Chaparral High School (Temecula, California)

Chaparral High School in Temecula, California, is a public high school for grades 9–12. The school opened in 1997 with a class of freshmen and sophomores, and added juniors the following year and seniors after that, graduating its first class in 2000. It is Temecula's second high school after Temecula Valley. It became a California Distinguished School in 2001.

Chaparral High School was the second comprehensive high school built in the Temecula Valley Unified School District.

In February 2014, Chaparral High School was the subject of a Rolling Stone exposé concerning the alleged entrapment of students by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.^[1] The incident garnered local and national media attention, and spurred a legal challenge.^[2][3]

Student body

Ethnically the student body is 57% Caucasian, 21% Latin/Hispanic, 5% Filipino, 6% African-American, 4% Asian, 2% Native American and 7% Other.^[4] Five percent of the student body is classified by the district as English limited. It has approximately 3,250 students and 130 teachers and staff members. 11% of the student body is eligible for free government lunches, compared to the state average of 45%.

Athletics

Chaparral has 18 different sports that qualify for a varsity letter. Its mascot is the Puma.

In 2009 the varsity football team won the CIF Championship, beating Vista Murrieta High School in the final 13-7.

Academics

The average dropout rate of the school is 1%, while 89% graduate and 38% graduate meeting either University of California or Cal State entry requirements.^[4]

Theater

Along with a theater department, Chaparral also has an Improv team which has won 1st place at the Long Beach TheaterFest two years in a row. 2013-14 captain and co-captain are James "Two Lanez" Bowen and Avalon Penrose. Chaparral Actors Troupe opened the year with a successful run of Neil Simon's "FOOLS", directed by Mr. Irvin (assisted by Shannon McMahon and Joey Brown). The annual musical was an amazing take on the 1970's classic "Jesus Christ Superstar", again directed by Irvin (assisted by Alex Flores and Cassidy Oswalt). The year ended with senior-directed play, "My Sister Eileen" (assisted by Samuel Irvin and student stage manager Grant Reynolds). Two "Black Box Productions" were also directed by Lois Wyman; "War at Home" and "I Never Saw Another Butterfly". Next year's shows are to include "Noises Off", "9 to 5", and "Black Comedy".

Band

The Platinum Sound and Emerald Guard is the marching band, which competes in the 2A class of the Western Band Association circuit. The Band is currently under the direction of Alan Underwood. Other programs include the Wind Ensemble which goes to SCSBOA festivals, Winter Drumline program that competes in the A class in SCPA and WGI, the Winter Guard progran that competes in the 2A class in WGASC, and Basketball Pep Band.

The CHS Winter Drumline ended their program in 2007, but started back up in 2012. In the 2014 season, the Winter Drumline scored a 91.6 (current record in CHS history) at the SCPA Preliminary Competition at Great Oak High School, and ended the season placing 5th during their first time at SCPA Finals at Cal State University San Bernardino.

Notable alumni

• Rob Brantly, baseball player
• Allen Craig, baseball player^[5]
• Randy Strohmeyer, guitarist of the band Finch
• Tyler Glenn, lead singer of the band Neon Trees
• Sarah Hammer, Olympic Track Cycling; 2008, 2012
• Tyler Hansen, football player
• Talmadge Jackson III, Baltimore Ravens Defensive Back
• Shane Peterson, Current professional baseball player (Oakland Athletics)
• Jesse Snodgrass^[6]

Notes

External links

• Chaparral High School