Yosemite High School among state’s elite
BY DAVID RICHARDS - EDITOR@SIERRASTAR.COM

DAVID RICHARDS
Yosemite High School Principal Steve Raupp stands in front of the plaque recognizing YHS as a recipient of the California Distinguished School award.

It’s beginning to be familiar territory. On Tuesday, Yosemite High School was one of 192 public middle schools and high schools statewide to be named a California Distinguished School.

Eligibility for the selection is given only every four years and YHS received its first honor in 2001.

“I am proud of what we’ve become and what we’ve accomplished,” said Steve Raupp, YHS principal. “I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to be the principal at Yosemite High School. It really comes down to what the kids and the staff do.”

The California School Recognition Program, first created in 1985, honors schools based on a variety of criteria, including designated federal and state accountability measures associated with the No Child Left Behind Act, the Adequate Yearly Progress and the Academic Performance Index.

Elementary and secondary schools are recognized during alternate years, with this year, middle school and high schools being honored.
The state houses roughly 2,300 middle schools and high schools and only 463 of those schools scored high enough to submit an application for the California Distinguished School award.

In addition to the honor, YHS was also one of 12 schools selected for special recognition for excellence in its career technical education programs.

Raupp spent Tuesday congratulating students and staff in person.
Eligible schools began the rigorous application process last year, with a seven-member committee making campus visits as recently as last week.

Raupp said YHS scored a perfect 8 out of 8 on the Distinguished School application and a 5.5 out of 6 for the honor in technical education programs.

Students attending Yosemite High School can participate in a wide range of vocational programs, from welding to agriculture, and this school year YHS added the cadet corps and aquatics programs.
“We have managed to continue to afford students with a variety of vocational opportunities, despite what is happening across the state,” Raupp said.

Now that his school has won the award, Principal Raupp is going to Disneyland.

Officials from honored schools are invited to attend a formal awards ceremony hosted by the California Department of Education May 20 at the Disneyland Hotel.

Yosemite Joint Union High School District News