Yosemite High School - History

History

Opened September 9, 1976 to relieve district travel times (often in excess of 4 hours), YHS became a site of constant controversy. The matter of greatest contention was its unorthodox education methods, ranging from laissez-faire scheduling to counterproductive class organization. Students (referred to as “learners”) chose their own classes, handled their own attendance, and gave themselves their grades, much to the chagrin of parents, who “…were worried that the students {were} running the school and that there {was} a lack of supervised instruction…”

Teachers (referred to as “learning facilitators”) were also given free-rein with the classes they taught, resulting in such classes as skateboarding and rock climbing. They taught in a single large building with simultaneous classes operating without walls, leading to a good deal of confusion and distraction. Some time into the first year, 6-foot (1.8 m) tall partitions were set up, but they did little to reduce the strength of the din.

In recent years, YHS has returned to more traditional academic practices, including fixed schedules, standard classrooms, state-mandated coursework and grading criteria, and referring to "teachers" and "students."

The school began relatively under funded; “learning facilitators” were paid a $4–6,000 lower salary than the state average for that time. By the turn of the 21st century, however, the budget had expanded and the campus had become a showpiece.