Buchanan High School (Clovis, California)

Dr. Floyd B. Buchanan High School, known as Buchanan High School, is a four-year public high school in Clovis, California, United States. The school is part of the Buchanan Educational Center, which houses approximately 5,000 students at Garfield Elementary School (K-6), Alta Sierra Intermediate School (7-8), and Buchanan High School. The school graduated its first class in the spring of 1995, and is named after CUSD's first district superintendent, Dr. Floyd B. Buchanan, which makes Buchanan High School the only CUSD high school that does not contain "Clovis" in its name.

Buchanan High School
Address
Map
1560 North Minnewawa Avenue

,
93619

United States
Coordinates36°51′29″N 119°42′52″W / 36.8580°N 119.7144°W / 36.8580; -119.7144
Information
TypePublic High School
Opened1991
School districtClovis Unified School District
NCES School ID060903000367
PrincipalOmar Hemaidan
Grades9–12
Enrollment2,601 (2022-23)[1]
Color(s)Air Force Blue and Red
   
Athletics conferenceCIF Central Section Division 1
TRAC (Tri River Athletic Conference)
Team nameBears
RivalClovis High, Clovis North Educational Center, Clovis West, Clovis East High School
AccreditationWASC
Websitebhs.cusd.com

Academics

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Buchanan High School fields academic teams in Science Olympiad, FRC Robotics, Mock Trial, Academic Decathlon, Science Bowl, and Forensics. The high school offers fifteen AP classes as well as six honors classes, two comprehensive four-year foreign language programs, and a variety of performing and visual arts classes including drama, photography, ceramics, art, videography, choir, orchestra, color guard, and band among others. Additionally, students have the option of, as a Junior or Senior, taking vocationally-oriented courses through the Regional Occupational Training program or CART high school.

Honors classes:

  • Honors Biology
  • Honors Chemistry
  • Honors English 9
  • Honors English 10
  • Honors Algebra 2
  • Honors Algebra 3
  • Honors Advanced Math and Analysis

AP Classes:

  • AP Environmental Science
  • AP Biology
  • AP Chemistry
  • AP Physics C
  • AP Physics 1
  • AP Computer Science Principles
  • AP English Language and Composition
  • AP English Language and Literature
  • AP World History
  • AP United States History
  • AP United States Government and Politics
  • AP Macroeconomics
  • AP Psychology
  • AP Calculus AB
  • AP Calculus BC
  • AP Statistics
  • AP Spanish Language and Culture
  • AP Chinese Language and Culture
  • AP German Language and Culture
  • AP Music Theory
  • AP Studio Art
 
The Veterans Memorial Stadium is used for Football, Band Competition, Track & Field, and Graduation Ceremonies.

Facilities

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Outer view

The school has the largest campus in CUSD.

Years after the Track & Field/Football Stadium opened for use, it was renamed Veterans Memorial Stadium after the numerous Buchanan Students that have died in the Iraq & Afghanistan wars.[2]

Test scores and honors

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The school is a National Blue Ribbon School and a California Distinguished School. In 2022 according to U.S. News & World Report Buchan High School was ranked as the 241st best high school in the state and the 4th best in Fresno County.[3]

Athletics

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Buchanan was awarded "California Athletic High School of the Year" in 05–06.[citation needed] The Bears received "Special Mention State School of the Year" by CalHiSports for their athletic success in 07-08 and 08- 09.[citation needed] The Bears wrestling team was State Champions in the 2005–2006 season. The Bears Baseball Team was awarded the Powerade Fab50 National Champions title for the 2010–2011 season.[4] The Men's Volleyball team were Maxpreps Top-Ranked team in CA in 2011.

Varsity Athletics

Boys

  • Fall: Football, Water Polo, Cross Country
  • Winter: Soccer, Basketball, Wrestling
  • Spring: Baseball, Tennis, Swimming and Diving, Track and Field, Volleyball

Girls

  • Fall: Gymnastics, Water Polo, Tennis, Cross Country, Volleyball, Golf
  • Winter: Soccer, Basketball
  • Spring: Badminton, Track and Field, Softball, Swimming and Diving

Activities

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The marching band has won awards and trophies in the Western Band Association and Northern California Band Association.[citation needed] Under the direction of Key Poulan, both concert wind ensembles were selected to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City, April 14, 2001.[5]

The jazz band has produced several recordings, and has gone to the Monterey Next-Generation Jazz Festival in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and in 2014 of which they placed 2nd in the nation. They have also performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 2007, 2008, and 2014.

In May 2006, all four choir groups won 1st Gold at the spring festival[citation needed] and were given the prestigious Sweepstakes Award, earning the title of best high school choir on the entire West Coast that year. Similarly, in 2008 the groups placed 1st and 2nd and were duly noted for their outstanding work.

In 2015, the school's robotics team, along with 3 other high school teams from around the country, won the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in St. Louis, making them world champions.[6]

The school also has an award-winning National History Day team and a nationally ranked pep & cheer program.

Buchanan High School is also known for its nationally recognized Space Mission simulation, titled Columbia Space. This program was started to expose students to the wonders of space, as well as to honor the crew members on the Space Shuttle Columbia. In the program, students create an entire mission, from planning experiments to training and selecting astronauts, by themselves. The Columbia Space Mission had a downlink with the International Space Station with Astronaut Greg Chamitoff.

Buchanan High school won the national, state and valley championships for baseball in 2011.

Other distinctions

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As of December 2010, eight Buchanan HS alumni have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, more than from any other California high school.[7]

Since 2009, it has been the host for the CIF State Track and Field Championships.

 
Buchanan Library
 
Campus

Student body

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Student body composition as of Fall 2017
Race and ethnicity[8] Total
White 47% 47
 
Hispanic 31% 31
 
Asian 13% 13
 
Multiracial 3% 3
 
Black 2% 2
 

Notable alumni

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References

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  1. ^ "Buchanan High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  2. ^ ABC30. "Soldier from Clovis killed in Afghanistan | ABC30 Fresno | abc30.com". ABC30 Fresno. Retrieved 2022-08-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Buchanan High School". U.S. News & World Report.
  4. ^ "POWERADE FAB 50 Rankings: Final". ESPN. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  5. ^ "National Band and Orchestra Festival | Carnegie Hall | Carnegie Hall". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  6. ^ "Buchanan High School robotics team, 3 others win world championship". ABC30 Fresno. 2015-04-26. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  7. ^ "Another ex-Buchanan student dies in Mideast wars - Clovis: School-Sports - fresnobee.com". Archived from the original on 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
  8. ^ "Student Enrollment". Clovis Community College. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  9. ^ Stone, Reid (2021-12-07). "Clovis woman named to NASA's newest class of astronauts". The San Joaquin Valley Sun. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
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