech tournament, which draws teams from across the world.

In 2019, the school won the Minnesota High School Mock Trial Championship.

Again in 2025, the school won the Minnesota High School Mock Trial Championship.

Fab lab

In 2015, Apple Valley High School opened a fab lab, the third in Minnesota, to individuals and businesses as part of its STEM program. It was built with a $3 million grant from the Minnesota Department of Labor and donations from companies such as Uponor and UTC Aerospace Systems.

Notable alumni

• Brady Beeson, former placekicker for the Portland Thunder of the Arena Football League (AFL), currently plays for the Spokane Empire of the Indoor Football League (IFL), played collegiately at St. John's University and the University of St. Thomas.
• Rebekah Bradford, speed skater, competed for the United States in the 2010 Winter Olympics
• Brianna Brown, class of 1998, actress
• Arden Cho, model and actress
• Brad DeFauw, former ice hockey winger for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL)
• Breanne Duren, touring member of the electronica project Owl City
• Hudson Fasching, ice hockey winger playing for New York Islanders
• David Fischer, hockey player, first-round pick by the Montreal Canadiens in 2006
• Karl Goehring, goaltender for the Nashville Predators
• Mark Hall, 6-time State Champion wrestler, Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award winner (2016), and 2017 NCAA Wrestling Champion at Penn State
• John Harvatine IV, co-owner of Stoopid Buddy Stoodios and executive producer on Robot Chicken
• Doug Hutchison, an actor, most notable role as Percy Wetmore in The Green Mile
• Erik Jensen, film and television actor
• Tre Jones, point guard for the Chicago Bulls, played collegiately for the Duke Blue Devils, younger brother of Tyus Jones.
• Tyus Jones, point guard for the Orlando Magic, played collegiately at Duke University.
• Vincent Kartheiser, class of 1997, actor who played Pete Campbell on the AMC drama Mad Men
• Ann Kim, award-winning chef and owner of Pizzeria Lola, Hello Pizza, and Young Joni
• Bilhal Kone, college football cornerback for the Western Michigan Broncos
• Trevor Laws, drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL), former Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year and defensive lineman at Notre Dame
• Mike Lundin, former NHL defenseman for the Minnesota Wild
• Tara Mack, Minnesota House of Representatives member
• Shani Marks, triple jumper who competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics
• Bob Martin, former center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Los Angeles Clippers (1993–95)
• David Maurer, former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher for the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, and Toronto Blue Jays
• Leyna Nguyen, on-air anchor and reporter with KCAL-TV in Los Angeles, California since 1997
• Trey Pipkins, gridiron football player
• Derek Rackley, tight end and long snapper for the Seattle Seahawks
• Nicholas Sadler, an actor who has appeared in the films Scent of a Woman, Disclosure, Mobsters, as well as TV shows like The Cosby Show and ER
• Dan Sexton, right wing for the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL
• Carol Ann Shudlick, 1990 Minnesota Miss Basketball, played collegiately for the University of Minnesota, 1994 Wade Trophy winner and former Gophers' all-time scoring leader.
• Dan Smith, Class of 1987, former player for the Texas Rangers
• Varmah Sonie, 2008 Minnesota Mr. Football.
• Gable Steveson, Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler and 2020 Big Ten Heavyweight Champion and 2021 & 2022 NCAA Division I Heavyweight Champion for the University of Minnesota.
• Gary Trent Jr., (transferred before senior year), played college basketball for Duke Blue Devils, NBA player for Milwaukee Bucks
• Maria Thayer, actress and comedian
• Erik Westrum, an NHL center who played for the Phoenix Coyotes, Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs

Notes

References

1. "Apple Valley Senior High". National Center for Education Statistics.
2. "Apple Valley High School". Independent School District No. 196.
3. "District 196 Schools".
4. "History of Apple Valley High School". Independent School District No. 196.
5. Rubin, Ben. (2006). "CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department". Journal Inquirer.
6. "Welcome to the South Suburban Conference". South Suburban Conference.
7. "SpeechWire Tournament Services - Forensics Tournament Software - Speech, Debate, Congress".
8. "Past State Champions".
9. "Past State Champions".
10. (13 July 2015). "About". Apple Valley High School Fab Lab.
11. (19 November 2015). "New Fab Lab Promotes Careers in Science, Techology, (sic) Engineering and Math". DCTC News.
12. "Apple Valley High School students find passion for STEM in new 'Fab Lab'". KMSP-TV.
13. "Brady Beeson". CBS Interactive.
14. "SPOKANE RE-SIGNS K BRADY BEESON". Spokane Empire.
15. "Minutes of the regular meeting of the City Council of Apple Valley, Dakota County, Minnesota, held January 28th, 2010, at 8:00 o'clock p.m., at Apple Valley Municipal Center.". City of Apple Valley.
16. "Friday, May 31, 2013". KSTP-TV, LLC..
17. (29 April 2011). "Watch Breanne Duren's Exclusive "Gold Mine" Video Premiere {{!}} Teen Vogue".
18. "Owl City cohort Breanne Duren digging "Gold"".
19. "David Fischer". Hockey’s Future.
20. (8 September 2011). "Working overtime".
21. (2020-03-27). "Penn State Wrestling: Celebrating the Career of Mark Hall".
22. (25 April 2012). "Seth Green, Nathan Fillion, Neil Patrick Harris, Megan Fox Set for 'Robot Chicken' DC Comics Special". Hollywood Reporter.
23. (2 December 2011). "'Robot Chicken' Duo Launch Animation Studio". Hollywood Reporter.
24. Nathan Southern. (2014). "Doug Hutchison - Biography - Movies & TV". [[The New York Times]].
25. "Actor's path to silver screen started on Apple Valley stage {{!}} ECM Archives".
26. "Tre Jones".
27. (25 June 2015). "Timberwolves trade for Tyus Jones".
28. "Unpacking Future Packers: No. 35, Western Michigan CB Bilhal Kone".
29. "Trevor Laws". databaseFootball.com.
30. "Mike Lundin". The Official Site of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
31. "Shani Marks".
32. "Bob Martin".
33. "Dave Maurer - The Baseball Cube".
34. "Leyna Nguyen".
35. (26 April 2019). "From the hallways of Apple Valley to the doorstep of the NFL, Trey Pipkins has come a long way".
36. "Derek Rackley". databaseFootball.com.
37. "Catching up with Carol Ann (Shudlick) Smith".
38. (December 14, 2008). "Apple Valley's Sonie chosen Mr. Football". Pioneer Press.
39. "Gable Steveson Bio".
40. "Gray Trent – 2017-17 Men's Basketball – Duke University". [[Duke Blue Devils]].
41. "Erik Westrum".