Ygnacio Valley High School(YVHS) is a public secondary school located inConcord,California,United States. It draws students from Concord as well as from the neighboring communities of Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill. The school opened in 1962, and its first senior class graduated in 1964. Originally conceived as a temporary facility, the school currently carries an enrollment of over 1,500 total students for grades 9 through 12. When the nearbyNorthgate High Schoolopened in 1974, YVHS lost approximately half its student body at the time. The school is part of theMount Diablo Unified School District.
| Ygnacio Valley High School | |
|---|---|
 A mural with the school mascot at the front entrance of the school | |
| Address | |
 | |
755 Oak Grove Road , 94518 United States | |
| Coordinates | 37°56′02″N122°01′33″W/ 37.933993°N 122.025898°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Publichigh school |
| Motto | "Students first, learning always!" |
| Established | 1960 |
| School district | Mount Diablo Unified School District |
| Superintendent | Adam Clark |
| Principal | Peter Crutchfield |
| Staff | 61.68 (FTE)[1] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 1,172 (2022-23)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 19.00[1] |
| Color(s) | Navy and Gold |
| Mascot | Wolf |
| Nickname | Wolves |
| Website | yvhs |
Academics
editYgnacio Valley High School has been an IB World School since March 22, 2017. This school is the only school within theMount Diablo Unified School Districtto offer theInternational Baccalaureateprogram. Some subjects offered are Spanish B, Mathematics, and History.
AP/Honors classes are also offered at Ygnacio Valley High School some such as Spanish and English Honors and AP World History.
Athletics
editSince 1964, one of the school's main athletic rivals has been theClayton Valley High SchoolEagles. The main rival was the College Park Falcons, until the schools were redistricted to prevent ongoing vengeful stunts that were hindering good sportsmanship in the early 2000s. YVHS also shares a lesser rivalry (as well as a property line) with neighboringDe La Salle High School.
The first varsity Warrior football game played at the YVHS campus in 38 years took place on September 16, 2006. Ground was broken on a new running track and all-weather turf football and soccer field at YVHS in August 2005. Prior to the completion of the new field, most football home games were played atMount Diablo High SchoolorDiablo Valley College,due to poor field conditions, condemned bleachers, and a lack of lighting.
In December 2005, the YVHS football team won the NCS-2A championship againstMiramonte High Schoolfor the second time since 1999. The following year the YVHS football team returned to the NCS playoffs and lost in the second round.
In the 2009-10 football season, the YVHS football team won the DVAL League championship for the first time. The league had been created two years prior. The team then advanced to the NCS playoffs, losing in the second round to Eureka High School.
On March 14, 1987, the YVHS boys' basketball team won the Division 1 Northern California Championship at the Oakland Coliseum Arena, 56-54 (2OT) over James Logan High School. This marked the first time in history that an East Bay High School (east of the Caldecott tunnel) accomplished such a feat. The 1987 squad set and still holds the school record with 28 wins.
On February 29, 2020, the YVHS boys' soccer team won the North Coast Section Division 3 Championship for the second time in 5 years by a score of 3-2 over Albany High School.
Famous visits
edit
During the1988 presidential campaign,thenVice PresidentGeorge Bushmade an appearance at YVHS and addressed the student body. In 1996, YVHS received anotherpresidentialvisit whenBill Clintonand Vice PresidentAl Goremade a rare joint appearance. They visited the campus as part of theNetDay'96 event, which kicked off a drive to connect California public schools to theInternet.[2][3]
YVHS is an ideal location for such high-security visits, due to the limited entry points into school property.[4]
In the early 1990s, YVHS also received visits fromU.S. RepresentativesGeorge MillerandBill Baker,sponsored by the school's now-defunct Public Policy Society.
Ongoing issues
editThe schoolmascot,theWarrior,is represented as aNative Americanspear going through the letter ‘W’ (for Warriors). Similar mascots representing Native American culture are often a point of contention throughout the state of California, where over 100 high schools have American Indian mascots.
YVHS is occasionally cited in the ongoingschool prayerdebate, after allowingMuslimstudents to use an available room for prayer duringRamadanin 2004.
Notable alumni
edit- Mike Bellotti-University of Oregonathletic director[5]
- Lance Blankenship- member of1989 World SerieschampionOakland Athletics[6]
- Ian Brennan (music producer, author)- Grammy-award-winning music producer and author
- Matt Chesse- Academy-award nominated film editor
- Jonathan Dayton- director ofLittle Miss Sunshine[7]
- D.C. Douglas- Actor and voice over artist.[8]
- Kiko Garcia- shortstop; played forBaltimore Oriolesin the1979 World Series[9]
- Kristin Heaston-shot putathlete; in 2004 became the first femaleOlympicathlete to compete inOlympia, Greece[10]
- Glenn Helzer- convicted murderer and former cult leader
- Damian Jackson- former infielder for theWashington Nationalsand other teams[11]
- Carl Ryanen-Grant-UC BerkeleyUniversity Medalist in 1997; received widespread attention for his battle withmalignant melanoma[12]
- Dave Tollefson- defensive end; played for theNew York GiantsinSuper Bowl XLII[13]
- Chris Walsh- retiredBuffalo BillsandMinnesota Vikingswide receiver[14]
- Dave Zawatson,retired offensive guard for theChicago BearsandNew York Jets.[15]
References
edit- ^abc"Ygnacio Valley High".National Center for Education Statistics.RetrievedAugust 25,2024.
- ^Clinton, Bill."Remarks by the President to the Concord Community on NetDay: Ygnacio Valley High School, Concord, California".Clinton Foundation. Archived fromthe originalon 2007-05-09.Retrieved2008-06-12.
- ^Gore, Al (1997)."Statement by the Vice President about Netday".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-06-09.Retrieved2008-06-12.
- ^Polk, Perry."This is Tom Killen calling from the White House..."The Databus: California Educational Data Processing Association, April 1996, pp. 5, accessed 4 Feb 2008.
- ^"Mike Bellotti,"GoDucks.com press release, 4 Aug 2006.
- ^"Lance Blankenship,"The Baseball Cube, accessed 4 Feb 2008.
- ^"Jonathan Dayton,"[dead link]allocine.co.uk, accessed 4 Feb 2008.
- ^"D.C. Douglas,"destructoid.com, accessed 12 Apr 2024.
- ^"Kiko Garcia,"The Baseball Cube, accessed 4 Feb 2008.
- ^"Kristin Heaston,"www.usatf.org (USA Track & Field), 28 August 2007
- ^"Damian Jackson."The Baseball Cube, accessed 4 Feb 2008.
- ^Scalise, Kathleen."The University Medalist",UC Berkeley Office of Public Affairs, 30 April 1997.
- ^"Dave Tollefson,"ArchivedMay 5, 2007, at theWayback Machinepackers.com (Green Bay Packers 2006 Draft), accessed 4 Feb 2008.
- ^Pashelka, Curtis."Cream of the Crop through the years,"Contra Costa Times,27 January 2008.
- ^"Ygnacio Valley High honors four at its two main athletic facilities".The Clayton Pioneer.Retrieved2024-02-10.
External links
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