Coachella Valley High School is a public high school for grades 9–12. It is located in
Thermal, California
Thermal is an unincorporated community within the Coachella Valley in Riverside County, California, United States, located approximately southeast of Palm Springs and about north of the Salton Sea. The community's elevation is below mean sea ...
. The District includes grade and middle school sites to accommodate a fast-growing population of the area. The population is 90% Hispanic and consists mainly of residents from
Coachella Coachella may refer to:
* Coachella, California
* Coachella Canal, in California
* Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California
* "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind", a 2017 song by Lana del Rey
See also
* Coachell ...
. Many students also come from areas such as
Indio Indio may refer to:
Places
* Indio, Bovey Tracey, an historic estate in Devon, England
* Indio, California, a city in Riverside County, California, United States
People with the name
* Indio (musician), Canadian musician Gordon Peterson
* Índio ...
and
Thermal
A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...
.
History
The high school was opened in September 1910 after of desert brush land was donated. Coachella Valley High School is the oldest public school in the
Coachella Valley. It was incorporated into the
Coachella Valley Unified School District
The Coachella Valley Unified School District is a public school district in Riverside County, California, United States, with headquarters in Thermal. The District serves a area, including the cities of Coachella, Indio (southern portion) and ...
in 1973 to include a high school instead of only elementary schools in nearby Coachella. A second high school,
Desert Mirage High School opened in 2003 to ease overcrowding which peaked at 2,500 in the early 2000s.
The school's location was decided on because it was the central point of the Coachella Valley. In 2002, social studies teacher Chauncey Veatch was honored as National Teacher of the Year.
Arab mascot controversy
The school mascot, "Arabs", was named in the 1930s to honor the once large
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
colony involved in the
date palm growing industry. The school took the position that the name was a "gift" to the Arab peoples for their contribution to the economy of the Coachella Valley, not as a foreign racial symbol.
In 2002, Coachella Valley High School officials had a meeting to determine whether to rename the mascot out of concern it might produce negative
stereotypes
In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...
against Arabs and Middle Eastern people, after the September 11 terrorist attacks. They decided to keep the mascot name.
In November 2013, the
American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) states that it is "the largest Arab American grassroots civil rights organization in the United States." According to its webpage it is open to people of all backgrounds, faiths and ethnicities ...
described the mascot as an offensive stereotype, and began an online petition to get the school to change it.
In April 2014, the committee was working to keep the Arab mascot, and to develop an image that represented the fierce warrior history of the mascot in a way that would not be considered an offensive stereotypical caricature. In addition, the students and staff were working to add in an Arab History component.
In August 2014, it was reported that the school had decided to drop the original "Arabs" mascot.
On September 9, 2014, the school board voted unanimously to adopt new logo and mascot, the "Mighty Arab." The decision was made with the approval of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
Athletics
Sports teams compete in the
Desert Valley League, in which the school is will be the largest school in the league. Coachella Valley High School's main athletic competition (rival) is Indio High School.
*Cheerleading (Varsity, Jr. Varsity, & Freshman)
*Football (Varsity, Jr. Varsity, & Freshman)
*Volleyball (Varsity, Jr. Varsity, & Freshman)
*Boys Cross Country (Varsity/Jr. Varsity)
*Girls Cross Country (Varsity/Jr. Varsity)
*Boys Soccer (Varsity/Jr. Varsity)
*Girls Soccer (Varsity/ Jr. Varsity)
*Wrestling (Varsity/ Jr. Varsity)
*Swimming
*Tennis (Varsity, Jr. Varsity, & Freshman)
*Baseball (Varsity, Jr. Varsity, & Freshman)
*dance
Notable alumni
*
Jim Criner
Jim Criner (born March 30, 1940) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Boise State University from 1976 to 1982 and at Iowa State University from 1983 to 1986, compiling a career record of as a college footbal ...
– football coach
*
Eduardo Garcia - former Coachella mayor, Assemblyman
*
Benjamin Montoya - U.S. Navy rear admiral
*
Alan O'Day – singer songwriter
*
Joe Ortiz - Radio-Television Talk Show host, published author
*
Raul Ruiz - congressman
References
External links
Official website
{{authority control
Educational institutions established in 1916
High schools in Riverside County, California
Public high schools in California
1916 establishments in California
Coachella Valley