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Española Valley High School

Coordinates: 36°00′27″N 106°02′20″W / 36.0074°N 106.0390°W / 36.0074; -106.0390
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Española Valley High School
Main entrance of EVHS
Address
Map
1111 El Llano Road

,
87532

United States
Coordinates36°00′27″N 106°02′20″W / 36.0074°N 106.0390°W / 36.0074; -106.0390
Information
School typePublic, high school
Founded1920 (1920), 1975 (1975)
PrincipalKelly Miller
Staff42.66 (on an FTE basis)[1]
Enrollment869 (2022–2023)[1]
Student to teacher ratio20.37[1]
Color(s)  Torch red and   gold
MascotSundevil
NewspaperSundevil Torch
YearbookEl Diablo del Sol
Websiteespanolaespanolavalley.ss9.sharpschool.com

Española Valley High School (EVHS) is a Title-1 public senior high school of the Española Public Schools District, located in Española, New Mexico.[2][3] Nearly 97% of the student body is made up of minority enrollment.[4]

The school's athletic teams are referred to as the Sundevils, which is also the school's mascot.[5]

History

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Española was founded with the arrival of the railroad in 1880, which spurred population growth in the region. Private education existed until 1905, when the demand for public schooling led to the establishment of two high schools. Santa Cruz High School, located just outside of Española, opened in 1908, while Española High School was founded in downtown Española in 1920. The schools were situated on opposite sides of the Rio Grande River.

Although the schools were operated by separate districts, administrators recognized the benefits of merging them to reduce costs and resolve a longstanding rivalry. Construction of Española Valley High School began shortly thereafter, with the new campus located on El Llano Mesa on the eastern side of Española. The school opened its doors in the fall of 1975, initially serving grades 10 through 12 with over 950 students. The first graduating class was in 1976, and Merce Villarreal served as the first principal.[6]

During the construction of the new campus, sporting events were held at the old Española High School due to budget constraints. In 1979, the new sports complex was completed at the EVHS campus, including the large gymnasium now known as Edward Medina Gymnasium. This gymnasium remains the largest high school gymnasium in New Mexico.[7]

Service area

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In addition to Española, it serves:

Academics

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At Espanola Valley High School, Advanced Placement (AP) courses are offered at EVHS in almost every subject.[10] There are over 27 elective classes offered to students including concurrent enrollment at Northern New Mexico College.[11]

Since 2011, a student is required 24 credit hours to graduate.

Torch award

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EVHS Students who have earned a 3.5 GPA yearly and involved in extracurricular activities (including athletics), are awarded the Torch Award. The award is the most honorary award of its kind at EVHS. It was created by then Principal Bruce Hopmeier in 2005.[12]

Administration and student body

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Principals

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Student statistics

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Ethnicity This school State average
White (not hispanic) 2.8% 29%
Hispanic (of any race) 85.7% 56%
American Indian/Alaskan Native 8.7% 11%
African American 0.7% 3%
Asian 1.5% 1%

Extracurricular activities

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Athletics program

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Edward Medina gymnasium; the largest high school basketball facility in the state of New Mexico.[7]
2010 State Basketball Championship game, #2 Española vs. #1 Roswell, in front of a sold-out crowd at The Pit.

Española Valley High School competes in the New Mexico Activities Association and is classified as a 4A school in District 2, alongside Moriarty High School, Los Alamos High School, and Taos High School.[13]

The school has won six state championships in various sports and produced 13 individual state champions. In 2007, Española Valley set a New Mexico high school record with 10 graduating seniors receiving major NCAA scholarships.[14][15] Additionally, the school was honored with the Sportsmanship Award by the NMAA in both 1989 and 2002.

Boys basketball

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The Sundevils captured the state title in the 2011 season as the #2 seed, defeating Goddard High School (55–52).[16]

In 2016, EVHS won its second basketball title, defeating then rival Capital High School (36–34) as the #4 seed.[17]

The Sundevils have appeared in the State Final Four in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015 and 2016 seasons, and appeared in the Championship Game in 2010, 2011, and 2016 seasons.

Rivalries

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EVHS has maintained a rivalry with Los Alamos High School[18] in most competitive sports since opening. Other rivals included Capital High School for basketball during its time in 4A.[19]

State championships

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NMAA State Championships[20][21][22]
Season Sport Number Champions
Fall Cross Country, Girls 1 1992
Winter Basketball, Boys 2 2016, 2011
Spirit/Cheer 1 1995
Bowling, Boys 1 2022
Spring JROTC, Team 1 2023
Total 6

Music program

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Band

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Memorabilia from the 1984 Tournament of Roses parade hang in the EVHS entry area

Española Valley High School's band, Sound of Northern New Mexico, under the direction of Robert Felix, gained national recognition. Throughout the 1980s, the band participated in numerous competitions, including several college bowl games.[23][24] In 1984, the band received an invitation from the Tournament of Roses Committee to perform in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, marking a historic first for the event.[25] EVHS is one of only four schools in New Mexico to have participated and marched in the Rose Parade.[26]

Mariachi

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In the late 1990s, the marching band at Española Valley High School was discontinued. In response, music teacher Alfonso Trujillo established a small mariachi band as an elective class. The group, Mariachi Sol del Valle, performed at local events for several years. In 2008, the band performed at a campaign rally for presidential candidate Barack Obama in Española.[27] Several months later, the school's band received an invitation to participate in the 2009 presidential inaugural parade in Washington, D.C., selected from over 1,400 schools nationwide.[28][29][30]

Student organizations

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EVHS offers more than 45 clubs, organizations and extracurricular activities. Among the most notable are the Supercomputing Challenge,[31] the Television Production program,[32] M.E.S.A, the Sundevil Torch (the school's official student-run newspaper),[33] El Diablo del Sol (the school yearbook), the Student School Improvement Team, and the Student Council.

Student Council

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The EVHS Student Council is an active member of the New Mexico Association of Student Councils (NMASC) and participates in their annual state conferences.

In both the 2013–14 and 2015–16 school years, EVHS students were elected as State President. Additionally, an EVHS student served as State Secretary for the NMASC from 2011–12 school year.[34] In the fall of 2011, the EVHS Student Council was selected to host the NMASC annual conference, and in 2014, it hosted the NMASC State Conference, where the school was honored with the Gold Council Award.[35]

Notable alumni

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "ESPANOLA VALLEY HIGH". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  2. ^ Espanola Valley, title 1 school. Espanola Valley High a title 1 school.
  3. ^ "District". Espanola.schooldesk.net. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  4. ^ https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/new-mexico/districts/espanola-public-schools/espanola-valley-high-school-12923#:~:text=Espanola%20Valley%20High%20School%20is,of%20students%20are%20economically%20disadvantaged. [bare URL]
  5. ^ "Espanola Valley High School (NM) Varsity Football".
  6. ^ Brief History of EVHS Archived August 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Española Public School District. Retrieved on February 28, 2008.
  7. ^ a b Espanola Valley Basketball facility Archived July 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Española Public School District. Retrieved on February 28, 2008.
  8. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Rio Arriba County, NM" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  9. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Santa Fe County, NM" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  10. ^ "Counseling". Espanola2.evhs.schooldesk.net. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  11. ^ [1] Archived March 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ "EVHS Student Handbook 2012-2013" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 26, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  13. ^ "Member Schools: Espanola Valley High School". NMAA. Archived from the original on December 18, 2008. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
  14. ^ Volleyball players to play in college. Albuquerque Journal.
  15. ^ Butler, Eric (October 30, 2007). "ABQjournal Preps: PREP VOLLEYBALL Teams Not Missing a Beat". Abqjournal.com. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  16. ^ "ABQJournal Sports » Class 4A Boys: Espanola Valley Wins First Blue Trophy". Abqjournal.com. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  17. ^ Mexican, James BarronThe New (March 12, 2016). "Española Valley holds off Capital to win 5A state championship". Santa Fe New Mexican.
  18. ^ "Boys basketball: LA to take on its arch-rival tonight in big 2AAAA game". Los Alamos Monitor. LA Monitor. January 25, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
  19. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20110707075948/http://www.abqjournal.com/abqnews/northsanta-fe/26565-vince-kong.html. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved March 17, 2011. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ^ Espanola wins basketball state. Santa Fe New Mexican.
  21. ^ "New Mexico Girls State Cross Country Champions" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 28, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  22. ^ Espanola state runners up titles Archived July 21, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. New Mexico Activities Association
  23. ^ Espanola's national band. Newspaper Archives/Santa Fe New Mexican
  24. ^ Popular Espanola Marching Band. Newspaper Archive/Santa Fe New Mexican
  25. ^ "Santa Fe New Mexican, Tuesday, January 03, 1984 : Front Page". Newspaperarchive.com. January 3, 1984. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  26. ^ List of Tournament of Roses parade schools. Lakota west bands, list of attendees
  27. ^ EVHS Mariachi Band plays for presidential candidate. Santa Fe New Mexican.
  28. ^ Espanola Band Plays for Obama Archived July 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. KOAT 7 News.
  29. ^ EVHS Mariachi Band to March in Parade Archived December 7, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Santa Fe New Mexican.
  30. ^ Espanola Band plays for candidate Obama. Archived February 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Congressman Ben R. Lujan.
  31. ^ "New Mexico High School Supercomputing Challenge 1990 - 1996 - Six Years of Making a Difference to Students, Teachers, Schools, and Communities". Challenge.nm.org. September 21, 1995. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  32. ^ https://www.riograndesun.com/video-class-recognized/article_c79f0c53-384a-55f5-adef-0461e8b42857.html
  33. ^ "Source for Sundevils - The Santa Fe New Mexican". Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  34. ^ "(untitled)". Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  35. ^ "New Mexico Association of Student Councils - About NMASC". Nmasc.org. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  36. ^ https://ballotpedia.org/T._Glenn_Ellington
  37. ^ https://www.santafenewmexican.com/life/features/district-judge-has-reputation-for-doing-right-thing-albeit-on-own-terms/article_075196fb-d6aa-5e62-9be8-af98a0e3bbee.html
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