History of James C. Enochs High School

On November 6, 2001, voters residing within the Modesto City Schools Elementary and High School Districts approved Measure “S” (the elementary bond) and Measure “T” (the high school bond) to fund much needed modernization and construction of new facilities to accommodate growth in the areas.

Two new high schools have been planned for this coming fall of 2006 and 2007.  The schools will serve the Salida and Northeast Modesto areas to help relieve the busing and overcrowding at the high schools which exist today.  James C. Enochs High School is currently under construction in the Northeast Modesto area.  Seventy three acres of land was purchased in 1999 at the corner of Sylvan and Roselle.  Educational specifications were approved by the Board of Education in December 2001 and construction began in the summer of 2004 with an expected date for opening in the fall of 2006.  

The architect Edwin S. Darden is also the designer and builder of Pitman High in Turlock.  At completion the site will be 277,000 square feet of buildings that include 89 teaching stations or classrooms.  The campus master plan accommodates 2500 students, expandable to 3000.  The site design includes three academic clusters and a central administration office.  Assistant Principals will be located in each of the academic clusters for better supervision and visual coverage of the campus. The site will support a large gym, two locker/shower facilities, a voc ed and industrial wing, field house, cafeteria/multi-use facility, variety of playing fields, and a media center.  Student amphitheater and student commons area are the visual and functional core of the campus.  There are future plans for a 25 foot by 25 meter swimming pool and performance Arts building.  The cost is estimated to be between $66 and 70 million. 

James C. Enochs High School will be the sixth comprehensive high school in Modesto.  It is named for James C. Enochs, the current Superintendent of Schools.  Mr. Enochs attended elementary, junior high and high school in Modesto, graduating from Modesto High School.  Mr. Enochs served for over forty years in a variety of teaching and Administrative positions and has been the Superintendent for the past eighteen years. 

Enochs High School will open with a 9th and 10th grade class.  Each year, as the existing students move up to the next grade level, a new freshman class will enroll until it includes all four grade levels beginning with the 2008 - 09 school year.

*Measure “T” (High School Bond)  will provide 65 million for electrical improvements and air conditioning at Modesto, Downey, Davis and Elliot High Schools and add two new high schools to serve the Salida and Northeast Modesto to relieve the busing and overcrowding which exist today and update the library at Davis.