It was founded in 2004 to help alleviate the enrollment stress on cross-town Ceres High School.

The school offers 15 Advanced Placement courses with little prerequisite conditions in contrast to its cross-town rival, Ceres High School, who offers fewer AP Courses with strict prerequisites.

Central Valley High School opened in August 2005[1] to address the growth and needs of the community.

As the population of the school has increased, so has the number of students who qualify for free or reduced lunch (84%).

[2] Out of the 2,228 students enrolled, 84.6% are Hispanic, 7.2% are White, 5.0% are Asian-American, 1.2% are African-American, 0.8% are Filipino-American, 0.4% are Pacific Islander, 0.1% are American Indian, and 0.8% represent two or more races.