Delano Joint Union High School District students experience daily academic success through superior standards-based instruction. Each "professional learning community" team member is personally committed to creating a positive atmosphere of collaboration that promotes teaching and learning, a safe school environment, and comparable resources for all students.

T - TEACHING: To collaboratively support quality research based instructional practices and analyze student outcomes using formative and summative assessments to advance student learning.

E - ENRICHMENT: To provide enrichment opportunities that promote academic, social, and emotional development.

A - ACHIEVEMENT: To promote superior academic results, the Board of Trustees, administration, teachers, support staff, parents, and students will foster, recognize, and celebrate learning.

M - MODEL: To effectively model our mission and vision, every team member will maintain a professional attitude, be open to continuous improvement, make personal contributions, be accountable, and demonstrate integrity.

The early history of Delano begins with the Yokuts Indians, who inhabited the Delano area when Spanish missionaries arrived in the late 1700s. There were about 50 Yokut tribes, each speaking its own dialect.

After the Spanish, the Americans began to arrive in the Delano area in the 1820s. More Americans came after gold was discovered in Kern County in 1853 in the Greenhorn Mountains, bringing thousands of miners with diverse backgrounds into the Delano area.

The City of Delano was founded on July 14, 1873, and named in honor of Columbus Delano, the Secretary of the Interior for the United States at that time. Delano later became incorporated on April 13, 1915.

The Delano Joint Union High School District dates back to 1911, when the first high school classes were held in a local church. The original administration building (pictured above) was constructed in 1912-13. In 1914, in the first Delano High School graduation ceremony, seven students received diplomas.

Delano High School was the only comprehensive high school in the district until 2003. In that year, DHS was joined by Cesar E. Chavez High School. A third comprehensive high school, named for Senator Robert F. Kennedy, opened in August 2008.

Read for fun

Schoolbooks aren't the only books you can read. Learn to read for pleasure. You’ll do better in school and be a learner for life.

Turn off the TV and get creative

Develop your own creativity by playing games, acting in your own plays, drawing, playing a musical instrument, singing, cooking, sewing. The only limit is the limit of your own ideas. Challenge your imagination everyday.

Get plenty of rest

You can't learn if you are not focused and rested, so always get enough sleep.

Eat healthy and exercise

Staying active and staying fit will help you stay sharp in school. A good breakfast every morning can help you get an "A." Don't miss the most important meal of the day.

Don’t give up, ask for help

If you get a bad grade, ask for help and give it another shot.

Learn by helping others

You can learn so much by helping others. Volunteer to help a new student get settled in your school. Volunteer in your community.

Make friends who are different

Learn about classmates from other cultures and respect their differences. Open your mind and expand your world by sharing customs, holidays, games, and family stories with someone whose background is different than your own.

Schedule time for homework every day

Create a well-lit, organized, and quiet place where you can do homework or work on long-term projects. If you don’t have homework on a particular day, read or create a special art piece. Make this time a part of your daily routine. Always be organized with your notes, assignments, projects, and test dates.

Volunteer to be a mentor

Mentoring or tutoring a younger student will reinforce what you know, increase your confidence, and make you feel great!

Set your sights high

When you set high goals for yourself and work toward them each day, you’ll be amazed at what you’ll achieve!