Principal’s Message

Dear Curtis Senior High School parents, families, and supporters,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2023-24 school year.  My name is Tom Adams and I proudly enter my 8th year of service as Curtis High School's principal.  Every day our committed team of teachers inspires every student to achieve at high levels.

CHS offers a plethora of academic, athletic, performing arts and after-school opportunities at which our students excel:

• We maintain high academic standards while teaching and emphasizing life-long values through the Viking P.R.I.D.E. (Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Determination, and Excellence) and Character Strong programs.  We offer a top-flight curriculum taught by our team of excellent teachers who are supported by an amazing team.  Besides core offerings in English Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies we provide numerous engaging and challenging elective courses.  Our academic program includes 16 Advanced Placement courses, three College in the High School courses, multiple STEM courses, three World Language choices, many dual credit courses and several CTE elective courses.
• We support students’ social / emotional health with a caring and dedicated team, including four Guidance Counselors, our Career Counseling team, our Psychologist and several other specialists.  Please visit our Guidance page and reach out to us if we can help your student.    

• We believe in racial equity and engendering an anti-racist school.  We continue to implement a robust, inclusive, representative, comprehensive and accurate curriculum.  Please click here for more information on our school and district’s equity efforts.

• We compete in over 20 girls and boys varsity sports in the 4A South Puget Sound League.  Our teams regularly compete for and win league, district, regional, and state championships.  Please find more information on CHS athletics by clicking this link.

• Our award-winning Performing Arts programs annually perform several shows including a musical, a play, a talent show, the "One-Acts" student-directed performances, Danceblast, and numerous seasonal band, orchestra, and choir concerts.  Our music department earned 1’s and high honors across the board in state competitions last year, repeating previous years’ performances.  Please view the school's calendar for upcoming performances by clicking here.

• We offer over 35 after-school clubs and activities to enhance students' overall experiences and enable all students the opportunity to thrive.  To read more about our after-school clubs, please click this link.
• Our students selflessly spend time helping and supporting our neighbors, friends and families in our community, performing over 30,000 service hours last year. 

In recognition of our comprehensive achievements and commitment to excellence, we continue to be recognized as the top comprehensive public high school in Pierce County.  Please click this link to learn more about our outstanding academic achievement.

Please accept my invitation to visit our school and see the amazing people and programs that make CHS a fantastic place to learn and teach.  Parents, alumni, and members of the University Place community are integral to our successes.  I encourage your involvement in CHS by volunteering for a parent group, attending a game or performance, donating to the Viking Scholarship Fund or our ASB, or finding other avenues to support our students and programs.  Please click here to join our PTSA and click here to contact CHS Student Accounts and our ASB Bookkeeper, Ms. Bibby, for information on other donations. 

If I or any member of our team can answer questions about our school or programs, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at 253-566-5710, ext. 2155, or email me at tadams@upsd83.org.  Parents can connect to us through the ParentSquare App, the CCRC Instagram handle @curtis_ccrc, and everyone can follow Athletic Director Suzanne Vick's popular social media accounts @ourvikingnation.  

On behalf of our entire Viking team, thank you for visiting our website and learning more about our school.  We are proud of our amazing students, teachers, support team, and programs and the marvelous work they do for every student each day.

Thank you and Go Viks!

Tom Adams,

Principal