Española Valley High School
| Española Valley High School | |
|---|---|
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| Address | |
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1111 El Lano Dr. NE Fairview/ Espanola, New Mexico 87532 United States | |
| Information | |
| School type | Public, High School |
| Motto | The mission of Española Valley High School, in partnership with our students, faculty, family, and community, is to ensure that each student is empowered with knowledge and skills necessary to meet the challenges of the future. |
| Founded | 1945-1973 (EHS)- 1975-Present (EVHS) |
| Principal | Mr. Bruce Hopmeier |
| Enrollment | 1,151 (2008) |
| • Grade 9 | 418 |
| • Grade 10 | 404 |
| • Grade 11 | 106 |
| • Grade 12 | 223 |
| Average class size | 21 |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Color(s) | Red, Gold, & Black |
| Athletics | 18 sports |
| Athletics conference | NMAA AAAA District 2 |
| Team name | Sun Devils |
| Newspaper | "Spaña Express" |
| Yearbook | "The Flame" (2000-Present) "El Diablo Del Sol" (1977-1999) |
| Website | www.k12espanola.org |
Española Valley High School (EVHS) is the public high school of the city of Española, New Mexico. It is best known for its large Hispanic population, recent academic improvements, it was known for its AAAA boys' basketball team that had 28 consecutive wins in a row making it the #1 basketball team in the state for 2008. The formidable basketball team made it to the final four in the AAAA State Championships[1]. It is also known for Edward Medina Memorial Gym, which is the state's largest high school gym, seating 4,100.
The school is located outside of Española city limits in Fairview, a smaller community in the southern part of Rio Arriba County. Española Valley High School serves the southern part of Rio Arriba County and the northern part of Santa Fe County, including Chimayo, Alcalde, Velarde, Santa Cruz, and Sombrillo. EVHS also attracts commuter students from other school districts and neighboring towns.
EVHS is near Northern New Mexico College and some students occasionally take classes to get extra credits or preparation for college. The student body is mostly made up of mostly Middle class, Upper middle class and a few low income students. EVHS was once known for its drop-out and drug abuse rates.[1] However, Today EVHS's reputation has greatly improved as the attendance rate continues to rise and the drug abuse rates have come to an end. EVHS has also raised its scores on its state assessments such as AYP,[2] SAT and ACT scores.
The "Mighty Sundevil" is Española Valley's Mascot, it was was picked by a group of seniors in 1978 that had attended the old Española High school, over the past 5 years there have been talks to change the schools mascot back to a "Hornet" because of personal and religious issues. The change never has never occurred because the students & parents were strongly against it. The Hornet was the mascot for the old Espanola high school it closed in 1974 becoming the Middle School.
EVHS History
Española Valley High School Opened to Freshmen-Seniors in September of 1977. Its Gymnasium still under construction it opened in late 1978. Prior to 1977, Española had two high schools: Santa Cruz High School (The Crusaders), and Espanola High School (The Hornets).The both schools' 1,300 students were consolidated into one large high school, Española Valley High School, The fist principal was Merce Villareal. The buildings of the former Santa Cruz High School became part of Holy Cross Catholic elementary school and the old Española High School was turned into the Española Middle School East (Prather).[3]
EVHS Traditions
Española Valley High School has many traditions that have lasted for years ever since the school first opened. Initiation has been a strong tradition at EVHS, for instance only for Homecoming week the upperclassmen such as the the Seniors and even Junior students Initiate lowerclassmen "new kids" or "fresh meat" such as freshmen and sometimes sophomores. The Initiation tradition first started in the early 1980's and still exists however, today it is not as bad due to the fact that the principal and staff members now have though punishment for those who do take part in the Initiation. Another tradition is the graduating class often paint the large city water tank on top of the hill overlooking the city, the seniors or juniors often paint their class graduation year largely and visable, for example: 07 or 08 with red paint. Thier are other secondary tradions as the Senior class will go to the top of the school hill and throw yellow paint in to the air and paint themselfs making a large "EV" overlooking the city. Juniors and Sophomores will often do the same but with red or white paint.
Student Block Schedule
Española Valley High School has returned to using block schedule. With this system a student will have have 4 classes per semester and 8 classes in 1 year. The return to the regular block schedule comes after an experiment with a modified block schedule for the 2006-2007 school year.
In the modified block schedule any particular student could have up to 8 classes in one day. Modified block scheduling allowed some classes to be "half-block" and last year-round in oppositon to a "full-block" course which would last 1 semester. The modified block was implemented because some teachers and administrators felt that some courses needed to be year long. Courses offered as half-blocks were Core Classes like Math, English, Science and other various electives including Spanish and Yearbook.
No Child Left Behind Act
EVHS's Principal Bruce Hopmeir has been a vocal proponent of President Bush's controversial No Child Left Behind Act saying "I think it's great. I feel it's the best thing that came down from the federal government. It forced down innovative practices on education. A lot of schools and districts were getting by with just the basic educational process. This forced equality across the country. It also aired out a lot of dirty laundry. Without it, teachers would still be teaching like they did in the '40s or '50s."[4]
Since 2004 EVHS has satisfied the New Mexico State Board of Education's criteria for Adequate Yearly Progress mandated by No Child Left Behind as determined by the school's performance and participation rates in the New Mexico AYP standardized test for math and reading proficiency. 76% of EVHS's participating 11th grade students had adequate proficiency in math and reading in 2006-07.
The mission of Española Valley High School, in partnership with our students, faculty, family, and community, is to ensure that each student is empowered with knowledge and skills necessary to meet the challenges of the future.
— Espanola Valley High School Mission Statement
- 1998-2003 AYP Not Met.
- 2004-2005 Makes State AYP, No other surrounding high school did so.
- 2006-2007 Makes State AYP Second Year in a row & Meets all US & NM state standards.
Statistics & Test Stats for 2007-2008 School Year
- Percent of Graduates passing the statewide AYP Testing: 76%
- Percent of Graduates at 4-year Colleges: 85.3%
- Percent of the Junior Class that Plans to attend a 4-year College: 84%
- Percent (of Students) Participating in Advanced Placement Classes: 43%
- Average ACT Scores (2006-07): 23.5 Composite (Nationwide ACT scores 2006-07: 20.9 Composite)
- EVHS is one of three schools in the state of New Mexico that only requires 23 credits to
graduate from high school. Other New Mexico High schools require 26-30. - 87.2 % of Graduating Seniors will go to a four-year college or university.
Current EVHS Graduation Requirements
| Subjects | Credits |
| English | 4 |
| Mathematics | 4 |
| Science | 3 |
| Social Studies | 3 |
| Communication Skills | 1 |
| Physical Education | 1 |
| Spanish | 2 |
| Electives | 5 |
| Total Credits | 23 |
Student Body Statistics
EVHS has nearly 1,041 Hispanic/ Latino students.
| Race | Percentile |
| Hispanic American | 92% |
| European American | 2% |
| Asian American | 1% |
| Native American | 4% |
| African American | 1% |
| Total Population | 1,151 |
| Gender | Percentile |
| Female | 51% |
| Male | 49% |
| Total Population | 1,151 |
Learning to Live,
Living to Learn
Learning to Soar!
— EVHS Chant Phrase
EVHS Student Body Clubs & Organizations
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Española Valley Athletics
EVHS competes in the NMAA New Mexico Activities Association, In AAAA District 2. [6]
EVHS has been a AAAA school since the early 80's which has taken EVHS to win four sport related state championships and about 15 activity or individual state championships. In 1989 and 2002 the school was voted by the NMAA with the "Sportsmanship Award" for the class AAAA.
EVHS has had great basketball teams over the last 8 years. Winning distrtrict 2AAAA championships in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008. This year the school made it to the semifinals and took third place in state after losing to Albuquerque Academy by one point in overtime.
At the 2008 State Boys Basketball game the Española Valley Sundevil fans broke the sound barrier at "The Pit" (University Arena) in Albuquerque. Making it the loudest State Boys basketball game in the history of the NMAA and The Pit Arena. The decibel level was recorded at 120. 13,350 Fans from the Española Valley attended the game, it was also the biggest turn out in NMAA Boys' Basketball History.
The Boys' Basketball also set a EVHS record for 28 Consecutive wins and was also ranked the #1 in the state.
In 2008 Mike Torrrez set the high school state record for the most points scored in a game (Avg. 32 points).
| State Championships | Class | Year: |
|---|---|---|
| Cheerleading/Spirit 1A-5A Co-Ed | 4A | 1995 |
| Girls' Cross Country | 4A | 1992 |
| State Runner-Up Champions | Class | Year: |
|---|---|---|
| Cheerleading/Spirit | 4A | 2007 |
| Volleyball [7] | 4A | 2006 |
| Cheerleading/Spirit | 4A | 2004 |
| Cheerleading/Spirit | 4A | 1997 |
| Cheerleading/Spirit | 4A | 1996 |
| Girls' Cross Country | 4A | 1996 |
| Boys' Cross Country | 4A | 1995 |
| Cheerleading/Spirit | 4A | 1994 |
| Cheerleading/Spirit | 4A | 1993 |
| Girls' Cross Country | 4A | 1993 |
| State 3rd Place Champions | Class | Year: |
|---|---|---|
| Boys' Basketball | 4A | 2008 |
| Girls' Cross Country | 4A | 1995 |
| Girls' Cross Country | 4A | 1994 |
| Girls' Cross Country | 4A | 1991 |
| Boys' Cross Country | 4A | 1990 |
| Boys' Cross Country | 4A | 1989 |
| Boys' Cross Country | 4A | 1988 |
| EVHS Athletic Districts | Year: |
|---|---|
| 1AAA | 1975-1981 |
| 1AAAA | 1982-1995 |
| 2AAAA | 1995- Present-Day |
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EVHS Girls X-Country Varsity Team 2007
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EVHS Boys X-Country Varsity Team 2007
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EVHS Girls Volleyball Varsity Team 2007
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EVHS Football Varsity Team 2007
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Rival Schools
| AAAA Rival School | City | Rival School Since: |
|---|---|---|
| Los Alamos High School | Los Alamos, NM | 1984- Present-Day |
| Taos High School | Taos, NM | 1975- 1985 |
| AAA Rival School | City | Rival School Since: |
| Pojoaque High School | Jacoma, NM | 1990's- Present-Day |
Sister Schools
| School | City | Sister School Since: |
|---|---|---|
| McCurdy High School | Española, NM | 1978- Present-Day |
| St. Michael's High School | Santa Fe, NM | 1989- Present-Day |
References
- ^ "Female Boxer Offers Hope to a New Mexico Town Short of Heroes". New York Times. 18 January 2006. Retrieved 2008-03-17.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Espanola Makes AYP/District Reportcard" (PDF). NMPED. 22 July 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Brief History of the Española Public School. Española Public School District. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
- ^ "Principal Aims to Make Espanola a Top New Mexico School". Santa Fe New Mexican. 19 October 2007.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Espanola Was a hard hitter for the Supercomputing Challenge for over 5 years in a row". LANL. 1990-1996. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "NMAA Source". NMAA. April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Runner-Up Bracket Source" (PDF). NMAA. November 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
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