Diamond Ranch High School

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Location
Diamond Ranch High School
Phillips Ranch, California, United States
Information
Principal	Monica Principe
Students	1,888 (2001)
Type	Public
Grades	9–12
Mascot	Panthers
Established	1997
Homepage	http://www.pusd.org/education/dept/dept.php?cms_mode=view&sectiondetailid=1206/

Diamond Ranch High School (or DRHS) is a high school (secondary school) operated by the Pomona Unified School District (PUSD) in California, USA, located on the hills where Diamond Bar and Phillips Ranch (a community located in the southwestern portion of the city limits of Pomona) meet. In 2003, Diamond Ranch was named as a California Distinguished School by the California Department of Education. In April 2007, it was named a California Distinguished School for the second time.

1 Architecture
2 Academic performance
3 Athletic Performance
4 Timeline
5 Gallery
6 Movie appearances
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Architecture

The school received popularity from its appearances in movies such as The Cell, Orange County, Serenity and Live Free or Die Hard . The school's unique architectural design was recognized in the book Morphosis/Diamond Ranch High School by Jeffrey Kipnis and Todd Gannon. The architectural interest of the school is attributed to odd property formation and the necessity for funds to be spent on construction, as outlined in claims for the high 62.3 million grant. Controversy on high architectural costs were raised, as PUSD typically utilized portable mobile units rather than actual constructed buildings for their low costs. If full funds were not used, the district risked losing portions of the grant.

[edit] Academic performance

The construction of Diamond Ranch High School was originally controversial because of the inequities in the rest of the school district. Diamond Ranch's Academic Performance Index scores are substantially higher than at the other high schools in the PUSD. The construction of Diamond Ranch permitted the district to stop busing students to Ganesha High School, in the western part of Pomona. As a compromise, the district allows any other interested student within the district to transfer to Diamond Ranch on a space-available basis, and operates a lottery that reserves spaces for Garey High School students to go to Diamond Ranch.

Diamond Ranch has a remarkable history of academic success and has been recognized as a California Distinguished School for 2003 and 2007.

[edit] Athletic Performance

Although a young school Diamond Ranch has begun to make their name among the upper level in athletic performance. The track and field program has had a storied success by winning several league championships in the Miramonte' Leauge as well as the Mount Baldy League. Football became another successful program after the CIF semi-finals year the 2004 squad put together as a whole. That year the 2005 senior football players saw two of its very own earn Division 1A Football scholarships for the first time in school history. Titus Jackson (University of Oregon), and Charles Brown (USC), are considered the pioneers and legends of the athletic program they helped build.

[edit] Timeline

June 1991 - PUSD voters approved a $62.5 million general obligation bond to improve school facilities district-wide, including approximately $10 million designated for Diamond Ranch. In addition to the money provided by the district, the City of Industry provided $5.4 million for the extensive grading needed to create building pads for the school, and sold 80 acres of undeveloped land to PUSD for a dollar.

November 1993 – The school district hires Morphosis to design the school.
September 5, 1997 – DRHS was officially opened for students, while construction continues.
September 8, 1997 – The inaugural of the first principal, Albert Webb
1999–2000 – DRHS is established and students move from the portables to the permanent facility.
June 8, 2001 – The first graduating class of DRHS.
2003 - DRHS wins California's Distinguished School Award.
2007 - DRHS wins California's Distinguished School Award for the second time.