Chaffey Joint Union High School District history

Due to this success, the Chaffey brothers were courted by the government in Australia to develop a colony much like Ontario in their own country, and in 1886, they accepted.[v]

In May 1911, the citizens of Ontario and Upland voted by large majority to form a Union High School District, to which the name Chaffey was attached.[ix] On June 9, 1911, the Chaffey Union High School District became a legal entity, and Merton E. Hill was named as the first Superintendent.

However, the title deed to the land and building, which given over to the Chaffey High School District (February 7, 1912), was held by the Ontario School District.[viii]Betty Richards, "The Chaffeys: Saga of a Southern California Family, Pomona Valley Historian, vol.

1.[vii]Lois Le Baron Avery, a teacher who served at the original Ontario High and Chaffey High Schools, writes in the 1917 Fasti about an Ontario High School District.

The original college building was condemned in 1934, and most of the structures that exist on the Chaffey campus today were built from President Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration funds that were provided to create jobs during the Great Depression.

In 1938, Gardiner W. Spring was named as the District’s second Superintendent.

In 1952, under the helm of Superintendent Daniel Milliken, the District built Fontana High School to meet the needs of a growing population in the east region.

Maroon and white became the school colors, and not surprisingly, they were known as the “Steelers.” A unification election was held in 1955, and Fontana High School separated from the District and became part of the newly created Fontana Unified School District.[xii]

Montclair High School was built during the term of Superintendent Allan G. Smith at a cost of a little more than $2 million in 1959.

What was initially slated to be called Hillside High School in the planning stage, was later named Alta Loma High School when they opened their doors in 1963.[xv] The school is the home of the “Braves,” and they proudly fly their blue, white, and silver colors.

Finally, at a cost of almost $5 million, the District built Ontario High School in 1967 with cardinal red and gold as the school colors and “Jaguars” as the mascot.[xvi] That same year, the District opened Chaffey Adult School to meet the educational needs of adult students within the community.

In 1969, a program was established to meet the needs of this student population.

In 1973, Valley View High School was constructed as the District’s first continuation school.

In 1992, while Superintendent Dean Smothers was at the helm, Rancho Cucamonga High School was built.[xviii] The school was located geographically between Alta Loma and Etiwanda in the north.

In August 2002, with Barry Cadwallader as Superintendent, Los Osos (blue and gold “Grizzlies”) and Colony High School (red, white, and blue “Titans”) opened on the same day.[xx]

In 2008, the Board named Mathew Holton as the District’s ninth Superintendent.

Canyon View Continuation High School existed to support students until it was combined with Valley View Continuation High School in 2010.

In 2012, the District, known for its cutting-edge approach to instruction, opened the Chaffey District Online High School.

Gil Zendejas was elected to the Board in 2018.

Under the strong leadership of Superintendent Holton and Board members Art Bustamonte, John Rhinehart, Sue Ovitt, Shari Parker-Megaw, and Gil Zendejas, the District persevered through the COVID-19 pandemic which began with the school closures in March 2020 and continued for over a year.