Granite Hills High School has been a cornerstone of the Porterville community since it opened in 1999. It is one of eight high schools in Porterville Unified School District and is known for its commitment to academic excellence, innovative programs, and eye-catching campus.
The 2024-25 school year is a special year for Granite Hills – celebrating 25 years of academic excellence, community engagement, and student achievement. As Granite Hills celebrates its golden age, let’s honor the school’s rich history and its contributions to the community.
The man currently leading Granite Hills is Mr. Jacob Bowker. He is the eighth principal in Granite Hills history.
Mr. Bowker has an excellent educational background. He has nine years of experience teaching high school math and science at the Avalon K-12 School on Catalina Island. He also has nine years in administrative roles at Ridgeview Middle School in Visalia, Monache High School, and now Granite Hills.
He earned his undergraduate degree in mathematics from Long Beach State University, a Master’s Degree from San Diego State University, and an administrative credential from Fresno Pacific University.
Originally passionate about teaching and coaching, Mr. Bowker was encouraged by a mentor to become an administrator to extend his knowledge beyond the classroom. He values the ability to create opportunities for students and staff and views his role as a servant leader, focusing on collaboration and support.
Having grown up in the local area, Mr. Bowker feels a deep connection to the community and understands the challenges faced by the students. At Granite Hills, he has seen positive changes in school culture, facilities, and staffing over his four years leading. He upholds that “excellence is never an accident, it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, skillful execution, and the vision to see obstacles as opportunities.”
25th-anniversary Homecoming festivities
Granite Hills has a special homecoming week planned to get students involved in several activities, culminating with a football game against Farmersville High School on Oct. 4 at Jacob Rankin Stadium. Homecoming is a tradition that most schools celebrate every year, and on the 25th anniversary of Granite Hills, it should be a special celebration.
Granite Hills’ homecoming theme is “Rhythms of The Night” where each day of the week students dress up to represent a different music genre:
- Monday: Sunsets & Sombreros – students dress up in their boots and country attire to represent Latin and country music artists.
- Tuesday: Straight Outta Hoco – students can dress up in streetwear or as their favorite rapper to represent hip-hop and R&B music.
- Wednesday: It’s Not a Phase, It’s a Dress Up Day – students dress up in black, their favorite graphic tee, or dress up as their favorite rock band.
- Thursday: Reggae Island – students can wear beads, Jamaican, or Hawaiian attire.
- Friday: Grizzly Grammys – Grizzly students wear their Granite Hills attire, showing their Grizzly pride.
Granite Hills will host a staff and alumni tailgate at the Granite Hills Amphitheater from 5-6:15 p.m. All staff and alumni are invited to attend. The Mud House will be selling coffee, tea, lemonade, etc. The band boosters will be selling tacos and quesadillas.
“Out ASB students did a really good job of selecting our theme for homecoming,” Granite Hills English teacher Mr. Marquez said. “It is a very classy theme that will allow all staff and students to participate. It is going to be a fun week for everyone who gets involved.”
Party like it’s 1999
Granite Hills has some fun things planned for the 25th anniversary Homecoming week and has a lot to look forward to, but here some interesting tidbits about the opening of Granite Hills:
- Building a new school is not an inexpensive project. Porterville Unified School District required a significant investment, totaling approximately $40 million to build Granite Hills High School. The construction of the main buildings alone amounted to about $37 million, $2 million for the Olympic-sized swimming pool, and another $1 million for Jacob Rankin Stadium. The stadium recently went through a $8.5 million renovation, improving sound systems, and replacing the field turf and track. It serves as a venue for various sports events and school activities, crucial in supporting the school’s extracurricular programs and assisting school spirit.
- Xavier De La Torre was the first principal at Granite Hills, starting with only 400 students. The school opened with just freshmen and sophomores. Construction wasn’t finished when the school opened. The cafeteria, gym, pool, and stadium were still not completed at the time.
- Richard Lambie was a key figure in the history of Granite Hills High School. As the first ASB advisor and the second teacher hired, he played a crucial role in establishing the school’s traditions and culture. His dedication at Granite Hills brought significant contributions, including the memorable first lunch, which featured In-N-Out Burger, chips, and a soda. Before his time at Granite Hills, Lambie taught at Monache High School. Over an influential 46-year teaching career, Lambie was recognized as Tulare County Teacher of the Year in 2011 and ranked among the top 20 teachers in the state. In 2021, he was honored as the State Coach of the Year and was named one of the top seven coaches in the nation. He retired from teaching in 2024, but can still be seen on campus from time to time.
Present-day Granite Hills
With approximately 1,200 students, Granite Hills is the least populated high school in Porterville, but don’t get fooled by the low numbers. The school has shown its resilience and dedication to excellence. Granite Hills achieved respectable CAASPP scores, with 57% of its 301 11th graders passing the ELA assessment in 2024.
During recent years, Granite Hills has seen its athletic programs improve, winning a Central Section championship in boys soccer in 2022. The boys’ basketball team is one of the best small school programs in Tulare County with seven league titles under coach Bud Luther. The boy’s tennis team won a league title in 2024, boys golf won a league title in 2023, and girls soccer won a league title in 2022 and was runner-up in Valley. Football is showing big signs of improvement starting the year with a 3-1 record, wrestling brings home individual league championships on an annual basis, and volleyball is off to one of its best starts in recent memory.
Student involvement continues to increase with them having numerous clubs to participate in, and the school features three pathways for students to join – Academy of Careers in Education (ACE), Law, Justice and Ethics (LJE) and Computer Operations & Development Education (CODE).
Granite Hills has served its students and community proudly over the last 25 years and will continue to do so well into the future.
