The new building will also be home to Sunnyside High\u2019s \u201cDoctors Academy<\/a>\u201d program, a partnership program with UCSF Fresno that lets students shadow healthcare workers and receive hands-on learning.<\/p>\n Valerie Davis, the president of the Fresno Unified Board of Education, told Fresnoland the building\u2019s completion is a culmination of eight years of planning that began with Tim Lyles, a previous Sunnyside High principal who passed away in 2020.<\/p>\n \u201cHe understood how important it is to have facilities for our children,\u201d Davis told Fresnoland after a Monday morning news conference.<\/p>\n According to Davis, while the school has multiple career pathways, a centralized building for health sciences classes was sorely needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Construction broke ground on the building<\/a> in 2023 and cost around $7.3 million. Davis Moreno Construction, Inc.<\/a> was awarded the bid for the building\u2019s construction.<\/p>\n For Superintendent Misty Her, the new building is a step towards giving students in Fresno Unified ample career options to invest in.<\/p>\n \u201cA couple years ago, [the] prior superintendent and the board made an investment on CTE [career technical education] and that our students were going to have the college and career readiness skills and the life skills necessary, so this is a huge investment into that,\u201d Her told Fresnoland.\u2028\u2028<\/p>\n Her also explained that the building\u2019s construction goes hand-in-hand with the district\u2019s current long-term goals to improve student and staff performance across all schools. Part of the district\u2019s goals<\/a> include raising the percentage of students who are college and career ready from 43% in 2024 to 64% by June of 2030.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_0394-1.jpg\")
The new health sciences building at Sunnyside High School will house the school\u2019s Health Sciences Pathway classes. Diego Vargas | Fresnoland<\/p>\n