Brains over brawn: MHS has history of academic success

By ANNABELA LOPEZ 
The Tower 

The city of Manteca was founded in 1861 by settler Joshua Cowell.  

By 1920, Manteca High School was born, making it the first high school in Manteca 

As years passed, the halls of the high school were filled with emotional and memorable memories, and the Herd of Buffalo would become one of the strongest communities in town. 

Over the last 126 years, Manteca High has achieved so much, including back-to-back California Distinguished Schools awards.  

“That’s a pretty prestigious honor for our school,” assistant principal and longtime education Neil MacDannald said.   

The California Distinguished Schools is a list of schools in California who are recognized for their educational excellence and students graduating with a variety of skills.  

Being the oldest secondary school in Manteca Unified School District means Manteca High has a deep past and rich history. People feel connected to this town not just because it’s safe but because they have lived here their whole life, including their parents and grandparents.  

Manteca High teacher Ron Inderbitzin has a deep connection with this town and the school. 

He grew up here in Manteca, went to Lincoln Elementary and graduated from East Union. Even with not have gone to Manteca High, his kids attended this school but had lived in a different town but chose Manteca because of their longing tradition. 

“I’ve always loved being here and being a part (of this community),” Inderbitzin said, “and explaining things to my family (about) where we came from.” 

Inderbitzin been teaching at Manteca high for 34 years, teaching 23 years of Drivers education and 5 years of Physical education. He also teaches life skill classes like adult living and Success 101 to help students prepare for life after high school. 

A tradition of excellence lives on through today’s students, and the experiences Manteca High offers its campus community.  

Staff look for ways to help their students. While everyone has a different plan after graduation, Manteca High provides multiple ways to help students choose their path, whether that is the military, trade school, or other career paths.  

The school also offers clubs with wide aspects created both by students of teachers. There is a college club and another for future lawyers. 

In the halls of the main office, filled top to bottom with pictures and awards the school received because of their students’ achievements. One specific wall full of academic awards; all from the beginning of Manteca High to the latest.  

Manteca High first started getting their plaque rewards in the early 2000s. Multiple 1st place trophies are seen from the San Joaquin County Academic Decathlon. A competition where high school teams compete in ten categories testing art, economics, literature, mathematics, music, science, social science, speech, interview, and an essay.  

Manteca high has a strong history in continuing in living a mark on this competition. Their awards then peaked again in the 2010s. They continued to get first-third place and never any lower.  

With their latest trophy being 2021-2022 they ended with third place. This school has made an impact on the town and the people in it. A strong reputation continues as more students graduate and more register into this high school.