Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
1 Dean of Student Behavior and Support Graham Wilson, Assistant Principal Jennifer Webb, Principal Russell Shipley, Assistant Principal Valarie Labrentz and Dean of Student Behavior and Support Bobby Hinzo.
Josue Villalobos, a senior, is honing his skills in the industrial automation class.
Victoria Leyva, a junior in the Project Lead the Way program, is learning to build robots.
Video production teacher Jerald Pierucci, with senior Ariana Cortes, with the state-of-the-art equipment in his classroom.
SHS held its Principal Partners' Day on Wednesday, with Principal Russell Shipley proclaiming it a success.
"Today's event showcased all of the special programs, course offerings and opportunities at Shafter High and highlights our Shafter community, local support and generations of Shafter pride," he said after the annual event. "The turnout was great, and we continue to be the best and largest Principal Partners' Day in all of Kern County."
Guests included local feeder schools, SHS alums, council members, business leaders, Mayor Chad Givens, Chief of Police Randy Milligan, local governance, educators, school administrators, representatives from elected officials, and members of service clubs such as the Rotary Club, Lions Club and Kiwanis Club. They were greeted by the Shafter High Associated Student Body officers, Link Crew and Jazz Band, and treated to a continental breakfast.
Following a warm welcome and presentations, including a discussion by Shipley about the school's upcoming 100th anniversary and the role of the archiving class, attendees took part in an interactive campus tour. The tour provided an inside look at innovative courses such as industrial automation, ag mechanics, ag biology, video production, ag sales and marketing, ethnic studies, publication/archiving, computer manufacturing, computer sciences, industrial arts, restorative practices and essentials of personal fitness. Attendees also learned about the school's Career Technical Education Pathways, dual enrollment courses and early college programs through a partnership with Bakersfield College.
Shipley shared his excitement about the archiving project. Yearbook and archiving teacher Larissa Davis elaborated, "The archiving class has been working hard on our first project of digitizing all the Shafter High yearbooks [dating back to 1931] to be searchable and easily accessible online. This project quickly became a window into the past; spurring ideas of future passion projects like creating a timeline of Shafter High history to be displayed in the front office, to showing the many legacy students and staff members through the years. A favorite fun project that the class has also been working on is the Throwback Thursdays to share with the community on our social media. We are excited to see what this class will uncover and share with the community of Shafter."
Mayor Pro Tem Cathy Prout remarked, "I come every year, and I learn something new each time, and each time I am impressed. He's [Principal Russell Shipley] been here for 10 years, and he's built the support of the community, and you can see that."
Roy Pierucci, a 1968 SHS graduate, said, "I came last year, and this year, I saw an automated production class, which was new to me. I was talking to another parent, and we both wished we had that when we were here, so the kids have an advantage, mostly with BC courses. To come out of high school with an AA, I mean, how much money and time does that save you? So, I think Shafter High is doing an outstanding job."
Assistant Principal of Administration Jennifer Webb emphasized the strong community support, saying, "It's so nice to see so many familiar faces in one room. I see parents and former administrators, and we're all coming together to celebrate Shafter High and all we do for the kids."
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