Bonita High School is a high school located in the city of La Verne, California in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Opened in 1903, it was the first high school in the Bonita Unified School District. It moved to its current campus in 1959. The majority of its students come from Ramona Middle School, which is also located in La Verne. The Bearcat athletic teams compete in the Palomares League of the CIF Southern Section.HistoryIn 1903, high school classes started on the second floor of a La Verne store. The classes were quickly moved to the building of nearby La Verne Public School (now La Verne Heights Elementary). Two teachers helped open Bonita Union High School, the first school in the Bonita Unified School District, that fall. In 1905, the school relocated to a two-story Mission-style building on Bonita Avenue. The size of the school was expanded to 23 acres in 1922.In 1959, due to the overcrowding of the school, the school was sold to the Catholic Church and opened as Damien High School. Bonita moved to D Street, where the current campus still stands. The school celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2003.RecognitionIn 1996 and 2003, Bonita was recognized as a California Distinguished School for its excellence in Academics, Athletics, and the Arts, with a CST rating of 846, (the California standard is 1000 with a score of 800 considered excellent).
