Have you ever wandered the halls of Ridge and asked yourself, “What was Ridge like when it first opened?” “How did students react to the first day of Ridge?” or “How has this school changed since it first opened in 1995?” Things have definitely changed since the very first day of Ridge, and there are hundreds of stories to be told and compared to our school experience today.

November, 1995

The halls of the school just finished construction and were filled to the brim with new students. At that time there were only freshmen and sophomores. Some parts of the school were still under construction, the auditorium was not even constructed yet and was left to a new bond. Speaking of unconstructed buildings, the E building was yet to be built. Only the C building was the only academic building on campus, besides the gym. Teachers and faculty reported that the school day was smooth and easy,

“The Lunch lines were just a tad bit long, and there are a lot of freshmen,” Said Sophomore Briana Lundberg. (1995)

The freshmen of the newly built Mountain Ridge really liked the campus, but many had trouble adapting to the rotating schedule, and not seeing their friends. When Ridge first opened, the schedule was much different than it is today. Periods 1-4 were 75 minutes long and you only saw three of them each day. On Monday there were 1,2, 3 and on Tuesday there were 4, 1, 2 and it rotated this way throughout the week. Whatever period (1-4) you didn’t see the previous day, you began with that class. Imagine starting your day with period 3. Periods 5 and 6, which met every day) were 55 minutes long and flip-flopped back and forth so one day it went 5 before 6 and then the next went 6 before 5. The reasoning, from what remaining teachers say, was to minimize certain periods, especially in the morning, always getting impacted by students being late or having doctors’ appointments.  

“I hardly knew anybody, I don’t understand the teachers, and I don’t like the rotating schedule,” according to freshman Kayce Smith (1995).

Despite some negative opinions and a lot of confusion over the schedule, many students were very impressed with the new school.

“I was really impressed with the teachers, the campus, and the curriculum. I’m looking forward to a great year” commented sophomore Kara Rupert (1995).

According to sophomore Victor Chung (1995),

“I thought it was very different from California,” He said. “ People are less concerned about their looks.”

The Auditorium Bond

Before when the auditorium was constructed, a new bond issue was proposed to the governing board. The Board and voters of the bond have the opportunity to delay the construction of the auditorium by 3 years. In March, the vote defeated the bond, in which another bond was proposed to the board to vote on. The Citizens Steering Commission’s proposal must be approved by the board, and the total for the would be $124 million. The bond itself will make big improvements around the campus including $6 million dollars for the completion of Ridge alone.

The Principal of MRHS during 1995, Connie Harris, had this to say about the bond,

“This bond is very important to our school.” she said.

The bond will also include a “Wish List” of things that the school requested, like more fencing around the football fields or more ramadas for the lunch tables. 

Eventually, the $126 million dollar bond was voted and approved, and the empty space on campus will finally have something built on it! 

Ridge Today

Today, Ridge is fully constructed and now the school is filled with 2,800 students. The auditorium stands tall and even had the school logo printed onto it. Students are not complaining anymore about a revolving schedule, but complaints about teachers, their assignments, etc. can still be heard through the same halls. 

The auditorium has been fully built and has been used for over 20 years! For the past 26 years, Mountain Ridge High School has improved and evolved in hundreds of ways. From new principals to entire new buildings. Ridge staff and students have seen a school open with two classes and fewer buildings to four classes with over 3000 students and portable classrooms. Portables have been replaced by the CC-Building, and an auxiliary (small) gym was created as well. Who knows what the future of MRHS would look like, but looking back at Ridge from 1995 and all of the continuous improvements that have been made, it’s clear that Ridge will continue to excel long into the future.