Española Valley High School

History

Española was founded with the introduction of the railroads in 1880; with the railroads came an influx in population, private education existed until 1905, when the county saw a demand for public education. Two high schools opened, Santa Cruz High School just right out outside of Española in 1908, and Española High School opened in downtown in 1920. The schools were located on opposite sides of the Rio Grande.

Although both schools were operated by the same school district, administrators believed merger of schools was cost effective and the best decision for the town. Months later construction of EVHS school began, the location for the new school was on the El Llano mesa, on Española's east side. Doors opened to 10–12th graders in the fall semester of 1975 to over 950 students. The first graduating class was 1976, Merce Villareal was the first principal.

While the new campus was under construction sporting events remained at the old Española High School due to a of a lack of funds. In 1979 a new sports complex was finally complete at the new high school campus along with the gymnasium, known today as Edward Medina Gymnasium.

Academics

At Espanola Valley High School, Advanced Placement (AP) courses are offered at EVHS in almost every subject. There are over 27 elective classes offered to students including concurrent enrollment at Northern New Mexico College.

Students of EVHS are on an individualized four–year otherwise known as the "Next–Step plan" due to standards-based curriculum set up by the district and state. Since 2011, a student is required 24 credit hours to graduate from EVHS, previously only 23 were needed.

Torch award

EVHS Students who have earned a 3.5 GPA yearly and involved in extracurricular activities (including athletics), can apply and are considered for the award. The Torch award is the most prestigious honorary award of its kind at EVHS. The award was created by former principal Bruce Hopmeier in 2005.

NMPED state assessment

The New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) replaced the "No Child Left Behind Act" and AYP testing with a new school grading formula, which took effect for the 2010–11 school year. The grade is calculated using many forms of testing, and includes graduation rates.

Student statistics

The student body at EVHS is mostly made up of mostly middle class and lower class students, there are a few upper middle class students enrolled, although Rio Arriba County has a median income that is significantly lower than the national average. Over 15% of students at EVHS are considered economically disadvantaged and receive free or reduced lunches.

Athletics program

Española Valley High School competes in the New Mexico Activities Association, they are classified as a 5A school in District 2 along with: Bernalillo High School, Capital High School, Del Norte High School and Los Alamos High School.

Throughout its history, Espanola Valley competed in 4A (until early 2014), capturing three state championships in various sports, and eleven individual state champions. Many graduates have gone to participate in NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III athletics. In 2007, the school set a New Mexico High School record for major NCAA scholarships for 8 graduating seniors. In 1989 and 2002 the school was voted by the NMAA with the "Sportsmanship Award".

Boys basketball

Since 2006, EVHS has competed in the post–season state tournaments. The program has been coached by Richard Martinez since 2004. The team made its first state tournament in the 2006 season, quarterfinals in 2007, semi-finals in 2008, and 2009. In the 2010 season the Sundevils made it to the state finals, losing to Roswell High School (63–60) at University Arena. After five years of appearances in the tournament the Sundevils captured the state title in the 2011 season as the #2 seed, defeating Goddard High School (55–52) with the leadership of senior Rodney Coles. Their record was 22–9.

Rivalries

EVHS has maintained a rivalry with Los Alamos High School in most competitive sports since opening. Other rivals include: Santa Fe High School.

Band

Española Valley High's Band "Sound of Northern New Mexico", led by Robert Felix, was nationally renowned. Throughout the 1980s the band attended many competitions, including many college bowl games. In 1984, the Band attended the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, the band was sent an invitation from the committee, a first for the parade. EVHS is only 1 out of 4 schools in New Mexico to attend and march in the Rose Parade.

Mariachi

In the late 1990s there no longer was a marching band at Española Valley. Music teacher Alfonso Trujillo started a small mariachi band as an elective class. The group was named "Mariachi Sol del Valle" and performed for local events for several years. In 2008 when Presidential candidate Barack Obama stopped in Espanola for a campaign rally the band performed in the event. Months later the schools band received an invitation from out of 1,400 schools throughout the country to be a participant in the 2009 Presidential inaugural parade in Washington, D.C.

Student organizations

There are over 45 clubs, organizations and extracurricular activities at EVHS, Most notable are the Supercomputing Challenge which has received many awards from state competitions, M.E.S.A, "The Sundevil Torch", the school's official student run newspaper, Student School Improvement team, and the Student Council.

Student Council

The EVHS Student Council is a member of the New Mexico Association of Student Councils (NMASC), it attends their state conferences every year.

During the 2013-14 school year, an EVHS student was elected as the State President, becoming the first ever elected state officer from the school. Previously, the student served as State Secretary from 2011–12, thus becoming the first state student council officer to be from EVHS. In the fall of 2011, the EVHS Student Council was selected to be the host school for the annual conference and hosted the 2014 NMASC State Conference.

Awards

The EVHS Student Council has recently received distinguished awards from the NMASC:

Notable alumni