This new Victorville middle school is ready to accept students in August
With a name chosen and a principal in place, Larrea Middle School will welcome its first class of seventh-graders in August.
Last week, the Victorville middle school hosted an enrollment fair for prospective seventh-graders, and enrollment is growing quickly, Principal Joe Williams said.
“I’m extremely humbled to be named the first principal of the newest school in our district,” Williams stated. “As our community grows, so do the expectations of our district to make sure we produce students who are college bound, career tech ready and are productive members of our society.”
Williams is a longtime Victor Valley Union High School District employee. He previously served in assistant principal roles at Lakeview Leadership Academy, Silverado High and Goodwill High/Victor Valley Virtual Academy.
The school named after plants
A committee composed of district staff, district leadership, community members and students convened earlier this year to choose possible names for the new school. Victor Valley Union High School District trustees made the final choice.
Trustees settled on Larrea, which is the name of a genus of plants that includes the creosote bush — a native Mojave Desert plant.
Another possible name put forth by the committee was Felix G. Diaz Middle School, in honor of the longtime resident, community leader, teacher and Army veteran, who died in 2021.
Though several board members said they favored naming the school after Diaz, the board bylaws do not allow a school to be named after someone who passed away less than five years prior.
Trustees and Superintendent Carl Coles said at a recent meeting that they are committed to naming another facility after Diaz in the future.
A mascot will be decided by the first Larrea seventh-grade class, district officials said.
Grand opening scheduled
The Larrea campus was renovated by school district maintenance crews after being mostly unused since 2013, when Cobalt Middle School was expanded and was renamed Cobalt Institute of Math & Science. That school has since moved to another location.
Larrea Middle School’s grand opening is Aug. 7, and will coincide with a reduction in class sizes to 25-to-1 for middle school core classes, which include English, math, history and science.
Other comprehensive middle schools, including Hook Junior High and Lakeview Leadership Academy, will see less-crowded campuses and smaller classes.
“The heart of education is the connection between a teacher and a student,” Coles said. “Smaller class sizes help that connection to flourish; it’s a win-win for teachers and students. We believe this strategy will raise proficiency in core subjects and improve literacy, which is a key to success for all students.”
The campus will serve only seventh grade in the 2023-24 school year, but will expand to include seventh- and eight-grade in its second school year.
The school’s attendance boundaries lie mostly west of Interstate 15 between Bear Valley and Palmdale roads.
Larrea will serve students who are currently sixth-graders at Brentwood School of Environmental Studies, Discovery School of the Arts, Galileo School of Gifted and Talented Education, Liberty School of Innovation and Creativity, and Park View Preparatory School of 21st Century Learning. Transfers from other areas are also welcome, according to district staff.
The school will offer bussing, and the planned start time is 8 a.m.
For more information or to register a student, visit vvuhsd.org/enroll.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Larrea Middle School is ready to accept students
