Colton, CA—On Nov. 9, 2023, Colton High held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new state-of-the-art culinary building. The event was held on the building’s construction site across DC Lane from the Whitmer Auditorium.
Guests were welcomed with a performance by the CHS Marching Band. Principal John Abbott welcomed everyone and introduced important dignitaries both on and off the stage.
“We are proud to have you here with us this evening to celebrate our groundbreaking ceremony on our Culinary Arts Building that is going to host our CHAMPS students and faculty for many years to come,” said Principal Abbott.
Those who spoke at the event included school board vice president Frank Ibarra, Superintendent Dr. Frank Miranda, CJUSD Facilities Director Owen Chang, Colton mayor Frank Navarro, and junior Aiden Arroyo, who’s enrolled in the CHS Culinary, Hospitality and Management Pathway for Students (CHAMPS).
“I am in the CHAMPS pathway, which is helping us get into jobs in that field of cooking and other sorts of stuff like that,” Arroyo announced proudly. “And here I’m representing the students that this building will be helping.”
In between speakers Colton High’s Dance and Cheer teams performed during the event. Marching Band also performed a second time.
A staff member spoke on behalf of Joe Baca Jr. which handed Principal Abbott a certificate for the ceremony to sign. A representative from the office of Eloise Gomez Reyes also shared remarks from the assemblywoman, who was a graduate of Colton High.
Towards the end of the event everyone on stage was asked to put on their helmets and walk over to a hill of dirt where they grabbed shovels to conclude the ceremony with an official groundbreaking.
The culinary arts building was originally anticipated to have finished construction by now, but COVID caused delays. Fortunately, construction is on track to be finished by the end of 2024.
One of the exciting features of the new culinary arts building is the way it will preserve school history by using the facade of the old cafeteria, which has been a mainstay on the CHS campus since the 1950s.
CJUSD Facilities Director Owen Chang said, “The existing portion of the building is about 4000 square feet. What we’re doing is we’re kind of gutting everything, we’re renovating the interior or the building.” Chang also stated “There’s also a new addition. It’s about 5000 square feet of state of the art commercial kitchen to teaching stations.”
