Arvada High School

Arvada High School is a public secondary school operated by Jefferson County School District R-1 in Arvada, Colorado, United States.

Arvada High School
Address
7951 W. 65th Ave. Arvada , Colorado 80004 United States
Coordinates	39°48′57″N 105°05′06″W[1]
Information
Type	Public secondary school
Established	1900 (125 years ago) (1900)
School district	Jefferson County Public Schools (Colorado)
CEEB code	60055
Principal	Caroline Frazee
Staff	40.41 (FTE)[2]
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	722 (2023-2024)[2]
Student to teacher ratio	17.87[2]
Colour(s)	Red and white
Athletics	2A[3]
Athletics conference	Jefferson County
Mascot	Bulldog
Teams	Reds
Newspaper	The Crimson Report
Yearbook	The Arvadan
Feeder schools	Arvada K-8, North Arvada Middle School
Website	www.arvadahighschool.org

Demographics

Arvada High's student body has the following racial demographics:^[4]

Race	Percentage
Hispanic	58.3%
White	31.5%
African American	3.4%
Asian	2.0%
Native American	0.9%
Pacific Islander	0.4%
Two or More Races	3.5%

History

The first high school classes in Arvada commenced in 1900 at Zephyr and Grandview. Known as the Arvada School (it was renamed Lawrence Elementary School in 1955), local high school students attended classes there until a permanent high school was built in 1920. The first Arvada High School was located at 7225 Ralston Road and served students until 1955. The building served as a junior high school until 1984 and was demolished in 1986. A new building at 5751 Balsam Street served students until 1971, when the school's current building was completed at 7951 W. 65th Avenue and the Balsam Street location became Arvada Junior High School.

In the early 1920s, the school adopted the team name "Redskins". This was challenged in 1993 as derogatory and the new name "Reds" was adopted by a 2–1 margin in voting.^[5] The school subsequently adopted a bulldog as its new mascot.^[6]

Curriculum

Since 2006, Arvada High School has been home to the district's North Area Option School, a rigorous college preparatory program. Many advanced placement classes are also available. Program classes are taught by Arvada High School instructors and 50% of the available enrollment is for Arvada High students.^{[citation needed]}

Extracurricular activities

Arvada High School fields teams in interscholastic competition in football, baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball and wrestling.

The school's percussion ensemble was the winner of the WGI World Percussion Championships in 1998).^{[citation needed]}

Notable alumni

• Tagg Bozied (1997), professional baseball player^[7]
• Joanne Conte^[8]
• Joe Decamillis (1983), American football coach, special teams coordinator (Denver Broncos)
• Cliff Olander, American football player
• Chris Sanders (1980), animator, filmmaker, voice actor, co-writer and co-director of Lilo & Stitch^[9] and How to Train Your Dragon