About the School

Fall River Junior Senior High School

Fall River Jr. Sr. High

Fall River Junior Senior High School

" A California Distinguished School"

44215 Walnut St. P.O. Box 340

McArthur, CA 96056

Phone 530.336.5515 Fax 530.336.6256

Fall River Junior Senior High School was established in McArthur California over 100 years ago.  Pride is generational in our school and staff, students, and visitors enjoy gazing at photos of each graduating class that hang in the hallways since 1911.  Fall River Junior Senior High School is a six (6) year comprehensive school (grades 7-12) in the Fall River Joint Unified School District. It is located four miles northeast of Fall River Mills in the town of McArthur, California.  The school was established in 1911, but most of the facilities were constructed in 1939. The present gymnasium and the main building were remodeled in 1968. During the 1987-88 school year and the 2008-2009 school year, major remodeling was done with state and district funds to modernize the classrooms.  Fall River Junior Senior High School was recognized as a Distinguished School in 2009. The results of our state testing over the past several years have been some of the highest in northern California among public high schools. In 2015, we received a very generous donation ($60,000) from 1949 FRHS alumna, Barbara Fitzwater.  With this donation, we were able to replace all of our hallway lockers, purchase a new electronic marquee, and buy a new stage curtain for the musical theater productions. In the winter of 2016, we were incredibly fortunate to receive a donation from a local family in memory of their son Jake. The Jake Skuce Unique Spirit Project allowed Fall River Junior Senior High School to offer our student 1:1 technology.  Fall River Junior Senior High School has a robust infrastructure to support our students’ online learning. This infrastructure includes a 1 gig fiber optic connection to the Shasta County Office of Education and the K-12 High Speed Network in every classroom. 


One of the greatest benefits for our students at FRHS is that they can participate in a wide variety of activities.  Over 80% of our students are involved in at least one extra or co-curricular activity including interscholastic athletics, FFA, peer mentoring, Christian Bible Club, Native American Club, Gay Straight Alliance Club, Robotics, MESA, Interact, CSF, Band and Drama performances, just to name a few.  Students graduating from Fall River Junior Senior High School are well prepared for whatever college or career pathway they choose.


Our community values education as evidenced by the strong support provided by parents, community members and local businesses.  The Burney-Fall River Education Foundation works hard to support individual teacher programs by providing mini-grants to teachers as well as supplying technology throughout the district.  The Fall River Booster’s Club supports the school with everything from Sober Grad Night to financing part of our Student Incentive Program. The Bulldog Sports Foundation furnishes our athletic teams with new uniforms and equipment.  The Pit River Tribal Council donated funds to our district that allows for Indian Education support time for our Native American students. The Redding Rancheria has provided many grants to our school. Our community funds numerous local scholarships for our graduating seniors.  This last spring local scholarships totaled more than $62,000. Other local groups (Rotary, AAUW, American Legion, Migrant Ed, Mayers Memorial Hospital) provide summer opportunities for our students. In addition, the parents and community have provided a host of volunteers to serve on senior project oral boards, agriculture advisory boards, work at sporting events, work at FFA events such as the apple pie and plant sales, provide parent volunteer drivers, cook and serve for the Indian Taco Sale, volunteer as boosters, volunteer as coaches, sponsor home tournaments, house visiting sporting team members, attend home and away games, attend student performances, donate items such as our security cameras, AED, and laptops for our seniors, volunteer for Sober Grad Night, chaperone dances, serve as mentors for senior projects, and provide game workers (scorekeepers, timers, gate keepers, announcers, etc.) for home games.  


In 2019, Fall River Junior Senior High School had 45.5% of its students qualify as socioeconomically disadvantaged, which is consistent with the local economy.  We have experienced an annual decline in school population due to lack of employment opportunity in the area. At Fall River Junior Senior High School we enjoy a small teacher to student ratio: 16 to 1.  Our average class size is quite small compared to other schools.


School Programs Offered at FRHS
Fall River Junior Senior High School has a variety of Support Services:
Academic Counselor - 3 Days Per Week Shared with Other District High School
Social Emotional Counselor for Students with IEPs
Telemed Social Emotional Counselor for General Education Students
Athletic Director - Currently Being Shared by Office Staff
Activities and Student Leadership Directors
School Psychologist - Shared with other schools within our district
Speech and Language Pathologist - Shared with other schools within our district
Nurse - Shared with other schools within our district
ELD Director/Migrant Education
Native American Paraprofessional
Foster and Homeless Youth Liaison