Diamond Bar High School

Diamond Bar High School
File:Dbhs-campus.jpg
Address
21400 Pathfinder Road Diamond Bar, California 91765
Coordinates
Information
Type	Public
Established	1982
School district	Walnut Valley Unified School District
Grades	9–12
Number of students	4,715 (2014)
Color(s)	Officially, Purple and gold.
Athletics conference	Palomares League
Mascot	Brahma
Rival	Walnut High School
Accreditations	WASC
Publication	The Bull's Eye
Yearbook	Taurus
Website	http://dbhs.wvusd.k12.ca.us

Diamond Bar High School (DBHS) is a high school located in Diamond Bar, California, and is part of the prestigious Walnut Valley Unified School District whom has also been ranked by numerous sources to be one of the top public school districts in all of Southern California.

The school mascot is the Brahma, and the school colors are purple and gold. Diamond Bar High School students participate in programs such as Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB). During the school year, DBHS received an Academic Performance Index of 870, and 97% of students passed the California High School Exit Exam in 2008-2009. The Brahma Athletic teams will compete in the Palomares League of the CIF Southern Section in 2014-15.

History

Diamond Bar High School was founded in 1982 and was the growing city's first high school. Diamond Bar High School is part of the Walnut Valley Unified School District, which was established in 1970. Diamond Bar High's first students were residents that lived in south Diamond Bar (specifically residents that lived south of Diamond Bar's Grand Avenue). It is a dividing line that still exists today. Prior to the opening of DBHS, the area's students were bused from Diamond Bar to Walnut High School. Some of the teachers came from Suzanne Middle School, Chaparral Middle School and Walnut High School. The first principal of the school was Walt Holmes, who came to DBHS from North Monterey County High School in Castroville, California, where he also served as principal.

Academic programs

Diamond Bar High School has a relatively rigorous and competitive atmosphere for a public high school. It is ranked 219 on the US News's Best High Schools in the nation and ranked 39 on the best California high schools.

Pathways Academy

Pathways is an alternate program offered to students. The program offers different courses and class schedules. The curriculum includes a broad range of college preparatory courses and work experience classes.

Brahma Tech Academy

Brahma Tech is a curriculum-driven academic diploma program with an emphasis on the relevance and application of STEM - science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in today's workplace. The goal of Brahma Tech is to address the need for a stronger and more specific STEM education by equipping students with a competent set of skills in these critical fields. The Brahma Tech curriculum, spanning four years of high school, consists of an entry-level course called Computer Systems, followed by designated courses in one of four strands of the student's choice and concluding with a 150-hour internship in an appropriate field. Students who successfully complete the program will receive a STEM diploma and have the honor of wearing the academy stole at graduation. The Brahma Tech program also offers a competitive internship at The Boeing Company, to which a minimum of five students are offered positions. However, if a student were to take this internship opportunity, he or she is thus bound to the program and is forced to complete the program, no matter the cost.

Music program

In March 2013, the Diamond Bar High Symphony Orchestra competed at the prestigious National Orchestra Cup held at the Lincoln Center in New York with Tchaikovsky's masterpiece "Swan Lake." In addition to finishing second overall, the orchestra also brought home the Best String Section and Best High String Soloist Awards; the latter was won by concertmaster Johnny Wang.
In April 2013, the Diamond Bar concert percussion ensemble were the Southern California Percussion Alliance PSCO champions (placing first) in San Bernardino, CA, and placed second at the Winter Guard International world championships in Dayton, Ohio. They performed the show, "Star-Crossed Lovers," an arrangement of music surrounding the story of Romeo & Juliet. It was arranged by instructor Gabriel Cobas. In addition, in the same year, the Diamond Bar indoor drumline placed third at the Southern California Percussion Alliance PSA finals, with a show named "Bushido."

Diamond Bar High School has been recognized as the 2014 National Grammy Signature School, thanks to the choral and instrumental music programs at DBHS.

Notable alumni

• Danny Dorn, 2002, Baseball, Arizona Diamondbacks
• Jonathon Amaya, 2006, Football, Miami Dolphins
• Amrapali Ambegaokar, 1995, Dancer, Actor, Principal Dancer Cirque Du Soleil, So You Think You Can Dance, Grey's Anatomy
• Gary Brown, 2007, Baseball, St. Louis Cardinals
• Mike Burns (baseball pitcher), 1996, Baseball, Cincinnati Reds
• Jim Edmonds, 1988, Baseball, St. Louis Cardinals, Cardinals Hall of Famer
• Danny Im, 1996, member of Korean hip hop group 1TYM
• Bret Lockett, 2005, Football, New England Patriots
• Paula Miranda, 1994, model and actress
• Alex Morgan, 2007, Soccer, 2012 London Olympic Gold Medalist, 2015 World Cup Champion
• Kevin Na, 2001, Golf, PGA and international competitions
• Donte Nicholson, 2000, Football, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Teddy Park, 1996, record producer/rapper under YG Entertainment in South Korea, member of Korean hip hop group 1TYM
• Tiffany (South Korean singer), member of Girls' Generation
• Keith Van Horn, 1993, Basketball, Dallas Mavericks
• Ryan Wendell, 2004, Football, New England Patriots, Super Bowl XLIX Champion
• Jason Wright, 2000, Football, Arizona Cardinals
• Alan Robertazzi, 1984, NY Times-Director of News Design, former Editor-in-Chief Daily Trojan, USC
• Nadia Mejia, 2013, Model, Miss California USA 2016

Notable faculty

David Hong