Riverside High School (El Paso, Texas)

Riverside High School is a high school in the U.S. city of El Paso, Texas. The school is in the city's Lower Valley and opened in 1969. Riverside gets its name from its proximity to the Rio Grande which sits just about a quarter of a mile south of the school's Riverfront Stadium.

Riverside High School

Principal	Mike Martinez
Asst.Principal(s)	Juanita Martinez, Ray Lozano, Sylvia Rendon,Maria L. Greenup,
School type	Public
School district	Ysleta Independent School District
Founded	1969
Location	301 Midway Dr.El Paso, TX 79915
Enrollment	1,479
Faculty	162
Campus surroundings	Urban
School Mascot	Rangers
School color	Burnt Orange, Navy Blue and White
School nicknames	The TRUE Pride of the Lower Valley and The Lower Valley's ONLY Pride
Yearbook name	The Lariat

History

Riverside High School in El Paso, TX that opened its doors in 1969. It is a traditional four-year high school and a part of the Ysleta Independent School District. The school sits in El Paso's Lower Valley only a few hundred yards from the Rio Grande and Mexico. In 2006, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) rated the school as "Academically Acceptable." Due to its location within El Paso, Riverside has historically had an overwhelmingly predominant Hispanic population. TEA lists it at 97 percent (with 3 percent white and less than 1 percent African American).

Riverside has long been recognized for its academics. In the early 1990s, Riverside sent more Hispanics to Ivy League colleges than any other public high school in the country. Riverside is one of few high schools in El Paso to achieve the recognized rating from the Texas Education Agency. Also, the school has never failed to meet the Adequate Yearly Progress outlined by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Riverside previously housed the Ysleta district's technology magent program. It currently houses the Socratic Institute for teachers interested in pedagogy as well as the Academy for Sciences and Technology.

In 1993, Chicano activist César Chávez visited the school to talk about his then boycott on grapes to protest the use of pesticides in the fields where poor, Hispanic farm workers labored. He told students the pesticides were affecting the health of the farm workers and their families. Chávez died months after his visit. Nearby César Chávez Academy is named in his honor.

For years, the Riverside campus remained unchanged. In the mid 1980s, the school received a new library and classroom wing. In the early 1990s, the facade of the school was drastically changed and a theater was added. Riverside is currently undergoing heavy renovations that include the construction of a field house for athletic teams and a new fine arts wing for music and theater instruction.

ports teams

In the late 1990s and to this day, Riverside has one of the best football programs among El Paso area high schools. The Rangers, under the leadership of coach Tom Work, made the playoffs every year from 1993 to 2006, and are the first El Paso team to reach the regional semi-finals in two consecutive years. The Rangers won every district game from 1999 to 2005. The Ranger basketball and baseball teams have both made the state semi-finals in the 1990s. The Lady Rangers have also had consistent success in volleyball and basketball.

*Football (boys): J.J. Calderon
*Volleyball (girls): Merle Heimer
*Cross country (boys and girls): Andy Najar
*Tennis (boys and girls): Grecan Hinojos
*Basketball (boys and girls): Coach Lattin (Girls) & Coach Vela (Boys)
*Wrestling (boys and girls): Coach Saucedo
*Swimming (boys and girls): Coach Sandoval
*Soccer (boys and girls): Coach Sangabi (Girls)
*Golf (boys and girls) Coach Tapia
*Baseball (boys): Coach Melendez
*Softball (girls): Sergio Ramirez
*Track (boys and girls): Jeniffer Rogers (Girls) & Andy Najar (Boys)
*Cheerleading (boys and girls):

Fight song

The Ranger Fight Song is sung to the tune of The Victors, the University of Michigan fight song:

We're the mighty Rangers fighting strong Showing spirit with our song Go!

Let's go Rangers And fight with your might.

We're the Lower Valley's only pride We'll fight with courage side by side We're from Riverside/

and we are number one.

Orange! Orange and white Rangers.

Fight! Fight!

Clubs

*Rangerettes: Bonnie Sermeno
*Junior Civitan
*Students Against Drunk Driving
*National Honor Society: Greg Mactagone
*Future Business Leaders of America: Irma Soria
*Business Professionals of America
*Yearbook: Emilie Madrid
*Art Club
*Speech & Debate: Steven Solis
*Spanish Club
*French Club: Connie Aguilar-Hardy
*German Club: Patricia Crafton
*Army JROTC
*Choir: Monica Guiterrez
*Orchestra
*Jazz band: Lorraine Kubala
*Drama: Steve Bonner
* Student Council: David Gonzalez!!

Feeder schools

*Riverside Middle "Rebels"
*Rio Bravo Middle "Lobos"
*Ascarate Elementary "Eagles"
*Cadwallader Elementary "Bobcats"
*Cedar Grove Elementary "Braves"
*Ramona Elementary "Rams"
*Thomas Manor Elementary "Hornets"
*Constance Hulbert Elementary "Hawks"
*Riverside Elementary, now closed

César Chávez Academy and Tejas School of Choice (at old Riverside Elementary) are in the Riverside area. They are both alternative education schools that serve students throughout the Ysleta Independent School District.

Board of Trustees

Trustee Carmen G. Muñoz represents the Riverside area on the Ysleta Independent School District Board of Trustees. She was elected in 2006 and her term expires in 2009. Muñoz was elected board president in 2007.

Previous trustees include Andy Ramirez, Roberto Lerma, Bea Sada and Carlos Sandoval. Ramirez, Lerma and Sandoval also served as presidents of the Ysleta school board.