Bonita Vista High School opened in the fall of 1966 at a construction cost of $2.5 million.[3] A student committee chose the Baron mascot over a Patriot and a Crusader.[4]
In December 2005, the district school board voted to remove the senior portfolio project as a graduation requirement following student protests.[5] A co-salutatorian led students in arguing that the project lacked academic rigor, even submitting a satirical portfolio to highlight perceived deficiencies[6]
Jennifer Ekstein is a science teacher at Bonita Vista High School, recognized as the 2024-25 San Diego County Teacher of the Year.[7][8] In April, the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) and Cox Communications recognized all 51 district teachers of the year at a special event, where five winners were later selected. Highlights from the event will be featured in a 30-minute special, Cox Presents: Salute to Teachers, airing in September on Cox's YurView network (Channel 4 on Cox and Spectrum).[9]
BVH has two competitive show choirs, the mixed-gender group "The Music Machine" and the all-female "Sound Unlimited". The school formerly had an all-male group, "Barontones".[13] The Music Machine and Sound Unlimited have both advanced to national-level competitions.[14] The Music Machine was one of the most progressive show choirs in the western United States in the late 1900s.[15] The program hosts an annual competition, San Diego Sings![16]
^"12 Musicians With San Diego Ties". KNSD. San Diego. Sounddiego. November 21, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2019. Vedder may get all the love, but folks don't realize the guy straddling two grunge powerhouses as the drummer for both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam was born and raised in San Diego -- he went to Bonita Vista High School -- before moving to Seattle in 1983.
^Sylvia Tiersten (May 2007). "Killer Tomatoes". @ucsd. University of California, San Diego. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved June 14, 2012. It's Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, the 1978 sci-fi spoof that former Bonita Vista High School buddies John DeBello, Muir '75, J. Stephen "Steve" Peace, Muir '76, and Costa Dillon, unleashed on an unsuspecting world.
^"Hannah Flippen - Softball". utahutes.com. Retrieved August 21, 2019. Garcia, Dominic (March 27, 2014). "Flippen awesome". The Daily Utah Chronicle. University of Utah. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
^Shroder, Susan (August 2, 2013). "Former NFL player accused in $50M fraud scheme". Hartford Courant. San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved August 20, 2019. Frisch graduated from Bonita Vista High School in Chula Vista and played football at Brigham Young University in Utah.
^Brent, Phillip (September 13, 2016). "Brave New World for Chula Vista High School para-athlete". The Star News. Chula Vista. Retrieved August 20, 2019. The 2016 Summer Paralympic Games began Wednesday in Brazil with two Paralympic athletes on Team USA from South County: Bonita Vista High School graduate David Garza (soccer) and Chula Vista High School alumnus Ahkeel Whitehead (track and field). "David Garza". Team USA. United States Olympic Committee. Retrieved August 20, 2019. High School: Bonita Vista High School (Chula Vista, California) '12
^Beltran, Raymond R. (January 23, 2004). "State Assembly Elections, District 78". Retrieved June 11, 2009. Shirley Horton grew up in San Diego and graduated from Bonita Vista High School.
^"Shirley Horton: 78th Assembly District State of California". Asian Journal. Retrieved May 28, 2011. I attended Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Paradise Hills, went to O'Farrell Junior High School, and went on to graduate from Bonita Vista High School.
^Brents, Phillip (July 25, 2019). "All the world's a stage for BVHS alum David Schipper". The Star News. Chula Vista. Retrieved August 20, 2019. Now, 27, the Bonita Vista High School alumnus has both figuratively and played the world's game — around the world.