July 1, 2022

Welcome back Generals! We are so excited to get the 2022-23 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 2022 offered another set of programs and course offerings, which include just over 1100 of our Generals attending a variety of 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 on campus, working hard, and preparing for next year.

We are excited to welcome six new faculty members this year to the Shafter family. In addition, we are also welcoming a new Dean of Student Behavior and Supports, Bobby Hinzo, Mrs. Jennifer Webb is now our Assistant Principal of Administration and Mrs. Valarie Labrentz has transitioned over to Assistant Principal of Instruction. We wish Dr. Tsoguik Broutian and Mrs. Leah Hatton the very best on their administrative promotions and new ventures.

The Shafter High Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways continue to stay strong, sustainable, and remain popular in student interest and program commitment. Programs such as Journalism, Student Leadership, and Link Crew continue to grow in popularity and help to support and increase school spirit and Shafter PRIDE. Our Literacy classes and Intervention/At-Risk programs provide additional support, and our Career Choices program includes a 10 year career plan with educational modules throughout each year of high school. Our Advanced Placement program currently offers 10 different AP courses, which puts Shafter High at the top of the list with the number of AP course opportunities! The Project Lead the Way (PLTW) program is now entering its tenth year. The PLTW students continue to challenge themselves in courses such as Computer Science, Programming, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Environmental Sustainability, and our newest pathway of Biomedical Sciences now enters its 4th year. The Industrial Arts, Construction, and Wood program continues to stay strong and is packed full of students throughout the entire day. The Video Production & Journalism Broadcast and our Kinesiology & Sports Medicine pathways are now in their 7 th year and continue to grow in popularity and demand. Our dual/concurrent enrollment and early college program has now expanded to 18 different courses offering college credit to help our Generals be on track as they pursue their Associates Degree and post-secondary aspirations.

Our campus continues to maintain its beautiful landscaping. Our stadium is nearing completion as we finalize the synthetic track surface as well as other cosmetic upgrades including new concrete in front of the concession stand, parking lot resurfacing, and upgraded fencing and access gates around the entire perimeter of the stadium. While it’s no surprise to anyone, the stadium is obviously behind schedule. This is due in part to several variables. As demolition and new construction, we began to see modifications and improvements to the already very impressive design and blueprints. We saw the need to reposition the current location of the pole-vault and runway area to a more feasible location. While this sounds simple, this turned into a large redesign which included also adding a full synthetic surface to the north side of the field. This added additional landscaping and irrigation changes to the south side of the stadium. We also had updates and changes to the second concession stand located on the south east side of the stadium (near the ticket booth), which this too added additional time with blueprints, design, underground work and tie-in to the fiber and network cabling. Much of the other delays can be attributed to our attention to detail and making sure the stadium and overall huge financial investment was meeting our needs and attention to detail. Simply said, we wanted to make sure it wasn’t “good enough” but perfect and great for many, many generations to come.

Many of our classrooms have been modernized with additional technology, flatscreen TVs, multiple monitors, and updated Wi-Fi connectivity. Throughout campus we have also implemented Phase III of security camera expansion, Chromebook inventory is now greater than a 1:1 ratio, and both our new and old gym are receiving sound system upgrades and replacement.

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