Riverside High School is a public high school in El Paso, Texas.

History

Riverside High School in El Paso, Texas opened its doors in 1969. It is a traditional four-year high school and a part of the

Ysleta Independent School District Ysleta Independent School District is a school district based in El Paso, Texas ( USA). Ysleta ISD is the third largest school district in the city of El Paso. All of the district area covers sections of El Paso. The Ysleta Independent School ...

. The school sits in El Paso's Lower Valley only a few hundred yards from the Rio Grande and Mexico. In 2006, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) rated the school as "Academically Acceptable." Due to its location within El Paso, Riverside has historically had an overwhelmingly predominant Hispanic population. TEA lists it at 97 percent (with 3 percent white and less than 1 percent African American). Riverside has long been recognized for its academics. In the early 1990s, Riverside sent more Hispanics to

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight school ...

colleges than any other public high school in the country. Riverside is one of few high schools in El Paso to achieve the recognized rating from the

Texas Education Agency The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States.

. Also, the school has never failed to meet the

Adequate Yearly Progress Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is a measurement defined by the United States federal No Child Left Behind Act that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing ...

outlined by the

No Child Left Behind Act The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based educati ...

of 2001. Riverside previously housed the Ysleta district's technology magnet program. It currently houses the Socratic Institute for teachers interested in pedagogy as well as the Academy for Sciences and Technology. In 1993,

Chicano Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...

activist

César Chávez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merg ...

visited the school to talk about his then boycott on grapes to protest the use of pesticides in the fields where poor,

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

farm workers labored. He told students the pesticides were affecting the health of the farm workers and their families. Chávez died months after his visit. Nearby

César Chávez Academy César Chávez Academy - Academia César Chávez is a K-12 public charter school in Detroit, Michigan. It is operated by The Leona Group, an operator of charter schools in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and Ohio. Enrollment increase and grade sch ...

is named in his honor. For years, the Riverside campus remained unchanged. In the mid-1980s, the school received a new library and classroom wing. In the early 1990s, the facade of the school was drastically changed and a theater was added. Riverside is currently undergoing heavy renovations that include the construction of a field house for athletic teams and a new fine arts wing for music and theater instruction.

Notable alumni

Shawn Jordan Shawn Martin Jordan (born October 24, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Professional Fighters League's Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2009, Jordan has also formerly competed for ...

- professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

, formerly competing in the UFC's Heavyweight Division *

Susana Martinez Susana Martinez (born July 14, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 31st governor of New Mexico from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, she served as chair of the Republican Governors Association (RGA) from 2015 to 2016. She ...

- 31st Governor of New Mexico.

Feeder schools

*Riverside Middle "Rebels" *Ascarate Elementary "Eagles" *Cadwallader Elementary "Bobcats" *Cedar Grove Elementary "Braves" *Ramona Elementary "Rams" *Thomas Manor Elementary "Wranglers" *Constance Hulbert Elementary "Hawks" *Riverside Elementary, now closed César Chávez Academy and Tejas School of Choice (at old Riverside Elementary) are in the Riverside area. They are both alternative education schools that serve students throughout the Ysleta Independent School District.

References

External links

* {{authority control High schools in El Paso, Texas Ysleta Independent School District high schools