Valley High School (Santa Ana, California)

Santa Ana Valley High School, also referred to as Valley High School is located at 1801 S. Greenville St. in Santa Ana, CA 92704. Valley High was built in 1959 and celebrates its 60th anniversary in the Fall of 2019.

Santa Ana Valley High School
Address
1801 S. Greenville St., Santa Ana, California, CA 92704
Information
TypeSpecial Needs
Motto"Falcon Fever Catch It!"
School districtSanta Ana Unified School District
PrincipalKatherine Berger
Teaching staff88.35 (FTE)[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment2,113 (2017–18)[1]
Student to teacher ratio23.92[1]
Color(s)Azure Blue & Sunset Gold
MascotFalcons
AccreditationWASC
YearbookTalon
WebsiteValley High School

Background

Santa Ana Valley High School was the second high school constructed for the Santa Ana Unified. Contracted to local builder Means and Ulrich in September 1958. The School first opened its door on September 14, 1959.

The original facilities were state of the art for the time, it included many amenities not present at Santa Ana High, including a modern gymnasium and cafeteria, larger athletics fields, and in 1961 one of the first electronic computers installed on a high school campus.

Valley High School has the largest auditorium in the Santa Unified School District, and possibly Orange County with a seating capacity of 1,500.

In 2006–07, the school was remodeled for the first time in its history. During this time, all students used the Godinez Fundamental High School campus, which had just been built. The nickname, 'Valley West' was first used by Lewis Bratcher to note the temporary three block westward move. This remodeling project included the construction of a brand new Olympic-size swimming pool and the installation of air conditioning in some of the classrooms.

Traditions

Valley High school is very popular for its many traditions. Valley Vaudeville directed by the choral director, Karen Bluel, has long been a Valley High tradition. In 2010, Vaudeville celebrated its 20th anniversary and several alumni were invited to come back and perform. Valley Vaudeville is currently put on by the choir classes, musical theater, along with other performers such as the Dance Team, Drama Team, Teachers and Tall Flags. The senior boys and senior girls also perform during Valley Vaudeville as it one of the last shows of the school year.

International week is another long-running tradition where several countries are observed in one week. During lunch, different ethnic foods are sold in the efforts of not only fundraising money, but also bringing awareness to other countries.


Academics

Although Valley, is one the consistently lowest performing high schools in Orange County, it has made numerous strides in the past decade. Reflected in the schools standardized test scores, college going rate, and dropout rate.

Sports

Santa Ana Valley Orange League Champs 2013–14: With both Santa Ana Valley and Magnolia sitting at 4–0 in the Orange League standings and the league championship on the line Friday, the Valley football team went into the matchup with one thing in mind: to wear out their opponent. Valley running back Alex Hernandez was the focal point for the Falcons, as he was all season. He carried the ball 44 times for 316 yards and two touchdowns, helping Valley pound its way to a league championship with a 14–7 victory at Western High. Valley finished its season 7–2–1 overall and a perfect 5–0 in Orange League play.

In 2009–10 Santa Ana Valley Football won the league in a 3-way tie and ended their season at 7–4. Santa Ana Valley's Football team beat Saddleback high schools team 50–0 and Century high schools team 69–14 both schools are rival Santa Ana schools.

The Santa Ana Valley Girls Water Polo won the Orange League title for the first time in 2009. They set a school record for most games won in a season in the water polo and had a final record of 24–8. In 2011 the Girls Water Polo team broke this record, again won the league and captured the school's first CIF Championship in any girl's sporting event. In 2012 the Girls Water Polo team successfully defended their CIF Championship becoming the first Valley sports team to win back to back CIF championships.

The Santa Ana Valley Boys Water Polo won the Orange League title and made it for the first time to semi-finals of CIF in 2010.

The Santa Ana Valley High School Cross Country Team have been champions since 2002. In 2010-2011 Valley once again proved themselves and clinched the title for all three levels Varsity, JV, and Frosh/Soph. The Santa Ana Valley High School Cross Country Team look to clinch many titles in the near future and keep this tradition of Champions alive.

At the time of its construction in 2007, Valley was the only high school in Orange County with an on campus golf center.

The 2010–11 football team had a roller coaster of a season. They started the season 4–0 and then lost to the eventual CIF-SS Champions Garden Grove High School 39–6 and to Savanna High School of Anaheim. They won a close game against Century High School 21–20, and then lost 2 out of 3 games and missed the playoffs, a first for head coach Larry Mohr. Valley went on to beat Saddleback 49–14. Noted All-CIF player Manuel Burciaga.

The 2011–12 football team won their league in a tie with Anaheim High School. Their record was 7–3 and a playoff loss to Ocean View High School of Huntington Beach, CA. The Falcons beat the Saddleback Roadrunners 49–0 and Century Centurians 52–12. First team all-league players Nick Chavez, Santa Ana Valley, Sr.; Joe Mohr, Santa Ana Valley, Jr.; Vince Aranda, Santa Ana Valley, Sr.; Alexis Martinez, Santa Ana Valley, Sr.; Daniel Nieto, Santa Ana Valley, Jr.; Richard Vargas, Santa Ana Valley, Sr.; Diego Perez, Santa Ana Valley, Sr.; Cesar Hernandez, Santa Ana Valley, Sr and the Defensive Player of the Year: James Mohr, Santa Ana Valley, Sr. Back of the Year: Alex Hernandez, Santa Ana Valley, So. All-CIF player was James Mohr


Notable alumni

References
  1. "Valley High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 22, 2019.

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