Coachella Valley High School

Coachella Valley High School is a public high school for grades 9-12. It is located in Thermal, California. The District includes grade and middle school sites to accommodate a fast-growing population of the area. The population is 90% Hispanic (excluding those from seasonal migrant laborers), and consists mainly of residents from Coachella. Many students also come from areas such as Indio and Thermal.HistoryThe high school was opened in September 1910 after 10acre of desert brush land was donated. Coachella Valley High School is the oldest public school in the Coachella Valley. It was incorporated into the Coachella Valley Unified School District in 1966 to include a high school instead of only elementary schools in nearby Coachella. A second high school, Desert Mirage High School opened in 2003 to ease overcrowding which peaked at 2,500 in the early 2000s.The school's location was decided on because it was the central point of the Coachella Valley. In 2002, social studies teacher Chauncey Veatch was honored as National Teacher of the Year.Arab mascot controversyThe school mascot, "Arabs", was named in the 1930s to honor the once large Arab colony involved in the date palm growing industry. The school took the position that the name was a "gift" to the Arab peoples for their contribution to the economy of the Coachella Valley, not as a foreign racial symbol.