Arvin High School


Arvin High School is located in Arvin, Kern County, California, USA and is part of the Kern High School District.
Arvin High School was established in 1949, and is located in the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley. Arvin High serves approximately 2,458 students in grades 9-12. The school is composed of three agriculturally based communities: Arvin, Lamont and Weedpatch. The nearest colleges are: California State University, Bakersfield, located 18 miles from the high school and Bakersfield Community College located 17 miles away.
Arvin High School has 115 classroom teachers, two directors, two program coordinators, five administrators, six counselors and 115 support personnel. The school is one of eighteen comprehensive, four-year high schools in the Kern High School District.
The school principal is Carlos Sardo; the assistant principal of instruction is Ed Watts; the assistant principal of administration is Robert Moore; the dean of students is Mary Alice Finn; the dean of instruction is Michael Akey.

Schedule

AHS switched to the A/B block schedule during the 2006-2007 year in which students attend periods 1, 3, and 5 on one day and then 2, 4, and 6 on the next day Monday through Friday. The A/B block schedule has added nearly 6,500 instructional minutes per year to the regular instructional calendar by decreasing passing periods and without adding more or longer days. Each class period is 120 minutes in duration; instruction and leadership is centered on meeting the needs of the individual student and place greater emphasis an test scores, it's founded on professional collaboration.

History

Arvin High School was opened in 1949. Many of the original students came to the Arvin, California area during the Dust Bowl era as depicted in the book The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
The first Arvin High graduating class was in 1952.

Awards and recognition

Arvin High School achieved California Distinguished School status in 1994.
Since 2009, Arvin High has been named overall winner of the 20th Congressional District "" competition.
In 2011 Arvin High School's manufacturing program was honored as "program of the year" for the state of California.
For the 2012-2013 school year, Arvin High School's "" participated in the national competition; winning the 'Best Western States Team.'
The Winter Guard program won the PPAACC "AAA" Championships in 2012 and the SJVCGPR "A Bronze" Championships in 2013.

Alma mater

To thy honor, to thy fame

Alma Mater fair,

We stand and with united hearts,

To thee we send our prayers.

That the Red and White shall be

Now and for Eternity,

The flag of Right and Purity

Of Arvin High, our ARVIN HIGH!!!!
"RAWR"

Athletics

AHS is a member of the South Sequoia League of the CIF Central Section.

Frank Barle Stadium

In 1980 the stadium was named after retired 31-year AHS athletic director Frank John Barle by the Kern High School District. This was the first time that a stadium, field, or building was named after a living recipient. Mr. Barle was also a member of the 1934 and 1935 University of Minnesota Golden Gophers college football national championship teams.

Football

Volleyball

Crimson Bear Brigade

The school band became known as the Arvin High Crimson Bear Brigade in 1979. The Crimson Bear Brigade performed at the opening ceremonies for the baseball portion of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
The Crimson Bear Brigade was under the direction of Kevin J. Brady from 2012-2013. The Crimson Bear Brigade also features the current undefeated AAA Championship Winterguard under the direction of Mr. Eric Alvarez and award-winning Winter Percussion under the direction of Mr. Gus Villegas with the help of Lezlie Telan and Karina Garcia.
The Crimson Bear Brigade won numerous awards for the 2012 marching season, including 1st Place AA Marching Band at the Stockdale Band Spectacular, 2nd in Percussion, and 1st in Colorguard.
The Winterguard program received the title of Champions for the 2013 season at the SJVCGPR for A Class Bronze on Saturday April 7, 2013. They won the Bronze for PPAACC 2013 AA.
The Brigade is now under the direction of AHS alumnus Charlie Vasquez, who graduated from CSUB.

Student body

Enrollment as of 2011: 2458

Notable alumni

Scenes from the movie Cavegirl were shot on the Arvin High School campus.
Below Arvin High School is a large Cold War bomb shelter constructed in the early 1950s. At the time it was the largest bomb shelter in California, equipped with an operating room, 60-bed hospital and a shooting range. The shelter extends under each of the many wings of the school, gymnasium, and auditorium. Former mechanical drawing teacher Audie Watts was the Civil Defense Coordinator for the area and was in charge of the shelter.
The school boasts a very good JROTC program that once went to Raiders Stadium. They also defended the school in December of 2017 during a school lockdown against an unknown assailant.