Principal's Message
Congratulations to the class of 2023!
We all wish you the very best and know you will be successful in your future endeavors.
Welcome back Generals! We are so excited to get the 2023-24 school year started! We have a lot of great announcements and we’re poised for another awesome year of Shafter High PRIDE and tradition. The summer of 2023 offered one of the largest summer school programs in the history of Shafter with over 1000 Generals attending 38 different classes ranging from traditional core classes, accelerated learning, credit recovery, A-G qualifiers, CTE pathways, performing arts, and physical education. It truly warmed all of our hearts and passion to see our Generals here with us throughout the summer!
We are happy to welcome five faculty members this year to the Shafter family. We continue to receive support of our ever expanding programs, intervention, dual enrollment & early college, social/emotional, CTE pathways, and as a result we are excited Matthew Vasquez and Jacob Puentes are joining our math department, Jenna Montgomery and Madison Yockey are joining our Special Education department, and Malia Camacho is our newest sophomore counselor. In addition, we are also welcoming our newest Dean of Student Behavior and Supports, Graham Wilson. Graham joins Dean Bobby Hinzo in our office of Student Behavior and Supports.
Our campus continues to maintain its beautiful landscaping. We have several projects, ongoing construction, and upgrades planned for this school year. While most may think our newly modernized and state of the art Generals’ Stadium is complete, we are still adding to and making it better and better. The second concession stand was just placed at the southeast corner and we hope to have the exterior finished, murals applied, and equipment installed within the next couple months. Several buildings received exterior paint during the summer, murals and branding were updated and added, the New Gym recently received new foyer flooring and we are now working on a large audio/visual update and project in our Starrh Performing Arts Center. Facility and technological infrastructure continue to get refreshed, strengthened and expanded. Many of our classrooms have been modernized with additional technology, flatscreen TVs, multiple monitors, updated Wi-Fi, Phase III of security camera expansion, Chromebook inventory is now greater than a 1:1 ratio, and much of our faculty are now using wireless tablet technology in their day-to-day lessons, which also links to their shared Google files and Canvas modules.
Finally, THANK YOU for all that you do, our community and our generations upon generations of pride and tradition. I am personally very thankful for your dedication and support of Shafter High and GENERAL PRIDE. We are looking forward to a great academic and athletic year full of activities and great memories for our students. Please let us know if you have any questions. And, as always, remember, Once a General … Always a General!
Thank you, Russell Shipley