Ralston Valley High School

Ralston Valley High School (RVHS or RV) is a public high school in Arvada, Colorado, United States. Since it opened for the 2000 school year, its enrollment has grown to around 1800+ students. Area rivalries include Standley Lake High School, Pomona High School and Arvada West High School.

Ralston Valley Senior High School
Location
13355 West 80th Avenue
Arvada, Colorado

United States
Coordinates39°50′34″N 105°09′02″W
Information
TypePublic secondary school
MottoChallenge yourself to be a person others admire.
Established2000
School districtJefferson County Public Schools
PrincipalMica Buenning
Staff129[1]
Faculty91.35 (FTE)[2]
Grades9-12
Enrollment1,823 (2018-19)[2]
Student to teacher ratio19.96[2]
Campus size54 acres (220,000 m2)
Color(s)Navy blue, Carolina blue and silver    
Athletics5A
Athletics conferenceJefferson County League
MascotMustang
RivalsPomona High School, Arvada West High School
Information303-982-5600
WebsiteRalston Valley High School

Ralston Valley is a comprehensive, four-year high school located in Arvada, a northwest suburb of Denver. Opened in 2000, it has established a solid reputation, Offering a full complement of courses, with complete Honors and Advanced Placement programs, Ralston Valley has earned the highest rating (Excellent) given by the Colorado Dept. of Education. The school also features outstanding athletic and activity programs, with numerous state championships, award-winning bands, choirs, drama groups, along with art and student publication groups.[3]

  • Ralston Valley High School is an eight-time recipient of an "Excellent" rating by the Colorado Department of Education.
  • RVHS has highly successful, comprehensive academic, activity, and athletic programs.
  • RVHS enjoys a positive school climate with veteran teachers and minimal behavior or discipline issues.

Tradition of excellence

School motto: "Challenge yourself to be a person others admire."

RVHS opened in the fall of 2000. With the exception of a few years when the award program was discontinued, RVHS has received the Colorado Department of Education's John Irwin School of Excellence Award yearly since 2005 and proudly received the award again for the 2013 school year. This award recognizes public schools that have demonstrated the highest achievement on statewide assessments, and is given to the top 8 percent of public schools in the state based on student achievement.

History
School exterior

The 24th high school built in Jefferson County Public Schools, Ralston Valley's opening relieved Arvada West High School, which was serving so many students in 1999 it was on a split schedule. Groundbreaking occurred in March 1999 and the school opened in the fall of 2000.[4]

The mascot of Ralston Valley is the Mustang. It was selected based on votes from local elementary and middle school students in Jefferson County who would be attending RVHS. The mascot is significant to the location of the school, which is located on land that was formerly a ranch that raised and bred horses. Part of this ranch still exists across the street from the southern edge of campus.

College prep high school

Due to the high percentage of RVHS students who plan to go to college, college preparation is the focus in all RVHS classes. High academic standards are in place for all courses. RVHS offers an honors strand of courses for freshmen and sophomores, and numerous Advanced Placement courses. Students may opt to pursue an Honors Diploma as well. Upon graduation, 88.5% of RHVS students plan to attend college (district average = 74%).

RVHS's average composite ACT score is 22.4 (district = 20.4; state = 19.4).

Campus

The school building, situated on a 54-acre (220,000 m2) site in northwest Arvada, was designed by LKA Partners and won a Merit Award in 2002 from the Colorado chapter of the American Institute of Architects.[5]

In March 2007, the school finished additional construction for expansion. This consisted of the addition of 47,700 sq ft (4,430 m2) of classroom and science labs to the east side of the building as well as 45,700 sq ft (4,250 m2) of classroom and more science labs to the south side.[6] This renovation closed off the lower level in a full square to connect the science, math and (new) foreign language halls. Previously, the science and math halls were only connected in a horseshoe shape. The Ralston Valley High School addition and remodel includes 170,000 square feet of new construction and 42,000 square feet of remodeling. The project entailed demolition of the existing academic and administration areas and the redevelopment of the site. The new facility has 44 general classrooms, 12 science classrooms, library, media area, auxiliary gym, administration area, kitchen and commons. The remodeling included locker rooms and art department. The 28.5-acre site offers soccer, softball and multi-use fields.

Further renovations included the addition of 10,443-square-foot (970.2 m2) resulting in an auxiliary gym with a bleacher mezzanine, weight room and expanded athletic locker rooms. RVHS is one of only a few high schools to have the Millikan oil-drop experiment equipment along with the equipment for finding the mass of an electron.

Additional improvements:

  • Darkroom
  • Orchestra pit in the auditorium
  • Computer lab
  • Expanded student commons
  • New athletic practice field
  • Publications lab
  • SmartBoards in nearly every classroom
  • Expanded student, staff and visitor parking
  • Expanded bus drop-off and pick-up points

Construction began in December 2005, was completed in September 2007, and cost $29.5 million.

Students and faculty

Ralston Valley has a veteran teaching staff who average over 12 years of experience in education. In addition, 69% of the faculty have a master's degree in education and/or a particular subject area.

The student-teacher ratio is 22.6 to 1.[1][7]

Administration
  • Principal: Mica Buenning (2018-)
  • Assistant Principal & Athletic Director: Jim Hynes
  • Assistant Principal 12th Grade:Mark Litzau
  • Assistant Principal 11th Grade:Jon Fore
  • Assistant Principal 10th Grade:Stephanie Neville
  • Assistant Principal 9th Grade:Tony Pergola

Former principals:

  • Jon Donaldson (2000-2004)
  • Jim Ellis (2004-2014)
  • Gavan Goodrich (2014-2018)

Extracurricular activities and classes

School publications
The Review's Logo
  • The Review magazine (2013-): The Review is the student publication of Ralston Valley High School, which caters to students, parents, teachers and staff and other members of the RV and Arvada communities. It is published quarterly and features relevant articles, sports photography, and school news. The magazine can be found on Twitter under the username @TheReviewRVHS[8] or at www.rvhsreview.org.[9]
  • The Stampede yearbook (2000-): yearly published student produced yearbook
  • Former student newspaper: The Ralston Valley [e]Xpress (2000-2013)

Athletics
Ralston Valley vs. area rival, Arvada West
RV's hockey team hoists up the state championship trophy in 2013.
The basketball court named after Lisa Nelson, who died in 2013 after fighting cancer.

Ralston Valley has won nine state championship titles in softball, boys' basketball, baseball, swimming & diving, coed cheerleading, and poms. The Mustangs have won 74 Jeffco league championships in 13 different sports. The school has received the Steinmark Award competing in the Jeffco league. The Steinmark is awarded to the school with the top overall athletic performance in the league. Ralston Valley seniors have received athletic scholarships at Division I and II NCAA schools, along with nearly every US service academy.

Ralston Valley fields teams in baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross county, football. golf, ice hockey, girls' lacrosse, poms, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling in interscholastic competition.

Ralston Valley initially competed in Class 4A Athletics in every sport except football. Football initially competed in 3A in its first two seasons, before moving up a classification to 4A. The school has since moved to Class 5A (the highest level in Colorado) as of fall 2009 in all athletics.

State championships won by the school include:[10]

  • Boys' basketball: 2003 (4A)
  • Coed cheerleading: 2003 (4A), 2006 (4A/5A)
  • Poms: 2004 (4A)
  • Baseball: 2008 (4A)
  • Softball: 2002, 2008 (4A)
  • Girls' swimming: 2007, 2008, 2009 (5A)[11]
  • Boys' golf: 2008 (5A)
  • Hockey: 2013, 2014 (5A); 2014: undefeated season, 23-0

The basketball court is named in honor of Lisa Nelson (coach and teacher) and the gym is named in gratitude after Jim Hynes (former athletic director and assistant principal).

Music

The Ralston Valley Music Department is a music program in Jefferson County, under the direction of two veteran directors with more than 50 years of experience. Each year, many RV students are selected to All-County and All-State Ensembles, including Choir, Orchestra, Band, and Jazz Ensemble. Performing ensembles have traveled out of state to perform in festivals at locations including Orlando, Florida, Las Vegas, Nevada, and London to perform in the New Year's Day Parade and Music Festival.

Ralston Valley hosts the Mile High Jazz Festival.

The String Orchestra program is one of the largest in the county and the Chamber Orchestra has been selected to perform at the Colorado Music Educator's State Convention. Ralston Valley's top choir, Shades of Blue, was the only Colorado choir selected to perform in New York City in May 2005 to honor the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII.

The Ralston Valley Marching Band placed first in the 2013 and 2014 Arvada Harvest Festival.

Student government

Events such as school dances are the more obvious student government projects, but that is only a small part of what student government does. Members of student government are assigned to different committees throughout the year, pertaining to a range of categories that help the school or community. Each class is responsible for putting on a community service project such as the Lisa Nelson Memorial 5K run/walk.

Student government members have the opportunity to improve their own individual skills at a state or nationwide leadership camps including CHSAA State Leadership Camp, CHSAA Fall Conference, and Economics for Leaders. They also share their leadership skills with each other through student-led class activities and a weekend leadership retreat.

Student organizations

Ralston Valley offers a variety of clubs and organizations, including:

  • Anime Club
  • Art Club
  • Book Club
  • Bowling Club
  • Broadcast Club
  • Cheerleading
  • Computer Science Club
  • Drama Club
  • Family, Career and Community Leaders of America
  • French Club
  • Gay Straight Alliance
  • Ice Skating
  • Instrumental Music
  • Kendama Club
  • Mountain Bike Team
  • Multi-Cultural Alliance
  • Rachel’s Challenge/Chain Links
  • Rugby Appreciation
  • Science Bowl Club
  • Spanish Club
  • Technical Student Association
  • Teens for Oceans
  • One World Club

Honor societies and organizations

Notable alumni

References
  1. "School Accountability Report" (PDF). 2008-10-20. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
  2. "RALSTON VALLEY SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  3. http://www.jeffcopublicschools.org/schools/profiles/?school_id=124
  4. Bingham, Janet (1999-02-26). "District makes start on Legacy". Denver Post : pp. B-02.
  5. AIA Colorado South - Awards.
  6. Ralston Valley High School Construction Overview.
  7. Ralston Valley High School - Demographics. Jeffco Public Schools.
  8. The Review Twitter page https://twitter.com/TheReviewRVHS
  9. http://rvhsreview.org/
  10. State Team Champions Archived 2008-12-30 at the Wayback Machine. Colorado High School Activities Association.
  11. Colorado Swim Title 9News KUSA.
  12. Tomasson, Chris (2007-03-16). "Tomasson: Nelson wouldn't mind being wrong". Rocky Mountain News.
  14. Key Communiqué. Jefferson County Public Schools. February 13, 2007.
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