Bullard High School (Fresno, California)
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox school
|name = Bullard High School
|image = Bullard High School Entry.jpg
|imagesize =
|logo =
|caption =Law, Justice, and Public Service Magnet
|location = 5445 N. Palm Avenue
Fresno California 93704
|district = Fresno Unified School District
|country = United States
|coordinates = {{coord|36|49|02|N|119|48|36|W|region:US-CA_type:edu_source:GNIS|display=inline,title}}
|schoolnumber =
|schoolboard =
|authority =
|superintendent =
|principal = Armen Torigian[http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/sd/details.asp?cds=10621661030279&public=Y California School Directory]
|faculty = 114.22 (on FTE basis){{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=0614550&ID=061455001711|title=Bullard High|publisher=National Center for Education Statistics|access-date=December 9, 2024}}
|testaverage =
|national_ranking =
|classrooms =
|class =
|classes offered =
|SAT =
|ACT =
|graduates =
|gender =
|type = Public
|system =
|fees =
|budget =
|age range =
|grades = 8{{ndash}}12
|medium =
|language =
|campus =
|campus size =
|campus type =
|hours_in_day =
|athletics =
|conference = California Interscholastic Federation
|slogan =
|song =
|fightsong =
|motto =
|accreditation = WASC{{cite web |url=http://www.acswasc.org/pdf_general/WASC_DirectoryAccreditedSchools.pdf |title=Directory of Schools 2005-2006 |publisher=Western Association of Schools and Colleges |date=June 2005 |access-date=2008-01-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010120530/http://www.acswasc.org/pdf_general/WASC_DirectoryAccreditedSchools.pdf |archive-date=2008-10-10 }}
|rival =
|mascot = Knight
|mascot image =
|colors = Navy, Columbia, and White
|sports =
|patron =
|team_name =
|school_colours =
|yearbook = The Lance
|publication = The Charger
|newspaper =
|status =
|enrollment = 2,371 (2023-2024){{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=0614550&ID=061455001711|title=Bullard High|publisher=National Center for Education Statistics|access-date=December 9, 2024}}
|communities =
|feeders =
|free_label =
|free_text =
|footnotes =
|picture =
|homepage = {{URL|https://www.fresnounified.org/schools/bullard}}
}}
Bullard High School is a public secondary school located in Fresno, California, United States. Founded in 1955 and recognized as one of Fresno's top public schools,{{cite news |last=La Ganga |first=Maria L. |date=20 November 2005 |title=Fresno's Brain Drain Has Left the Town Smarting |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-nov-20-me-braindrain20-story.html |newspaper=LA Times |quote=At Fresno’s Bullard High School -- among the top public schools in the city|access-date=15 June 2022}} it is part of the Fresno Unified School District, and {{As of|2011|lc=on}} had around 2,650 students on roll in grades 9–12, approximately 650 students per grade.{{cite web |url=http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&SchoolID=061455001711&ID=061455001711 |title=Bullard High |publisher=National Center for Education Statistics |access-date=2009-10-29}}{{cite web |url=http://bullard.fresno.k12.ca.us/html/counselor/profile.htm |title=Profile |publisher=Bullard High School |access-date=2008-01-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025030019/http://bullard.fresno.k12.ca.us/html/counselor/profile.htm |archive-date=2007-10-25 }}
History
The school is named after Edwin J. Bullard, a Fresno area farmer and former member of the Fresno Country Board of Supervisors.{{cite book |last=Morison Rehart |first=Catherine |date=1 June 1996 |title=The Valley's Legends & Legacies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cCpk_P3d-h0C |publisher=Word Dancer Press
|page=299 |isbn=978-1884995125}} The Bullard geographical area originally had its own school district, named Bullard Unified, but it merged with Fresno Unified in 1958. Some parents discussed taking the Bullard area schools back out of Fresno Unified in 1991, primarily over funding concerns but it never moved beyond preliminary stages.{{cite news |last=Alexander |first=Amy |date=1 November 1991 |title=SECESSION DISCUSSED AT BULLARD |work=The Fresno Bee |quote=between 30 and 40 parents has been researching the possibility of taking the Bullard area schools out of the Fresno Unified School District}} Other attempts to disconnect the school from Fresno Unified occurred in 2011, when some parents proposed merging with Fresno and Edison High Schools, creating a new "Van Ness" school district and also in 2016, when teachers created a plan to convert Bullard to a charter school.{{cite news |last=Mays |first=Mackenzie |date=23 February 2016 |title=Teachers promote plan to convert Bullard High to a charter school |url=https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/education-lab/article61889207.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |work=The Fresno Bee |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220615231345/https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/crime/article45632931.html |archive-date=15 June 2022 |access-date=15 June 2022 }}{{Cite web |author= |date=24 March 2011 |title=No uniforms for Bullard; creating a new school district |url=https://abc30.com/archive/8022247/ |access-date=16 June 2022 |website=ABC30 Fresno |language=en}}
The campus has grown significantly since its founding in 1955. An all-weather track and field facility as well and an aquatic complex were added in the early 2010s.{{cite news |author= |date=5 May 2010 |title=Bullard High School to Get New Track, Pool Complex |url=https://abc7.com/archive/7410520/ |work=ABC7 |access-date=15 June 2022}} A three year construction project was completed in 2017 which included two new classrooms, a new administration building, and a new library media center.{{cite news |author= |date=8 August 2017 |title=Bullard High will have a brand new look just in time for the first day of school |url=https://abc30.com/bullard-high-school-construction-fresno/2287896/ |work=ABC7 |access-date=15 June 2022}} Solar panels were added over the parking lots in 2018.
The school was selected to host an early anti-plagiarism pilot program in 1999 by alumni John Barrie, who later created Turnitin.{{cite news |last=Dudley |first=Anne |date=24 October 1999 |title=SCHOOL CHEATING PUT TO THE TEST BULLARD HIGH TRIES A GRADUATE'S COMPUTER PROGRAMTO DETECT DIGITAL PLAGIARISM. |work=The Fresno Bee |quote=At Bullard, the program is first being tested in science teacher Tom Atkins' classes}} A 2014 bomb threat against the school led to two teenagers being arrested.{{cite news |last=Cano |first=Ricardo |date=4 September 2014 |title=Bullard High bomb threat: two suspects arrested |url=https://collegian.csufresno.edu/2014/09/bullard-high-bomb-threat-two-suspects-arrested/#.Yqpr5WBttaQ |work=The Collegian of Fresno State |access-date=15 June 2022}} In 2015, a student attacked a teacher and another student, which led to calls for stricter discipline.{{cite news |last=Appleton |first=Rory |date=21 November 2015 |title=Bullard High student allegedly attacks teacher, student; campus police officer slow to respond |url=https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/crime/article45632931.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |work=The Fresno Bee |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220615231345/https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/crime/article45632931.html |archive-date=15 June 2022 |access-date=15 June 2022 }}{{cite news |last=Castillo |first=Andrea |date=17 December 2015 |title=Bullard High School teachers release petition demanding stricter discipline |url=https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/education-lab/article50187160.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |work=The Fresno Bee |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220615232006/https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/education-lab/article50187160.html |archive-date=15 June 2022 |access-date=15 June 2022 }} A cheating controversy marred the 2016 graduation, where the valedictorian leveled accusations against the teachers and administration; a school spokesman denied the claims.{{cite news |last=Mays |first=Mackenzie |date=14 June 2016 |title=Fresno Unified denies Bullard valedictorian's accusations of cheating |url=https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/education-lab/article82913862.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |work=The Fresno Bee |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220615232349/https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/education-lab/article82913862.html |archive-date=15 June 2022 |access-date=15 June 2022 }} A Bullard cheerleader's 2019 video spawned widespread racial criticism.{{cite news |last=La Ganga |first=Maria L. |date=31 August 2019 |title=Cheerleader's blackface video raises ghosts of Fresno's racist past |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-08-31/fresno-racism-slur-blackface-election |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |newspaper=LA Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423123811/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-08-31/fresno-racism-slur-blackface-election |archive-date=23 April 2021 |access-date=15 June 2022}}{{cite news |last=La Ganga |first=Maria L. |date=1 June 2019 |title=Student in blackface spouting a racial slur roils Fresno high school |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-fresno-student-blackface2019-story.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |newspaper=LA Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219013417/https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-fresno-student-blackface2019-story.html |archive-date=19 December 2021 |access-date=15 June 2022}} In May 2022, a picture taken in the school's weightroom sparked additional race-based outrage.{{Cite web |last1=Jacob |first1=Brittany |last2=Flores |first2=Alyssa |date=6 May 2022 |title=Fresno Unified investigating controversial picture taken at Bullard High |url=https://abc30.com/bullard-high-controversial-photo/11822350/ |access-date=7 May 2022 |website=ABC30 Fresno |language=en}} Only a few months later at the start of the 2022-23 school year, the school gained further controversy over a new cell phone ban with implementation of Yondr pouches.{{Cite web |last=Morano |first1=Juliana |date=18 August 2022 |title=Students, parents sound off on cell phone ban at Bullard High. 'Taking away our voices'|url=https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/education-lab/article264431391.html |website=The Fresno Bee |language=en}}
Ethnic composition
Athletics
For much of its history, Bullard High has competed in the North Yosemite League, playing against the other public high schools in Fresno and Madera for over 40 years. In 2002, the school shifted over to the Tri-City League but after two years there, it moved to the County Metro League. Due to their close proximity on opposing sides of Fresno's 41 Freeway, a rivalry developed between Bullard and Hoover High School. The rivalry was dubbed the "Battle of Barstow" after a street both campuses share.{{Cite web |author= |date=28 August 2015 |title=Battle of Barstow rivalry not over yet |url=https://abc30.com/barstow-mclane-bullard-hoover/961629/ |access-date=16 June 2022 |website=ABC30 Fresno}} However, as the competitive balance of the area high schools has shifted over the years, more rivalries have developed within league play.
Bullard High School offers a comprehensive Division I interscholastic athletics program with 24 different varsity-level sports. The athletics program has produced Major League Baseball players including Steve Ellsworth, Dave Meier, Stan Papi, Randy Asadoor and Rex Hudler. Former Fresno State and NFL quarterback Kevin Sweeney is another notable Bullard alumnus.
The school has had consistent success in baseball, softball, volleyball (boys and girls), tennis, water polo, and soccer. The school earned varsity football league championships in the Northern Yosemite League in 1962, 1966, 1967, 1977, 1981 and 1999, as well as in the County Metro League in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2012. The 2009 varsity football team had success in the Division I Central Section playoffs and won the section title that year, being named Valley Champions. The girls tennis team had a string of section championships from 1987 to 1994.{{cite news |last=White |first=David |date=1 December 1999 |title=BULLARD'S TITLE RUN SINKS IN 5 GAMES |work=The Fresno Bee}} The 1999 girls volleyball team made a deep run in the CIF playoffs, beating Mira Costa and sweeping San Marcos before getting knocked out by top ranked Newport Harbor.{{cite news |last=Duncan |first=Sean |date=1 December 1999 |title=A Decade of Dominance - Powerhouse Panthers aim for 8th title of 90s |work=Daily Breeze |quote=The Panthers fell three short of the state record held by Fresno's Bullard High (1987-1994)}} The 2009 boys soccer team won a section title and were state championship runners-up. The girls soccer team won a section title in 2011 (also state championship runners-up) along with the boys basketball team that same year.
While not an alumnus, former National Football League head and assistant coach Mike Martz started his coaching career as an assistant coach for the Knights football team in 1973.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}} Bullard's success under coach Tony Amundsen put them on the radar of Southern California basketball programs.{{cite web |url=https://www.maxpreps.com/news/s_dcC1qZkEOGobgx-goj8A/bullard-shoots-for-recognition-in-the-southern-california-basketball-scene.htm |title=Bullard shoots for recognition in the Southern California basketball scene |last=Galluzzo |first=Steve |date=23 January 2013 |website=MaxPreps |access-date=15 June 2022 |quote=}}{{Cite web |last=Reisbeck |first=Jessob |date=15 June 2022 |title=Bullard High's Armstead Brothers Like You've Never Seen Before |url=https://kmph.com/archive/bullard-highs-armstead-brothers-like-youve-never-seen-before |access-date=7 May 2022 |website=FOX26 Fresno |language=en}} Tony's older brother, Tim, took the reins of the basketball program in 2016.{{cite news |last=Giannandrea |first=Nick |date=11 July 2016 |title=Prep basketball: Bullard hires three-time section title-winning coach Tim Amundsen |url=https://www.fresnobee.com/sports/high-school/prep-basketball/article88938222.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |work=The Fresno Bee |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918220747/https://www.fresnobee.com/sports/high-school/prep-basketball/article88938222.html |archive-date=18 September 2016 |access-date=15 June 2022}}
Notable alumni
- Lynn Williams — professional soccer player, Western New York Flash
- Joe Cooper — NFL kicker, Super Bowl champion
- Steve Ellsworth — Boston Red Sox pitcher{{cite web |title=Hudler, Rex |url=https://fresnoahof.org/hudler-rex/ |website=Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame |access-date=18 January 2025 |language=en |date=28 August 2023}}
- Dave Meier — Major League Baseball outfielder{{cite web |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/draft/draft.jsp?year=1977 |title=1977 Draft -- June Regular Phase |publisher=Major League Baseball |access-date=2008-01-10}}
- Stan Papi — Major League Baseball player{{cite web |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/draft/draft.jsp?year=1969 |title=1969 Draft -- June Regular Phase |publisher=Major League Baseball |access-date=2008-01-10}}
- Kevin Sweeney — NFL quarterback
- Randy Asadoor — San Diego Padres infielder{{cite web |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/draft/draft.jsp?year=1980 |title=1980 Draft -- June Regular Phase |publisher=Major League Baseball |access-date=2008-01-10}}
- Rex Hudler — Major League Baseball utility player{{cite news |last=Boogaard |first=Andy |date=3 November 1999 |title=IT'S NO WONDER REX HUDLER'S FABULOUS JOURNEY ENDS RIGHT WHERE IT OUGHT TO -- FRESNO'S HALL OF FAME |work=The Fresno Bee |quote=the Bullard High product has better stories to tell}}
- Robert Kendrick — professional tennis player, well known for collegiate Div. I success
- Andy Finch — professional snowboarder; halfpipe finals at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy
- Vern Poythress — Calvinist philosopher and theologian{{cite web|url=http://www.frame-poythress.org/VHBiogWeb.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-07-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106055301/http://www.frame-poythress.org//VHBiogWeb.html |archive-date=2009-01-06 }}
- Anthony McCoy — Seattle Seahawks tight end
- Robert Westenberg — Tony-nominated Broadway Actor
- Kevin Federline — entertainer and former husband of Britney Spears{{cite web |url=http://www.celebrityclassphotos.com/kevin-federlines-high-school-photo |title=high school photo |access-date=2012-05-18 }}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- {{official website|http://www.fresnounified.org/schools/high/bullard}}
- [http://www.bullardcharger.com BullardCharger.com]
{{Fresno}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Educational institutions established in 1955
Category:High schools in Fresno, California