The Kern High School District (KHSD) is located in Kern County, at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley. It is the largest grades 9-12 high school district in California, serving over 42,000 students. The KHSD includes 18 comprehensive high schools, five alternative education sites, the Regional Occupational Center (ROC), Career Technical Educational Center (CTEC), the Kern Aquatic Complex, Bakersfield Adult School, and several Special Education sites.
The KHSD has a long history in Kern County. During the 1892 General Election, residents voted to establish the county’s first high school. On January 12, 1893, Kern County High School, renamed Bakersfield High School in 1945, opened its doors.
Classes were held in two rooms on the second floor of a building at the corner of Truxtun Avenue and L Street, with 32 students in attendance. The school held its first graduation ceremony two years after opening with a total of three students in the graduating class. Today, the number of students who have graduated from the KHSD totals over 200,000.
As Kern County grows, so does the Kern High School District. In 2016, voters approved Measure K, a $280 million bond helping fund several KHSD projects, including Del Oro High School, KHSD’s 19th comprehensive high school being built in southeast Bakersfield. The new school is scheduled to open in the 2022-23 school year.
Other projects funded by Measure K include the Career Technical Education Center (CTEC) at Independence High School, the Kern Aquatic Complex at Independence High School, Special Education facilities at Frontier and Independence High Schools, and several modernization projects.
KHSD SCHOOL SITE CHRONOLOGY
1893 - Kern County High School (renamed Bakersfield High in 1945)
1928 - Shafter High
1938 - East Bakersfield High
1941 - Kern Valley High
1945 - Burroughs High
1949 - Arvin High
1953 - North High
1957 - South High
1961 - Foothill High
1965 - West High
1967 - Vista Continuation High
1970 - Highland High, Mesquite Continuation High, Nueva Continuation High
1971 - Central Valley Continuation High
1972 - Ruggenberg Career Center
1974 - Burroughs High, Mesquite Continuation High leaves KHSD to form own district
1975 - Horizon Alternative High
1976 - Phoenix Learning Center
1978 - Vista East Continuation High
1979 - Constellation Center
1980 - McFarland High dropped from district to form its own district
1982 - Horizon High dropped from district
1985 - Regional Occupational Center opened after KHSD assumes control of all Regional Occupational Programs
1985 - Summit Continuation High
1985 - Mt. Vernon Campus of Bakersfield Adult School
1986 - Vista West Continuation High
1991 - Stockdale High
1993 - Centennial High
1993 - Discovery campus
1994 - Ridgeview High
1998 - Vista East Continuation High School dropped from district
1999 - Liberty High
2003 - Golden Valley High
2006 - Frontier High
2008 - Independence High
2008 - Mira Monte High
2011 - Tierra Del Sol Continuation High
2020 - Kern Aquatic Complex
2020 - Career Technical Education Center