About GYS
Our Mission
The mission of Grace Yokley Junior High is to provide our students a safe and respectful environment with rigorous and relevant curriculum that will empower them to achieve social and academic success.
Welcome to Grace Yokley Jr. High. I want to share some of the elements of GYS that make it such a distinguished school.
GYS has a strong commitment to the success of all of its students, and these characteristics are clearly demonstrated by the many dedicated parents, students and staff who make up the Grace Yokley family. Below you will also find two of our main themes in bold.
- Our staff is what makes this a special place. Our professional staff is efficacious, caring, hard-working, and motivated to help every child succeed. They genuinely care about your children. Our staff is not afraid to take risks, go the extra mile and truly "Teach Beyond the Book."
- Our parents are the backbone of our students’ success. They enthusiastically encourage the academic excellence of their children and help with our many activities throughout the year. We are lucky to have involved and dedicated parents.
- Our students not only excel academically, but are also growing in the areas of respect, responsibility, positive relationships, and leadership. Our students understand that their success is measured by the depth of their character as much as it is by their grades and test scores. One of our goals for our students is that they all get involved and "Get In the Game!"
Please get involved and get to know the Grace Yokley family. We are going great places together!!
Our History
Grace Yokley School has a rich tradition of success – established in 1982. Grace Yokley School was named after a secretary to the Mountain View School District Board of Education and school district office. In recognition of her many years of devoted service to education and the people of the community, the Board of Education, under the leadership of Mr. Ronnie Bunse, named the second school constructed in the district in Grace Yokley’s honor.
Construction of Grace Yokley School was completed in July of 1982 under the direction of Mr. Edward Peltz, former superintendent of Mountain View School District, Ontario, California.
Mr. Rand Shumway was selected as the first principal of Grace Yokley School. Mr. Shumway officially opened the doors to the school’s first student body of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students in September of 1982.
Mr. Bruce Perry became the second principal to lead GYS beginning in 1992 until 1998, and he served a second term as principal from 2003 until his retirement in in 2006. Under the educational leadership of Ms. Peggy Van Dyk, GYS's third principal, GYS was awarded the prestigious title of California State Distinguished School in 2002-2003.
During the 2006-2007 school year, Mr. Eric Mills joined GYS as it's fourth Principal. In 2009, with the tremendous support and dedication of staff, students and parents, GYS once again earned the prestigious honor of California State Distinguished School.
In 2011, Ms. Lisa Alcalá became the fifth principal of GYS, and served in that role until 2015. Under Ms. Alcala's direction, Grace Yokely began its very successful participation in the SRLA program, sending a team of well trained and prepared young runners to the LA Marathon each year.
Our sixth principal, Mr. Jeremy Currier served from 2015-2017 before being appointed to his current position of Assistant Superintendent within the District.
Mrs. Kristie Jackson, our seventh principal, helped continue our school's progress from 2017 - 2019. During her tenure our 8th graders took the PSAT for the first time as part of our ongoing efforts to prepare our students for higher education.
Our 8th principal, Mrs. Kristy Paterson, has special ties to our community, having attended school in our district as well as teaching at Mountain View Elementary for several years before joining the GYS family as in 2018. She remains in the district as the principal of Park View Elementary, opening in fall of 2023.
We are currently led by Mrs. Kelly Reyes, also a long time member of our GYS family, both as a parent and an employee.
Grace Yokley transitioned from a Middle School, serving students in grade levels 6, 7 and 8, to a Jr. High serving grades 7 and 8 with the 2020/2021 school year.
A California Distinguished School - 2003 & 2009