Central Valley High School (Ceres, California)


Central Valley High School is an American public high school for students between the 9th and 12th grade. It is a large school, with over 1,500 students. It was founded in 2004 to help alleviate the enrollment stress on cross-town Ceres High School.
Central Valley is located in Ceres, California in the Central Valley of California, and is the second high school in that city. The school curriculum is based on preparing all students for college with the graduation requirements matching the entry requirements of the University of California and California State University. The school offers 15 Advanced Placement courses with little prerequisite conditions in contrast to its cross-town rival, Ceres High School, who offers fewer AP Courses with strict prerequisites. As of 2016, the school is ranked the best high school in Stanislaus County by the U.S. News and World Report magazine for a second year in a row.

History

Central Valley High School is one of two traditional high schools in the district. Built in 2004, it is fed by two junior high schools and seven elementary schools. The ethnic trend of increased numbers of Hispanic students continues, with 72% of students being Hispanic, 18% White, 3% African-American, 1% American Indian, 5% Asian-American, 1% Pacific Islander, and 1% Filipino-American. 76% of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch, 23.0% of the students are English language learners, and 4% of the students in the school are GATE students. The school is rated as a 5 out of 10 out of all schools in California, however, in schools similar to Central Valley High, the school is rated as a 10 out of 10.

Academics

Central Valley High School has three levels of classes. The first is College Prep, the second is Honors/Advance and the third is Advanced Placement. Honors and Advanced Placement are completely voluntarily while College Prep are mandatory and the lowest level of classes available at Central Valley. The following AP classes are available at Central Valley High School: AP European History, AP US History, AP United States Government and Politics, AP Spanish Language, AP Spanish Literature, AP English Language, AP English Literature, AP Studio Art, AP Calculus AB, AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science and AP Psychology. Students have the option of taking up to six AP courses depending on their scheduling needs but they must take the AP Exam for each course.

Rankings

Central Valley High School was ranked the number one high school in Stanislaus County and the 301 best high school in the state of California by the 2015 U.S. News & World Report high school rankings.