Amador Valley High School

Amador Valley High School
Address
1155 Santa Rita Road Pleasanton , California 94566 United States
Coordinates	37°40′05″N 121°52′28″W
Information
Other names	Amador Valley, Amador, or AVHS
Former name	Amador Valley Joint Union High School
Type	Public high school
Motto	School of Champions
Established	March 14, 1922 (1922-03-14)
School district	Pleasanton Unified School District
Superintendent	Jim Hansen (interim)
CEEB code	052495
NCES School ID	060002009282
Principal	Joshua Butterfield
Teaching staff	111.87 (FTE)
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	2,713 (2018–19)
Student to teacher ratio	24.25
Campus size	39.27 acres (15.89 ha)
Campus type	Suburban
Color(s)	Purple and Gold
Mascot	The Don
Rival	Foothill High School
Newspaper	The Amadon
Yearbook	The Book of Names and Faces
Feeder schools	Harvest Park Middle School Pleasanton Middle School Hart Middle School
Website	amador.pleasantonusd.net

Amador Valley High School is a comprehensive public high school in Pleasanton, California. It is one of three high schools in the Pleasanton Unified School District, along with Foothill High School and Village High School.

The school has been named a California Distinguished School, a National School of Character, and a National Blue Ribbon School. In national competitions such as We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, the Amador Valley team has ranked in the top-10 teams 15 times, including winning the 1995 national title. Similarly, the Amador Valley Robotics Team is recognized as one of the sole high-school teams at the national, university-level autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) competition hosted by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI). The Amador Valley Wind Ensembles have performed at national venues and conferences, including Carnegie Hall and the Midwest Clinic. Several Amador Valley athletic teams have won multiple CIF North Coast Section Division I titles, including the softball team which MaxPreps named 2014 mythical national champion following a perfect season.

Since 2020, Amador Valley offered its 2,700 students 25 Advanced Placement courses, 24 varsity sports, a program to study local aquatic wildlife, and vocational training. Amador's location allows it to be the launching point for parades and to host the site of the Amador Theater, Pleasanton's principal performing arts facility for more than 80 years. The Amador Theater has remained a part of the Amador Valley campus since 1932, despite major school construction in 1968, 1997, and 2004.

Founded as Amador Valley Joint Union High School (AVJUHS), the school graduated its first class in 1923.

History

Region and districts

Amador Valley High School, originally Amador Valley Joint Union High School, was named for its location in the Amador Valley (part of the Tri-Valley area of the San Francisco East Bay). The valley's namesake was a wealthy Californio rancher, Don José María Amador. The school selected the Don as its mascot, in honor of the title used by Amador; Don is a Spanish term used as a mark of high esteem for a distinguished nobleman or gentleman.

The school was founded on March 14, 1922, as part of the Amador Valley Joint Union High School District (AVJUHSD), out of concerns of overcrowding and transportation for students traveling to nearby Livermore High School. Amador Valley's first class graduated in 1923.

From 1922 to 1988, the school was part of the AVJUHSD. Originally this district also taught high school students from nearby Dublin and served the local rural community. The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 led to the building of a series of freeways in the region, which led to increased population and an increase in student enrollment. In 1969, the school reached its maximum capacity, about 1,895 students. To accommodate the larger student population, Dublin High School was founded as part of the AVJUHSD. Both schools held classes on the Amador Valley campus during the 1968–69 school year. A continued influx of families to the Pleasanton region prompted the foundation of another high school within the AVJUHSD, Foothill, in 1973.

2009 Student-drawn map of school campus

In 1988, voters approved the unification of several school districts in the region along city limits. Prior to the unification, the AVJUHSD operated Amador Valley High School, Foothill High School, and Dublin High School. On July 1, 1988, the AVJUHSD merged with the Pleasanton Joint School District to form the Pleasanton Unified School District. Dublin High School was annexed into the Dublin Unified School District. As of 2020, the district contained two comprehensive high schools (Amador Valley and Foothill), one continuation high school (Village), three middle schools, nine elementary schools, one preschool, and an adult education program.

The school grounds are bordered on the east and southeast by Santa Rita Road, a Union Pacific railroad track on which the Altamont Corridor Express runs, and Arroyo Valle. To the north are several businesses and residential districts lie on the western border. The school is the launch point for the annual Pleasanton Hometown Holidays Celebration Parade and the annual Fall Festival Parade, a part of the Alameda County Fair since the 1940s. The Fall Festival Parade, which features bands, floats, balloons, horses, and antique cars, starts on the Amador Valley parking lot, travels down Main Street, and ends near the fairgrounds.

Court battles

Further information: Amador Valley Joint Union High School District v. State Board of Equalization and Lassonde v. Pleasanton Unified School District

In 1978, the AVJUHSD challenged the constitutionality of California Proposition 13, which placed a cap on county real estate taxes. The proposition limited property tax assessments to the 1975 standard, eliminating $7 billion of the $11.4 billion in property tax revenue collected each year. According to The Washington Post, the "severe" limitations this imposed on state funding forced local governments and most school districts in California to make "drastic cutbacks". Furthermore, an article in the Los Angeles Times noted that Federal aid money for Californian schools, worth about $98 million each year, may be reduced if state-funded programs are cut. A recent Congressional report had found that Proposition 13 would not result in any major "local spending" cuts. In order to receive Federal aid, the state needed to maintain present levels of spending on local programs or secure local matching funds. However, the enforcement of this spending was "flexible in many programs" and the Federal Impact Aid program for schools was therefore in jeopardy.

The district held that the measure was "so drastic and far-reaching that it was 'a revision' of the state Constitution and not a mere amendment". Ultimately, the district was unsuccessful in its suit. In their ruling, the judges distinguished between "amendment" and "revision." The court confirmed that an initiative cannot "revise" the constitution; Proposition 13, however, was an amendment to the California Constitution and not a "revision". In 2009, Amador Valley was cited by dissenting Justice Carlos R. Moreno in arguing the non-constitutionality of California Proposition 8.

In 1999, Amador Valley administrators censored Salutatorian Nicholas Lassonde's graduation speech for being "too religious", claiming that it "violated separation of church and state". Lassonde filed suit against the school district, claiming that the censorship violated his First Amendment rights. In Lassonde v. Pleasanton Unified School District, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled against Lassonde citing a precedent from Cole v. Oroville Union High School District (9th Cir. 2000). The court upheld the censoring of student graduation speeches, claiming that in this case, "if the school had not censored the speech, the result would have been a violation of the Establishment Clause."

Development

School campus with the Pleasanton Ridge in the background

Amador Valley held its first-ever classes on August 14, 1922 at its initial (temporary) location at the Pleasanton Grammar School, serving an enrollment of 59 students. The first class of eight students graduated in 1923, and the school quickly became known for its municipal bands and sports teams.

The initial school land, building, furnishings, and upkeep was funded by a $110,000 bond authorized by district voters on September 26, 1922. Construction started on August 13, 1923 on the Rancho Valle de San Jose property, to accommodate 200 students upon its completion in March 1924. The initial school campus included "five regular recitation rooms, a science laboratory with lecture room, a sewing room, a cooking room, a room for commercial branches, two drawing rooms, a shop with two connecting work rooms, a library, a reception room and office for the pricipal [sic], a teachers' room, a nurses' room, and gymnasium."

Parents of Amador Valley students became involved with student activities. In 1927, Pleasanton mothers decided to start a school lunch program to provide students with a better environment for learning. Parents donated pots and pans, and a newly hired cook prepared lunches, to be eaten at new tables and benches. The tables and benches were constructed by the custodian and the music teacher from wood of horse stalls formerly on the campus. This project led to the formation of a Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) chapter at Amador Valley in the late 1920s.

In 1932, the Amador Theater was added to the main campus building. The theater hosted school plays, band concerts, performances, lectures, and assemblies, and was the former home of the successful community theater group Cask and Mask, now known as The Masquers. Much of the "original" Amador Valley High School building (c1922) was demolished in 1968 leaving only the theatre to which a community fundraising effort restored.

The library and media center, opened in 2002, is the tallest building on the Amador Valley campus.

Starting November 3, 1986, Amador Valley teachers went on a rolling strike to "protest a breakdown in negotiations for a new contract." The school brought in substitutes to replace the picketing teachers. After 11 days of walkouts and negotiation including a state mediator, the teachers went back to work having won immediate 8 percent pay raises. Amador Valley teachers are unionized under the California Teachers Association and the National Education Association.

In 1989, the Amador Theater underwent a substantial renovation and expansion, at a total cost of $2 million. The project was majority funded by the City of Pleasanton, which took ownership of the theater the same year. The land under the theater remained owned by the school district.

In 1997, the city passed Measure B, which granted the school district $69 million to replace old and crowded facilities and modernize the school campus. The renovations revived one of the school's last original structures: the Amador Theater, the city's most popular performing arts facility. The measure enabled the addition of renovated science classrooms, a multipurpose room, a library and media center, and a sound-proofed music building. The parking lot and central quad were expanded, with more than 550 parking spaces in the new lot, and classrooms were equipped to be more energy efficient.

In 1999, responding to a directive from the California Superintendent of Education, the district identified character education as one of its goals. As selected by the community, six character traits (responsibility, compassion, self-discipline, honesty, respect, and integrity) were listed as "expected behaviors" for Pleasanton. In 2004, Amador Valley and the school district won national recognition (National School of Character) for its program emphasizing the Community of Character.

In 2004, a new two-story building was completed, containing twenty-four new classrooms. The following year, the Amador Valley High School Aquatic Center was remodeled and renamed after Charles "Chuck" Volonte, the school's swim coach from 1959 to 1992.

In 2016, city voters passed Measure I1, which granted $270 million to the school district to repair, modernize, and improve district facilities, as well as provide new science equipment and learning technology. This was the district's first general obligation bond passed since Measure B in 1997. As a part of these renovations, Amador Valley is planning a two-story instructional building, including "five standard classrooms, three science classrooms, two computer science labs, and two rooms specifically for special day class students." Construction started on the new science building in 2020.

In 2019, the district added solar panels to the student parking lot. The cost of $650,000, funded by Prop 39, is projected to save about $1.8 million in electricity costs over 25 years. The solar panels provide renewable electricity to the high school and create covered parking in a re-oriented lot.

Academics

Enrollment

As of the 2018–19 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,713 students and 111.87 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 24.25. There were 168 students eligible for free lunch and 34 eligible for reduced-cost lunch. The student population at Amador Valley is plurality White, with a large Asian minority and smaller Hispanic and African American minorities. The school has seen a shift in demographics between 2005 and 2017, with the white subgroup decreasing from 72% to 50% of the student body, and the Asian subgroup increasing from 14% to 35%. Eight percent of Amador Valley students are involved in special education, three percent qualify for English language learner support, and six percent qualify for free or reduced price lunch. These percentages of students in special education, English language learner support, and of socialeconomic disadvantaged status have also increased in the same time period.

Awards

President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda talk with an Amador Valley representative at the 2008 G8 Summit.

The school has been deemed a three-time California Distinguished School, a National School of Character, and a three-time National Blue Ribbon School. In 2008, a team of Amador Valley students won the national UNICEF-sponsored Junior 8 Competition. The team traveled to Toyako, Japan to attend the 2008 Group of Eight (G8) Summit of World Leaders to collaborate on solutions to world problems. Nine of Amador Valley's teachers—Mark Aubel, Tony Dennis, Debbie Emerson, Jon Grantham, Tom Hall, Debbie Harvey, Brian Ladd, Marla Silversmith, and Eric Thiel—have been recognized as a Pleasanton Unified School District teacher of the year; one of those honorees, Brian Ladd, was also designated an Alameda County teacher of the year.

Programs

A group of Amador Valley students study aquatic wildlife with Project Creek Watch at Arroyo Valle.

As of 2020, Amador Valley curriculum offered 25 Advanced Placement (AP) classes. This includes courses in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), as well as AP Language courses and their literature complements in English, French, Japanese, and Spanish. Amador Valley also offers AP courses in social sciences and visual and performing arts. 38.4 percent of Amador Valley students participate in the school's AP Program, and 94.3 percent of students receive at least one score of 3 or greater. The school's honors and Advanced Placement classes are offered under an "open-access" policy; students are encouraged to take more advanced courses if they feel like they can handle it.

The school offers specialized instruction through vocational education as part of the valley-wide Regional Occupational Program. Courses offered include business economics, marketing, sports medicine, criminal justice, digital electronics, and AP Environmental Science. Students in the business courses participate co-curricularly in DECA, competing in exams, project presentations, and case studies to prepare for careers in "marketing, finance, hospitality and management". As of 2015, over 100 Amador Valley students participate in the DECA program, making it one of the "largest in the state" according to Pleasanton Weekly. Additionally, over 50 Amador Valley teams and individuals have placed in the top-10 at DECA's International Career Development Conference (ICDC) since 2005. Business class students at Amador Valley have also been selected as one of three California high schools to pitch Got Milk? advertising campaign ideas to the California Milk Processor Board.

The Amador Valley science department initiated Project Creek Watch in 1994. The project provides students with resources for the long term study of Arroyo Valle; these resources include information about the chemistry in the creek, images of the creek, a guide to flora and fauna, and student projects on aquatic species. In 1999, the project received a Golden Bell Award for excellence in education from the California School Boards Association. In 2001, project co-founder Eric Thiel received a National Semiconductor "Internet Innovator Award" for the Project Creek Watch website.

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

The Amador Valley varsity girls' basketball team faces rival team Foothill High School.

As of 2020, the school offered 24 varsity sports teams. These sports are run under the Amador Valley Athletics Boosters and include badminton, baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, spirit squad, swimming/diving, tennis, track, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling. Athletics at Amador Valley are solely funded by parental donations and the Athletics Boosters; the school district stopped providing financial support to athletics in 2008 due to statewide cuts in funding. As of 2017, over 1,000 students participate in the school's athletic program.

Amador Valley competes in the East Bay Athletic League and California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) North Coast Section. Several school teams have won multiple North Coast Section Division I titles since 2010, including baseball/softball, cross country (girls), golf (girls), track (boys), and volleyball (boys). Additionally, the school's basketball teams were runner-ups for the CIF State Division II title in 1993 (boys) and 1999–2001 (girls). Furthermore, MaxPreps named the Amador Valley softball team its mythical national champion of 2014 following a 27–0 perfect season.

The school's athletic rival is the cross-town Foothill High School. In the '70s and '80s, before the Amador/Foothill rivalry developed, the school's athletic rival was instead Dublin High School. The rivalry culminates each year at the annual football game.

The Amador Valley Booster Club has hosted East Bay Special Olympics "basketball tournaments, track meets, and volleyball competitions" at Amador Valley since 2004. The school coordinates parent and student volunteers, donates proceeds from snack sales, and provides facilities free of charge for three Special Olympic events: basketball, track, and volleyball. In 2006, the Amador Valley Booster Club won "Volunteer Organization of the Year" from Special Olympics Northern California.

The Amador Valley varsity boys' and girls' basketball teams both host an annual eight-team basketball tournament, the Amador Basketball Classic (ABC), in the first two weeks of December. The ABC brings high school basketball players and teams from within the state and outside of the state to play in Pleasanton. Each team plays four games between Wednesday and Saturday. Taking place every year since December 1961, the ABC is the longest-running eight-team basketball championship in California. The girls ABC tournament has been held since December 1994.

Civic engagement

Students of Amador Valley "We the People" team testify in a simulated congressional hearing.

Amador Valley's main competitive civic engagement teams place a heavy emphasis on public speaking. The school participates in the Constitutional Rights Foundation's annual California Mock Trial competitions, fielding a prosecution and a defense team to "study a hypothetical case, conduct legal research, and learn about courtroom protocol and procedures." The school's Mock Trial team has won the Alameda County competition and advanced to the California Mock Trial Finals four times since 2007; the team achieved 6th place in the state competition in 2017. Team members have also received California Mock Trial Finals 1st place awards for Courtroom Artist and Courtroom Journalist.

The national We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution competition takes place each spring in Washington, D.C.. At the competition, students compete to "demonstrate their constitutional knowledge and understanding of federal government in mock congressional hearings." The Amador Valley "We the People" team was started as an advanced civics class in 1989, shortly after the national program started in 1987. The team consists of 24 seniors selected by tryout, split into 6 units which each prepare a brief presentation followed by question-and-answer sessions.

The Amador Valley "We the People" has represented the state of California at the national competition 18 times since 1992; earning the national title in 1995. Multiple present and former members of the United States Congress have congratulated the team, including Pete Stark, Ellen Tauscher, Jerry McNerney, Eric Swalwell, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senator Dianne Feinstein. The Judiciary of California, as part of its Civic Learning Initiative, awarded the Civic Learning Award of Merit to Amador Valley in 2014, in part because of the "We the People" program. The East Bay Times called Amador Valley's "We The People" team "one of the top programs in the country".

Math

The Amador Valley Math Team, as part of the Pleasanton Math League, won third place at the 2013 Stanford Math Tournament.

The Amador Valley Math Team hosts outreach events and participates in mathematics competitions. The Mathematical Association of America placed Amador Valley High School on its School Honor Roll in 2019 (one of 26 nationwide) and 2020 (one of 15 nationwide) for performance on the American Mathematics Competitions 12A series. The Math Team has ranked in the top-10 teams 7 times in the nationwide Fall Startup Event since 2012, including a 2nd place finish in 2018.

At the 2009 mathleague.org Northern California Championships, the Math Team placed second in Northern California and received an invitation to MathLeague.org's national championship in Kansas City. In 2010, the team placed 2nd in the large school division at the same championship.

The Math Team also hosts the Amador Valley Geometry Bee, modeled after the Scripps National Spelling Bee. This competition invites students from Amador Valley, Foothill High School, and the district's three middle schools to compete in timed rounds. The style of the competition consists of rounds of 10 questions each, deviating from the traditional spelling bee format.

Music

The Marching Band and Color Guard perform "Heroes, Gods, and Mythical Creatures" at the 2008 WBA Championships.

Amador Valley's music program was founded in 1928 by Harry Tripp, a native of England. Tripp, the director of bands at Amador Valley, established an orchestra and a glee club, and recruited performers for parades and numerous operettas. As of 2017, the band program has 320 students. The band has hosted the annual Campana Jazz Festival since 1975. The music festival was first organized by Jim Campana, who led the band from 1959 to 1979. Originally named the "Pleasanton Music Festival", the festival was renamed after Campana post-retirement in his honor.

Amador Valley's music program consists of five concert bands, two orchestras, two choirs, and three jazz bands. The five concert bands are Wind Ensemble I, Wind Ensemble II, Symphonic Band Purple, Symphonic Band Gold, and Concert Band. The Amador Valley Wind Ensemble has performed three times at the annual California Music Educators Association conference and twice at the annual Midwest Clinic. In 2018, the combined Amador Valley Wind Ensembles were invited to perform at Carnegie Hall. In 2020, the symphony orchestra received positive attention from Hongkongers for a virtual performance of Glory to Hong Kong as part of a concert series on "songs of protest".

The Marching Band and Color Guard compete in the Western Band Association (WBA) circuit. The band practices a competitive field show, performed at football halftime shows and competitions. The Marching Dons are classified into WBA Class AAAAA. The Amador Valley Marching Dons have received sweepstakes (highest score in combined AAAA and AAAAA classes) and first place awards and earned fourth place in 2014 at the WBA Championship. The band and colorguard have been invited multiple times to perform at the annual London New Year's Day Parade and Fiesta Bowl National Band Championship.

Robotics

An Amador Valley Robotics Team student swims with the team's AUV during the RoboSub competition at the Transducer Evaluation Center (TRANSDEC) at Naval Base Point Loma.

The Amador Valley Robotics Team, founded in 1999, is the first and only high school team to compete in the RoboSub Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) competition hosted by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI). Each year, with a minimal amount of outside technical assistance, the team develops an AUV to maneuver an underwater obstacle course.

The team first entered the competition in 2000 with its Hammerhead AUV, weighing 98 kg (220 pounds). They placed seventh in the field of twelve, as the "first high school team at the competition". At the 2001 competition, Amador Valley placed second to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with its Manta Ray AUV. The Manta Ray weighed less than 100 kg (220 pounds) and featured a modular design.

The Amador Valley Barracuda line, started in 2002, "is propelled by two laterally mounted SeaBotix thrusters controlling speed and heading and two auxiliary thrusters aligned vertically controlling pitch and depth." To guide the AUV autonomously, a pressure sensor, compass, camera, and hydrophone array return navigation input data to the software. The AUV uses a Beagle Board single-board computer that runs Angstrom Linux. In 2008, several fundamental changes were made to the Barracuda robot. The control system was reorganized and the mission control software was revamped to improve communication and to limit overhead. A low-level microcontroller-based control system was added to free up system resources. This extra processing capability will be used for mission control and image processing tasks.

In 2016, the team designed and built a new AUV, Marlin. The hull and frame were expanded and an all-new electronics and pneumatics package was developed. To allow for easier testing of separate subsystems, the software was re-written to be more modular. The added maneuverability of eight new brushless thrusters and the processing power of a desktop computer motherboard gave the team overhead for future developments and improvements.

In 2020, the team launched a new AUV, Nemo. The robot runs on a Mini-ITX motherboard with an Intel Core i7 processor, with control of the submarine handled through an Arduino. A GTX 1080 Ti GPU is connected for real-time neural network processing, to run computer vision tasks such as OpenCV underwater image enhancement. The internal electronics were re-organized to allow for easier access and service.

Notable alumni

• Craig Billmeier – 2008 World Air Guitar Champion, 2006 and 2008 US National Air Guitar Champion
• Nate Boyer – former NFL long snapper for the Seattle Seahawks; United States Army Green Beret
• Mike Burke – former NFL punter for the Los Angeles Rams
• Cary C. Chun – former commander of the United States Air Force's 50th Space Wing; Class of 1981
• Kevin Crow – former professional San Diego soccer player, manager, and coach; Class of 1978
• Rick Kane – former NFL running back for the Detroit Lions and the Washington Football Team; Class of 1973
• Paul Korver – filmmaker and actor
• Greg Kragen – former NFL nose tackle for the Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Denver Broncos
• Joel Kribel – former member of the PGA Tour, Web.com Tour and PGA Tour Canada
• Kevin Laue – former Division I Manhattan College basketball player; Class of 2009
• Janet Liang – Health advocate for ethnic minorities in the United States; Class of 2005
• Roger Joseph Manning Jr. – keyboardist, singer, and songwriter; co-founder of Jellyfish, the Moog Cookbook, and Imperial Drag
• Abby Martin – journalist and community activist; Class of 2002
• Tom Orloff – district attorney for Alameda County
• Jim Perry – American-Canadian television game show host in the 1970s and 1980s.
• Scott Peters – former NFL offensive lineman for the Arizona Cardinals
• Stephen Piscotty – Major League Baseball player for the Oakland Athletics
• Joe Plummer – drummer and author, Modest Mouse, The Shins, and currently Cold War Kids
• Donna Theodore – singer and actress, Theatre World Award and Drama Desk Award recipient for role in Shenandoah
• David Yost – actor known for his role of Billy Cranston on the television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

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Online resources

• Enrollment numbers
• Enrollment by ethnicity
• Enrollment by grade
• Amador Valley High School School Profile 2020–2021 (PDF), Amador Valley High School, retrieved November 18, 2020
• Amador Valley High School 2005–2006 School Accountability Report Card (PDF), Amador Valley High School, archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2011, retrieved July 27, 2009
• Amador Valley High School 2013–2014 School Accountability Report Card (PDF), Amador Valley High School, retrieved December 9, 2020
• Amador Valley High School 2018–2019 School Accountability Report Card (PDF), Amador Valley High School, retrieved November 12, 2020
• U.S. Department of Education: 2017 National Blue Ribbon Schools Program (PDF), 2017, retrieved December 17, 2020

External links

• Media related to Amador Valley High School at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website