California High School
Encyclopedia
California High School (commonly referred to as Cal High) is one of two public high schools located in San Ramon
(Dougherty Valley High School
is the other). It is one of four high schools in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District
. Its mascot is the Grizzly bear
. The school's newspaper, The Californian, is published monthly. The majority of California High School graduates continue their education at community colleges and four-year universities. A large amount of graduating Cal High students are accepted each year to top colleges (notably UC Berkeley and UCLA).
Cal High had 2,450 students in the 2008-2009 school year. Unlike other schools in the district, Cal High operates on a block schedule. Classes are 100 minutes long, with the exception of Wednesday, when classes are 90 minutes long. The base schedule consists of six 100-minute periods; students have three classes per school day. Odd-numbered classes are on one day and even numbered classes the next. Some students opt to add an extra 50 minute "A-period" class to their schedule. A-period classes meet every day for 50 minutes, with the exception of 45 minutes on Wednesdays. At the end of the first full period of the day, from 10:05 to 10:35, students have a designated "tutorial" period during which they can read, study, collaborate on work, or get help from teachers. There is no tutorial on Wednesday, since the day is shorter.
Cal High's sports rivals are Monte Vista High School
and San Ramon Valley High School
in Danville, California
, and De La Salle High School
in Concord, California
.
solar panels over the back parking lot in the summer of 2011.
Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education
, the highest award an American school can receive.
Cal High's student run monthly newspaper, 'The Californian', is an award winning newspaper. The paper's writers, photographers, and graphic designs/artists have won numerous awards over the past 7 years (2000–2008), including a total of 17 during the 2007-2008 school year. The first school newspaper was "The Bear Facts," which was started in 1973.
California High School is ranked #250 in the top 500 US High Schools by Newsweek, placing it within the top 1.5% of the over 18,000 high schools in the United States. In 2005, Cal High was a California Distinguished School
.
San Ramón
San Ramón may refer to:*San Ramón de la Nueva Orán, Argentina*San Ramón, Bolivia*San Ramón, Costa Rica*San Ramón Canton, Alajuela, Costa Rica*San Ramón, Chile*San Ramón, Cuscatlán, El Salvador*San Ramón, Choluteca, Honduras....
(Dougherty Valley High School
Dougherty Valley High School
Dougherty Valley High School is a public high school located in the Windemere development of San Ramon, California, USA...
is the other). It is one of four high schools in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District
San Ramon Valley Unified School District
Creekside Elementary School is one of the 22 elementary schools in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. Creekside is the newest elementary school in SRVUSD and is located in the Alamo Creek neighborhood in Danville, California. The school opened to students in August 2009 with...
. Its mascot is the Grizzly bear
Grizzly Bear
The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...
. The school's newspaper, The Californian, is published monthly. The majority of California High School graduates continue their education at community colleges and four-year universities. A large amount of graduating Cal High students are accepted each year to top colleges (notably UC Berkeley and UCLA).
Cal High had 2,450 students in the 2008-2009 school year. Unlike other schools in the district, Cal High operates on a block schedule. Classes are 100 minutes long, with the exception of Wednesday, when classes are 90 minutes long. The base schedule consists of six 100-minute periods; students have three classes per school day. Odd-numbered classes are on one day and even numbered classes the next. Some students opt to add an extra 50 minute "A-period" class to their schedule. A-period classes meet every day for 50 minutes, with the exception of 45 minutes on Wednesdays. At the end of the first full period of the day, from 10:05 to 10:35, students have a designated "tutorial" period during which they can read, study, collaborate on work, or get help from teachers. There is no tutorial on Wednesday, since the day is shorter.
Cal High's sports rivals are Monte Vista High School
Monte Vista High School (Danville, California)
Monte Vista High School is a comprehensive, National Blue Ribbon of the Blue Ribbon Schools Program, as well as a California Distinguished School and fully WASC-accredited 9-12 public school of more than 2000 students. The school is located in the Town of Danville, CA in the San Ramon Valley,...
and San Ramon Valley High School
San Ramon Valley High School
San Ramon Valley High School is a four-year public high school located in the East Bay neighborhood of Danville, California, USA. San Ramon Valley High School is one of the schools in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. It is a National Blue Ribbon school from the Blue Ribbon Schools...
in Danville, California
Danville, California
The Town of Danville is located in the San Ramon Valley in Contra Costa County, California. It is one of the incorporated municipalities in California that uses "town" in its name instead of "city". The population was 42,039 in 2010. Danville is one of the wealthiest suburbs of Oakland and San...
, and De La Salle High School
De La Salle High School (Concord, California)
De La Salle High School is a Roman Catholic Private school for boys in Concord, California, United States. Located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland, the school was founded in 1965 as a Lasallian institution. De La Salle currently enrolls just over 1,000 students, and roughly 99% of each...
in Concord, California
Concord, California
Concord is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California, USA. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 122,067. Originally founded in 1869 as the community of Todos Santos by Salvio Pacheco, the name was changed to Concord within months...
.
Campus
Cal has an All-weather track and an Aquatic Center, including multi-use athletic stadium and fields (Football, Soccer, Lacrosse, Track and Field). Outside, there are six tennis courts, four baseball/softball fields including one baseball field and one softball field intended for games, and an indoor gym and stadium. In 2004, a two-story, ten classroom building was completed was designated the World Language building. In 2006, a main building (67 classrooms, 3 stories) and new library were built. In 2007, a new careers and technology building, a new student Quad, and a new counseling building were added. Then again, in 2008, the new Fine-Arts building completed construction. In March 2010, a second gymnasium was completed on the site of outdoor basketball courts, called the Event Center. In April 2010, a new Theater, which was under renovation for three years, was opened. It has 9 classrooms and is fully fitted with a video production studio and soundroom, and an art gallery to display student work. Cal has a large student and faculty parking, but demand outstrips available space. In light of this, much of the streets around the school are permit parking zones. Cal High also has a recently renovated weight room, equipped with lifting machines and 12 fully stocked Olympic weightlifting cages used mainly by the football team and weightlifting class offered at the school. Twelve years of construction were concluded with the installation of SunPowerSunPower
SunPower Corporation designs and manufactures high-efficiency crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, roof tiles and solar panels based on a silicon all-back-contact solar cell invented at Stanford University. SunPower Corporation is publicly traded on the NASDAQ as SPWRA and SPWRB...
solar panels over the back parking lot in the summer of 2011.
Notable faculty
William Everett Pence - Biology teacher who assisted students with discovering which chromosomes are the location of three cancer-causing genes. Mr. Pence was also California's Teacher of the Year in 1999. He was a United States Aquanaut in 1984.Awards and recognition
During the 2006-07 school year, California High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon SchoolBlue Ribbon Schools Program
The Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States government program created in 1981 to honor schools which have achieved high levels of performance or significant improvements with emphasis on schools serving disadvantaged students. The program centers around a self-assessment conducted by the...
Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
, the highest award an American school can receive.
Cal High's student run monthly newspaper, 'The Californian', is an award winning newspaper. The paper's writers, photographers, and graphic designs/artists have won numerous awards over the past 7 years (2000–2008), including a total of 17 during the 2007-2008 school year. The first school newspaper was "The Bear Facts," which was started in 1973.
California High School is ranked #250 in the top 500 US High Schools by Newsweek, placing it within the top 1.5% of the over 18,000 high schools in the United States. In 2005, Cal High was a California Distinguished School
California Distinguished School
A California Distinguished School is an award given by the California State Board of Education to public schools within the state that best represent exemplary and quality educational programs. Approximately five percent of California schools are awarded this honor each year following a selection...
.