Patterson High celebrates new facilities as centennial year begins

Patterson High School will kick off its centennial celebrations with a cheer for something new: the completion of modernization projects. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. Dec. 10 on the east side of the campus, 200 N. Seventh St.

The Patterson Joint Unified School District finished a $21.5 million modernization effort. It added new classrooms, renovated existing facilities and improved landscaping at Patterson and Del Puerto high schools, Las Palmas and Northmead elementary schools and Grayson Charter School.

The project included infrastructure upgrades for technology. All told, construction took about a year and a half, said Superintendent Phil Alfano.

The ribbon-cutting will be the official start of centennial celebrations for Patterson High. The high school district was formed in 1913, with ninth- and 10th-grade classes starting at the old Las Palmas School. Plans were drawn up for the construction of a high school building in November 1913.

The high school cornerstone was dedicated in 1914, and the building was completed in spring of 1915. The first senior class attended and graduated that semester, Alfano said.

A committee of alumni from PHS plans on coordinating centennial activities over the next two years.

For more information or to RSVP for the ribbon-cutting, call Susan White at (209) 895-7789.

This story was originally published December 1, 2013 at 5:38 PM with the headline "Patterson High celebrates new facilities as centennial year begins."