Rio Americano High School

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Rio Americano High School
Rio Americano Raiders
Location
4540 American River Drive
Sacramento, CA, 95864
Information
School district San Juan Unified School District
Principal Rob Hollingsworth
Enrollment

1,769 (as of 2005-06)[1]
Faculty 66.9 (on FTE basis)[1]
Student:teacher ratio 26.4[1]
Type Public high school
Grades 9 to 12
Campus Suburban
Team name Raiders
Color(s) Green and Gold         
Established 1963
Information 916-971-7494
Homepage Rio Americano High School Online

Rio Americano High School, colloquially known as Rio, is an American public high school in Sacramento, California, serving students in grades 9 through 12 as part of the San Juan Unified School District. The current principal is Robert Hollingsworth (2000-present). Rio has consistently maintained one of the highest API scores in the state.

In 2008, Newsweek ranked Rio as number 595 on their list of the top 1,300 public schools in the United States, effectively placing it in the top 3% of high schools nationwide.[2]

Rio Americano students come from the surrounding areas of Arden Park, Arden Oaks, Sierra Oaks, Fair Oaks, Carmichael, Gold River, and to a much lesser extent, the La Sierra community. In recent years, more students have been transferring from other districts and areas, partly due to the shift of Sacramento High School to a charter school. Rio's two rival schools are Jesuit High School and to a lesser degree El Camino Fundamental High School because of its close proximity to the Arden Park area.

As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,769 students and 66.9 classroom teachers (on a FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 26.4.[1]

Contents

[edit] Awards and recognition

During the 1994-96 and 2006-07 school years, Rio Americano High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education[3][4], the highest award an American school can receive.[5][6]

[edit] History

Rio Americano High School was established in 1963 as a temporary high school, built to offset a huge baby boomer population increase. It was supposed to be a temporary solution for education shortages, to be demolished 20 years later and used for housing purposes. As demand increased and Rio's academic and extracurricular programs proved strong, the school has remained a permanent fixture in the community.

[edit] Demographics

[edit] 2006-2007
White Asian Hispanic African American American Indian Filipino Pacific Islander
75% 10% 6% 10% 1% 1% <1%

[edit] Curriculum

[edit] Courses

[edit] Advanced Placement

Rio Americano offers 10 AP courses in addition to various Honors classes. Although there is no official class, students have been known to take the AP Statistics exam.

[edit] Band

The Rio Americano band program is nationally recognized, having 3 levels of concert band and 3 levels of jazz ensemble. The AM Jazz Ensemble has been recognized as one the United States' top 15 high school jazz bands at the Essentially Ellington Jazz competition in New York City in 2001, 2002, 2006, and 2007. The Rio AM Jazz Ensemble has also won the Monterey Jazz Festival in the High School Big Band category an unprecedented 7 times, and most recently finished 2nd in 2008. They have also won the Reno Jazz festival in their division and/or in the sweepstakes every year since 1993, except for 2006. They have toured Japan, Europe and most recently China in the summer of 2006 and are scheduling a tour of Australia in the summer of 2008. The program is under direction of Mr. Josh Murray and Mr. Max Kiesner. From 1982-2007 Mr. Craig Faniani was director and shaped the music program at Rio Americano to what it is today. Mr. F. has accepted a new position at the district office (2007-present)as the Coordinator for the Visual and Performing Arts for the San Juan Unified School District.

[edit] Electives

The following are electives available at Rio Americano.

  • Art I
  • Auto Technology
  • Band
  • Drafting
  • Drawing & Painting
  • Foreign Language
  • Photography
  • Ceramics
  • Computer Graphics
  • Drama
  • Reader's Theatre
  • Speech & Debate
  • Speech
  • Woodshop
  • Teacher/Office Assistant

[edit] Extracurricular Activities

[edit] Academic Decathlon

In 2005, the Academic Decathlon team placed 15th out of 17 school in the regional competition. With the arrival of new coaches and students in 2006, a team of eight juniors and one senior placed 6th out of 18. Coaches of other regional schools reportedly commented positively on Rio's improvement and success. In 2007, with six team members (the minimum number of students required to complete), Rio placed 5th out of 23 competing teams with five gold medals, four silver, and four bronze.

[edit] Mock Trial

Mock Trial is a program that places students in a courtroom environment in which they play the parts of attorneys, witnesses, court clerks and bailiffs. Each year the team participates in competitions organized through the [Constitutional Rights Foundations.][1] Rio Americano's Mock Trial team is known for its record of success at both the county and state levels. The Team has won 11 Sacramento County Championships, most recently in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, and, this year's county championship, 2008. The team reached the State Competition more times than any other high school in Sacramento County, also reaching the final round in the California Mock Trial State Finals more times than any other Sacramento County Team, in 1999 and 2006. The coach of Rio's Mock Trial team is local attorney James R. Greiner.

[edit] Moot Court

Rio Americano's Moot Court team won the GDS Sacramento County competition in both 2006 and 2007.

[edit] Radio & TV

The Radio & Television program has won the award for best High School News show in Sacramento several times, last awarded to them in 2002, by the Sacramento Educational Cable Consortium. The program has been reportedly falling apart by students and graduates after Gebhardt retired.

[edit] Science Bowl

Science Bowl is an academic competition that tests students on their science in seven different categories (Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, General Science, Math, and Physics). There exist three 2008 teams (A, B and C), each consisting of five members. At the 2007 Sacramento Regional Competition, Team A placed 2nd and Team B 3rd. The 2008 Regional Competition took place on March 1st at Rio, in which Team A placed 3rd and Team B 5th. Team C was unranked, as they were not permitted to move on to the double elimination stage.

[edit] Science Olympiad

A science competition with various events. Their '07 A team placed second at regionals, and placed sixth at the state level, after the previous several years of placing second at state to Mira Loma High School. Their '07-'08 team placed 5th in the 2008 regional competition which took place on April 5th at Sacramento State University.

[edit] The Mirada

The Mirada is the school newspaper. It is put together by students of all grade levels. Mostly juniors and seniors are editors, two seniors for editor-in-chief, and junior and seniors for News, Opinions, Features and Sports. The Mirada also has three graphic artists, and one main photographer. There are many staff writers of all grade levels. The paper even has a business manager. There are about 21 staff members overall, with one teacher supervising. The features are: Bachelor and Bachelorette, Prep of the Issue, Car of the Issue and sometimes food reviews. The paper has an issue every month and has won various awards. The raider icon on the front page to the side of the heading changes every month. http://www.sanjuan.edu/webpages/mmahoney/index.cfm?subpage=66973

[edit] Awards
  • Gold Medal Standing From Columbia University Journalism Review Program.
  • Two individual awards from the International Quill and Scroll Competition.

[edit] The Tesoro

The school's yearbook. Each year the Tesoro has a different theme; "Something in Common", "What's the Difference", "Curious", "Continued Inside", and "Raided R" are the most recent. The yearbook also features clubs, sports, outside-of-school ports, senior favorites, quotes and pictures. Parents of seniors can submit a page dedicated to their son or daughter in the "Diapers to Diploma" section.

Other active extracurriculars on campus include Speech and Debate, Interact Club, and Student Government.

[edit] Athletics

[edit] Rio Americano Fight Song

Go Rio Raiders
battle the foe for green and gold
ready to meet all invaders
with our heads held high we will hear the victory cry
and when the battle is over
and on high you’ll hear our name
you will know the Rio Raiders
have won another game.

[edit] Sports

[edit] Basketball

The boys basketball team won the 2006 and 2007 Jack Scott Tournament, a tournament hosted by Rio. In 2002, the Rio varsity boy basketball team won the section title at Arco Arena and continued on to the state semi-finals held at UC Davis. During the 2007-2008 season, the Raiders won their second Jack Scott Tournament in a row. This was the first time they had won two Jack Scotts in back-to-back years.

[edit] Cross Country

The Rio Americano cross-country teams are coached by Gordon Hubble. The varsity boys cross-country team placed 5th in the 2006 Sac-Joaquin Division III Section Finals Meet at the Willow Hills course in Folsom, CA. The varsity boys also received two CAL (Capital Athletic League) All-League awards. The varsity girls placed 7th in the 2006 Sac-Joaquin Division III Section Finals Meet and also received two CAL All-League awards. Both teams placed second in the Capital Athletic League. The freshman boys team placed first in the Capital Athletic League, the SJS Div. III Sub-Sections Meet, and the SJS Div. III Sections Meet. In 2007, Patrick Nilan placed 8th at the SJS Div. II Section Finals being the first Rio Americano High School cross-country runner to qualify for the CIF State Championships in 9 years.

[edit] Football

1991 Future Pro Bowl lineman, Mike Flanagan, graduated from Rio Americano high school. Mike played for the Green Bay Packers from 1996-2005 and for the Houston Texans from 2006-2007.

1990-1991 season: The varsity football team went undefeated during regular season play and lost to the Nevada Union High School in the City Championship. The team produced 4 Division I college players, Mike Flanagan - UCLA, Chad Overhauser - UCLA, Eric Roof - Weber State University, and Chris Lee - Weber State University.

1995-1996 season: The varsity football team went undefeated during regular season play and lost to Del Oro High School in the State Final, played at University of the Pacific stadium.

In the 2007-2008 Football Season, the Raiders went 5-5.

[edit] Golf

The team is coached by Brady Yount (2007-current) and assistant coach Shepherd.

2007 Varsity Golf: Aaron Kim, Jordan Mills, Bryson Boatwright, Philip Lee, Matt Shepherd, Stan Jorgenson and Zachary Shannon.

Led by captain Jordan Mills along with strong players such as Bryson Boatwright and Matt Shepherd, the team finished third in the Capital Athletic League. Del Campo and Casa Roble placed first and second in the league, the only teams to defeat Rio Americano in matches during the regular season.

2007 season for Boy's Varsity Golf was 6 wins - 4 losses

[edit] Soccer

2006 Sasha victorine graduated. Victorine played in the 2000 Summer Olympics, for the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Kansas City Wizards.

The varsity girls soccer team won the division II section title in 2007 by defeating Bella Vista 6-0 in the championship game.[citation needed]

The varsity boys tied Jesuit High School in an exhibition match on Oct. 17th 2008 and have consistently made it to play-offs.

[edit] Softball

Capital League

[edit] Swimming & Diving

The head coach of Rio Americano Swimming is Chris Nissen, who lead the Varsity Girls to a Section title this 2008 season, and the Varsity Boys to a second place finnish. Seniors Kevin Ferguson and Tomi Petty were the Capitol Athletic Swimmers of the Year, leading the team to victory at the Cal Champs meet. At Sections, Kevin Ferguson brought his teammates Cashel Barnett (junior), Connor McGill (senior), Tanner Bond (freshman), and Michael Franz (sophomore) to first place in the 200 and 400 yard free relay, well under the All-American qualifications. Sophomore Michael Franz also acquired an All-American time in his 500 yard Freestyle, finishing second, and Ferguson also won second place in his two individual events, the 200 yard Individual Medley and the 100 yard Backstroke, with two more All-American times.

[edit] Tennis

The boys tennis team has been division champions for the past six years since. In 2003, Rio's tennis team qualified for the state championship tournament at Stanford University led by Captains Erwin Briones and Kurtis Lee, but lost to Monte Vista High School in the fist round 2-7.

[edit] Track & Field

The track & field teams are coached by Gordon Hubble and assistant coaches Tay Moore and Eric Smith. Rio Americano's track team produced four CAL All-League award winners in 2006 and four more during the 2007 track season. The Rio Americano varsity boys team won the 2007 SJS Division II Section title with a total of 46 points, beating Oak Ridge High School by 3 points. At the 2007 SJS Section Masters meet, the track team qualified four athletes to the CIF State Meet.

[edit] Track & Field Records
Rio Americano Track & Field Records
Boys' Records Girls' Records
Event Mark Name Year Event Mark Name Year
100m 10.78yc B. Daigh 1972 100m 12.77 Obiamaka Eke 2005
200m 21.31 Kianti Gix 2007 200m 26.15 J. Berrymore 1985
400m 48.79 Kianti Gix 2007 400m 61.70 J. Klyne 1986
800m 1:56.80 Patrick Nilan 2007 800m 2:18.6 H. Eller 1987
1600m 4:19.6 B. Dauphinais 1986 1600m 5:08.3 H. Eller 1987
3200m 9:24.0 B. Dauphinais 1986 3200m 11:09.7 H. Eller 1987
110mH 15.38 D. Mauer 1969 100mH 15.18 Obiamaka Eke 2005
300mH 39.4 T. West 1976 300mH 51.43 N. Taylor 1987
4x100m 42.38 Kianti Gix, Chris Valls, Kyle Odister, Diante Mayers 2006 4x100m
4x400m 3:23.4 D. Daigh, L. Mustachio, D. Boutin, B. Daigh 1971 4x400m 4:04.0 H. Eller, K. McKinley, S. James, J. Klyne 1987
Long Jump 22' 11.5" D. Chan 1967 Long Jump 15' 8" C. Brown 1986
Triple Jump 46' 4" L. Washington 1986 Triple Jump 32' 0" J. Taylor 1986
High Jump 6'8" B. Abbott 1976 High Jump 5'6" Laura Lilly 2008
Pole Vault 13' 3" J. Dewey 1971 Pole Vault
Shot Put 62' 10" W. Shank 1972 Shot Put 34' 10" L. Ezray
Discus 160' 11" D. Burton 1969 Discus 122' 2" L. Ezray

Note: Times followed by a "y" were converted from yards to meters. Times followed by an "c" were converted from hand timing to FAT (by adding .24 seconds for the 100m and 200m, and .14 seconds for the 400m).

[edit] Volleyball

The Men's Volleyball team competed in their division's California Semi-Finals during the 2003 season under the direction of Coach Rodriguez.

[edit] Water Polo

Girls Water Polo has won 6 straight section titles, sending players to schools such as to USC and UCLA on athletic scholarships. Men's Water Polo has produced division 1 players such as Brian Kinsel and Matt Hillard, both of whom play for UC Berkley.

[edit] Rugby

Rio, although lacking an officially-sanctioned rugby team, does have a team that plays under the name "Rio Rugby." The Team is coached by Jason Crothers, and took 4th place in the Sacramento Valley High School Rugby Conference. This is the 7th year of the Rio Rugby Club. Players do not come exclusively from Rio, some come from nearby El Camino High School.

[edit] Wrestling

[edit] 2007-2008 Clubs

  • Rowdy Raiders
  • French Club
  • Environmentalist Club
  • Save Darfur
  • Interact - Sponsored by Sacramento Rotary Club
  • Global Warming Club
  • Bowling Club
  • Chess Club
  • Polynesian Culture Club
  • Jewish American Culture Club
  • Gentleman's Club
  • Asian Culture Club
  • Capital Crew
  • Highlander's Club
  • B Sharps
  • International Justice Mission
  • KIVA Club
  • Key Club - meets every Tuesday at lunch in room B3
  • 2003-2007, a Gamers Club existed, until the founders moved on.

[edit] Civitas

Rio Americano offers Academia CIVITAS, a four-year program of political studies. The Civitas program provides students with advanced and specialized learning in the social sciences and an enriched sense of citizenship.

[edit] Teacher Controversy

A former history teacher at Rio Americano High School was arrested on 17 charges of alleged sexual misconduct on March 5th. Gregory J. Rayburn, 54, was arrested at his Grass Valley home shortly after 8:30 a.m. on March 5th 2008, on a warrant detailing 15 counts of child molestation and two counts of sexual battery.[7] His trial is scheduled to begin on July 7, 2008.

[edit] Notable alumni

Dianna Rose (1982) - Radio Personality / Music Director and at 98.9 KWJZ Seattle

[edit] External links