08/15/2026
It’s back to school week! The very first day of Sierra Unified High School was September 18, 1922, in "temporary quarters" according to a 1922 news article. The “temporary quarters” were large tents! The community voted in March of 1922 to combine at least five elementary school districts, which included Manzanita, Big Sandy, Pleasant Vale, Sentinel, and Mountain View, to create a new high school district. Before that time, students who wanted a secondary education had to live with family or friends near a high school in the valley. Though some local historians believe the land may have been donated by local ranchers, news articles report that over two hundred acres were purchased for the new school. The location was chosen because it was between the towns of Tollhouse and Auberry, the two most populous areas at the time. A new wood framed building was ready for students in the fall of 1923, complete with “three classrooms, an assembly hall, and boys’ and girls’ washrooms.”
Info Sources: The Fresno Republican Newspaper, September 22, 1922.
CSUF Dissertation: Dow, John Allan. History of Public School, Organization and Administration in Fresno County, California, 1967.
Sierra High School History written by Bud Olson and Marvin Kientz. circa 2007.
Photos courtesy of EFCHS and SHS Yearbooks.
