Valley High School is a three-year public high school in West Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The school hosts grades 10–12. It is run by the West Des Moines Community Schools. Freshmen attend a separate school, Valley Southwoods.As of the 2014-15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,996 students and 1,097.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 18.2:1. There were 378 students (18.9% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 84 (4.2% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.HistoryIn October 1895, the doors opened to the first established high school in Valley Junction at 415 Seventh Street . Valley Junction’s first graduation was held on May 31, 1901 with just nine graduates.By 1916, the population had grown and a bond issue was passed for a new high school. Construction on the three-story $50,000 structure at Eighth and Hillside was completed in 1917.In 1938, when Valley Junction changed its name, the school district changed, too, becoming the West Des Moines Independent School District. At this time, one high school, a junior high school and three elementary schools served the needs of the community. In the same year and thanks to a grant from the Public Works Administrations, a new concrete stadium was built just north of the high school on Eighth Street.In 1962, 38acre of farmland near 35th and Ashworth Road were purchased by the School Board for $116,000 as a site for a new high school. Construction of Valley High School was completed in four phases from 1963 to 1970. Valley became a four-year high school during the 1971–72 school year. Costing nearly $5.5 million, Valley High School stretched almost one-quarter of a mile from end to end. Also in 1971, Valley opened the Metropolitan Conference’s newest and largest gymnasium. Additional classrooms, science labs, and other student spaces have been added over the years. The first year that the new school was open, it was used for classrooms for some sixth grade students and for the 9th grade year of the class of 1970. The next year, it became a three-year high school. The graduating class of 1975 was the first class to attend 4 years in the new building.
