Although when it was opened in 1972 to an enrollment of 975, Beyer was originally designed to serve approximately 2000 students. By the time the first class of freshman had advanced to
seniority, enrollment was about 1800. With the addition of numerous portable buildings, the number of enrolled students was as high as 3150, but since
Enochs High School opened, enrollment has returned to 1800. When built, Beyer was on the outskirts of the city, in northeast Modesto. In anticipation of the 1976 United States Bicentennial, the Patriots were chosen as the school's
mascot, and the school colors chosen as red, white, and blue. Beyer High was intended to incorporate the latest advances in the science of education, the most prominent of which was Daily Demand Scheduling (DDS). The DDS or Modular Scheduling as it was called was controversial and ultimately was a dismal failure. It gave students the ability to arrange their class schedule each day. Oversight of the student scheduling and meeting class requirements was not tracked closely by the Beyer Staff and consequently many students failed to meet graduation requirements. Simply put, if a student liked a particular class, then they could schedule the entire day in that class. Sadly, there was never even one apology from the Modesto City School Board to all the students that failed to graduate high school due to their short-sighted desire to be different, regardless of the impact it had on many students that were used as guinea pigs. DDS was terminated in 1981-82 school year by a decision of the Modesto City School Board of Trustees, due to the outcry from parents and past students. ==Debate and Competitive Speech Teams==