Rancho Alamitos High School

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Rancho Alamitos High School is located in Garden Grove, California. It is a member of the Garden Grove Unified School District.

This high school first opened in the spring of 1957 with no senior class. The first graduating class was in 1958. The school colors are green and gold. The school's athletic teams are known as the Vaqueros, a Spanish type of cowboy figure, though Rancho students tend to shorten its name to "Vaqs". Until the mid-1970s the school mascot had been "Poco" (pronounced pō'kō / poh-koh), a cartoon character of a short male dressed in a large poncho with a serape, a Mexican–Indian throw blanket or rug over one shoulder and a large sombrero on his head, covering the eyes. It was at this time that the Hispanic club, MEChA, decided it was time to protest the stereotype of Mexicans and changed the mascot. Poco was soon replaced with the more racially sensitive logo of a "boot spur" that might be seen today, although an extremely large bold "V" seems to be more common. The former mascot had been revived periodically, and in the 90s was called "Paco" (pronounced pah'kō).

Contents

[edit] History of the School

Rancho Alamitos High School opened its doors in 1957. Its name means ranch of the little cottonwoods and is an acknowledgement of the Hispanic heritage of this area. The forty acres of the Rancho Alamitos High School campus was part of the original Rancho Los Nietos (grandchildren), circa 1784. Later, the land was divided among many family members into smaller Ranchos. In the 1950s, the Garden Grove Union High School District purchased the land from the Evans family. Construction of Rancho Alamitos High School began in 1956 and was nearly complete by 1957. There were two homes on the property facing Dale Street. The homes belonged to the Evans and Miller families and were located just north of the faculty parking lot. The homes were used as classrooms until construction was completed in 1959.

Rancho Alamitos first opened for grades nine through eleven on the Garden Grove High School campus during the fall of 1956. In the spring of 1957, the Rancho Alamitos campus officially opened under the direction of the first principal, Mr. Don Kennedy. The first senior class graduated in the spring of 1958 under the principalship of Mr. Richard Bivin. In 1960, Mr. Sam Chicas was principal and was succeeded by Mr. Vic McClain (1961). Rancho’s next principal was Mr. William Zogg (1964), followed by Mr. Tracy Strong (1966), Mr. Ron Forsyth (1976), Mr. Jim DeLong (1982), Mr. Bob Mesa (1985), Mr. Tom Robins (1991), Mr. Gene Campbell (2000), Mr. Frank Mackay (2006), and Ms Mary Jane Hibbard in 2009.

[edit] School Achievements

U.S News "The Best Schools in United States": Silver Medal

http://www.usnews.com/listings/high-schools/california/rancho_alamitos_high

From site: College Readiness Index: Not Applicable Poverty-Adjusted Performance Index: 1.14 Disadvantaged Students Performance Gap: 10.0

College-Ready Student Performance College Readiness Index Not Applicable Quality-Adjusted Exams Per Test Taker Not Applicable Participation Rate Not Applicable Quality-Adjusted Participation rate Not Applicable Participant Passing Rate Not Applicable Exams Per Test Taker Not Applicable Exam Passing Rate Not Applicable

Advanced Placement Student Performance Quality-Adjusted AP Exams Per Test Taker Not Applicable AP Participation Rate Not Applicable Quality-Adjusted AP Participation Rate Not Applicable AP Participant Passing Rate Not Applicable AP Exams Per Test Taker Not Applicable AP Exam Pass Rate Not Applicable

Disadvantaged Student Performance Disadvantaged Students' State Test Proficiency Rate 60.7 Disadvantaged Students Performance Gap 10.0 Non-disadvantaged Students' State Test Proficiency Rate 83.7 Current State Test Achievement Gap 23.0

Demographic Data Enrollment 1,962 Minority Enrollment (% of total) 53.5% Black Enrollment (% of total) 1.6% Hispanic Enrollment (% of total) 51.4% American Indian Enrollment (% of total) 0.5% Asian Enrollment (% of total) 29.6% White Enrollment (% of total) 16.9% Economically Disadvantaged Student Enrollment (% of total) 61.0% Overall Student Performance State Test Performance Index 740.0 Poverty-Adjusted Performance Index 1.14

[edit] Mission and Learning Goals

Rancho Alamitos High School, working cooperatively with the home and community, shall provide an educational setting in which students can gain the skills, knowledge, and values necessary to become contributing members of a democratic society, and to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world.

Upon graduation, Rancho Alamitos students will possess the knowledge and skills to become self-sufficient, contributing members of society.

Proficient in Core Academic Standards: Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science. Skilled in: Communication, Technology, and Time Management. Practiced in: Civic Responsibility, Ethical Behavior, and Tolerance. Aware of: Technology, Applied Arts, Fine Arts, and Healthy Lifestyle.

[edit] Accomplishments

Rancho is a comprehensive high school currently enrolling approximately 1,900 students, grades nine through twelve, who reside in Garden Grove, Stanton and Anaheim. Rancho’s student population is very diverse; 55% of our students are Hispanic, 30% are Asian, and 15% are Caucasian, representing approximately 26 different home languages. Rancho is known for its award-winning Title 1 program, nationally recognized football team, French Language & Literature and magnet art and music programs.

In the past five years, Rancho Alamitos has produced 3 National Merit Finalists.[citation needed] Approximately 56% of our graduates continue to pursue higher education; 25% enroll in four-year colleges and 40% enroll in two-year colleges.

Rancho offers Advanced Placement courses in Art Portfolio, Biology, Calculus, Chemistry, English Language and Literature, Environmental Science, European History, Physics, Spanish Language and Literature, Statistics, United States Government and United States History.

In addition, the Vaqueros have distinguished themselves athletically over the past 51 years with 77 league Championships, 3 CIF final game appearances and 1 CIF team championship.

These achievements have made the faculty, staff and community that Rancho Alamitos High School serves very proud. The Rancho Alamitos mascot is the Vaquero. Vaquero is a Spanish word for cowboy. The Vaquero was chosen in respect for the men who worked the lands of old Rancho Los Nietos. Over the years, the Vaqueros have been known for their hard work, dedication and pride of accomplishment. The traditions started many years ago still continue. They are proud of their heritage and proud to be Vaqueros!

[edit] Sports

The athletic teams are governed by the California Interscholastic Federation's Southern Section and participate in the six-team Garden Grove League, mostly against other schools in the Garden Grove Unified School District. One of their notable successes are their Cross Country team from 2006–2009, which went 19-1 in the Garden Grove League for four seasons and the team of 2009 is ranked as the 5th fastest team in Rancho Alamitos History since the school opened back in 1958.

one of several renditions of the historical Poco image
one of many renditions of the Rancho Alamitos shield
one of the most common Rancho logos

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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