Los Altos High School (Los Altos, California)
| Los Altos High School | |
|---|---|
| File:LAHS-logo.png | |
| Address | |
 | |
201 Almond Avenue , | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public secondary |
| Established | 1954 |
| School district | MVLA School District |
| Principal | Wynne Satterwhite |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 1,800 (approx.) |
| Color(s) | Blue, silver and white |
| Mascot | Eagle |
| Newspaper | The Talon |
| Website | http://www.la.mvla.net/ |
Los Altos High School, established in 1954, is located in suburban Los Altos, California, which is situated between the cities of San Francisco and San Jose in the northwest corner of Silicon Valley within four miles of Stanford University.[1] Due to its placement within a rich, yet small community,[2] Los Altos High School is able to achieve at a higher rate. The teacher-student ratios in Los Altos High School is considerably lower than the state average.[3]
It is one of the three MVLA School District public high schools, the other schools being Mountain View High School and Alta Vista High School. The main feeder schools are Egan Junior High School and Crittenden Middle School. Since 2005, the school principal is Wynne Satterwhite. The previous principal, George Perez, left in 2004.
History
The school was established in 1954 on the site of an orchard. Initially, Los Altos High School served the mostly white, middle to upper class populations of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. During 1982 redistricting efforts, the district closed its oldest high school, Mountain View High, which was located on Castro Street in downtown Mountain View. Awalt High School was then renamed Mountain View High. The valley community of Mountain View to the San Francisco Bay in the east. The two remaining district high schools now draw equally from professional and working-class families and have a similar demographic population. In more recent history, Los Altos High underwent a large renovation over the past few years, which has significantly enhanced the campus environment, including a science and art building and a FieldTurf athletic field.
During the El Niño storms of 1998, a tornado ripped through the athletic fields behind the school. The tornado touched down at 5:05PM on May 4, 1998, near the intersection of El Monte Road and Almond Avenue. It was rated F1 on the Fujita Scale, and was one of two that touched down in the area.[4] The tornado uprooted trees, picked up dumpsters, damaged the tennis court fences, and destroyed the baseball diamond dugout. Damages were estimated at $25,000. [5]
Statistics and demographics
As of the 2003-2004 school year, the enrollment was approximately 1600 students; in the last few years each incoming class has been significantly larger than the outgoing class. [6]
In 2005, Los Altos High School was ranked 446th nationally by Newsweek on High-Achievement High Schools, [7] while in 2006, Los Altos High School rose to become the 9th best High School in California, with an API of 797. [8] However, Newsweek grades schools on weighted data and teacher:student ratios, while City-Data merely uses API as a standard. [9]
In 2006, 83% of students participate in academic, extracurricular and community service clubs. Over 50% of the students participate in an athletic team.Education
Los Altos High School boasted one of the highest scores in the nation. However, beginning in 1982, the school's scores and national ranking began to fall, until it could only be ranked as a national standard.
In 2005, Los Altos High School recieved an API score of 786, considerably lower than that of the local Intermediate School and Elementary Schools.[10] Despite this drop in in educational standards, Los Altos remains one of the highest schools in the district, with Hispanic, African American, Asian, and White all scoring considerably higher than the state average. [11]
Graduation Requirements
| Subjects | Credits |
| English/Communication | 40 |
| Mathematics | 20 |
| Science | 20 |
| Social Studies | 35 |
| World Language/Fine Arts/Practical Arts (10 credits in 2 out of 3 areas) | 20 |
| Physical Education | 20 |
| Health | 5 |
| Electives | 60 |
| Total Credits | 220 |
Programs and Highlights
Los Altos High School boasts a strong music department, athletic department, and a host of student-run clubs. Among these, the most influential one was the creation of the non-profit organization, One Dollar For Life.[12]
Athletic Department
Los Altos sports teams participate in the regional SCVAL League.[13] The Track and Field team, especially, has made it to State championships numerous times[14], most notably first place in 1985.
| Season | Sport | Season | Sport |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | Football | Spring | Track and Field |
| Boys Water Polo | Baseball | ||
| Girls Water Polo | Badminton | ||
| Volleyball | Boys Tennis | ||
| Girls Tennis | Gymnastics | ||
| Girls Field Hockey | Golf | ||
| Cross Country | Softball | ||
| Swimming and Diving | |||
| Winter | Boys Basketball | Summer | |
| Girls Basketball | |||
| Wrestling | |||
| Boys Soccer | |||
| Girls Soccer |
Performing Arts Department
Los Altos High holds quite a large music department, with a state of the art music room equipped with re verb devices. The musical ensembles included are Auxiliary Units (also known as Color Guard), Marching Band, Jazz Band, Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, and Symphonic Band.[15] Los Altos High School also includes Concert Choir and the world renown Main Street Singers.[16] The school also hosts a Drama branch, called Broken Box Office hosted in the school's theater.[17]
The school's world-traveling singing repertoire, known as the Main Street Singers, travel around the world on tour every year.[18] In 2008, they will travel to Belgium, France, The Netherlands, and Switzerland.[19]
The High School's Marching Band is part of the Western Band Association, based in California.[20] In the 2007 season, they scored last place out of 11 participating bands. [21] However, in 1997, the LAHS Marching Band recieved six awards at the state festival.[22]
The year 1998 was the "Golden Year" for the Los Altos Instrumental Music Department. Three students were selected for the Santa Clara County Honor Band, while the Jazz Band and Orchestra received a unanimous "Superior" rating at the Santa Cruz Jazz Festival and CMEA Orchestra Festival respectively. In addition, one band and two orchestra students were accepted into the California Music Educator's Association All-State Honor Band and Orchestra, respectively. [23]
Student Clubs
The students in Los Altos High School has independently started club list of over 50 different clubs, most notably One Dollar For Life. These clubs impact the entire Los Altos community as a whole, and in the case of One Dollar For Life, they impact regions in rural Africa.[24] Recently, the Los Altos Green Team, with the help of Sierra Club officials, urged citizens to sign petitions and presented them to the City Council.[25] This helped create the grassroots for a Los Altos "Cool Cities" campaign to aide the city in becoming more Green.[26]
Notable Alumni
- Alice Wu, an American film director and screenwriter, class of 1991.
- Andrew Arnold Tink BA LLB MP (b. 13 July 1953) is an Australian politician, serving as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1988 to 2007. He was a member of the class of 1971.
- Billy Rush Masters, (September 15, 1950 – July 2, 1981) was an American composer, and rock guitarist. He was best known as a songwriter. Class of 1968.
- Dana Castro, Executive Producer, San Francisco GenArt.org, class of 1986.
- Joost Bonsen, Career MIT student and host of "HighTechFever" TV show, class of 1986.
- Lorrie Fair, US National Soccer (World Cup Title), UNC Soccer (National Title), class of 1996.
- Raj Mathai, NBC 11 Sports Anchor. [27]
- Roland Beec, Founder of 82games.com, providing statistical analysis of the National Basketball Association, class of 1986.
- Theodore Olson, 42nd United States Solicitor General, lawyer for Bush-Cheney in Bush v. Gore, class of 1958 [28][29].
- Sam A. Davis, Entrepreneur and JD candidate at Syracuse University College of Law.
- Sergeant William M. Sigua (1985-2007), killed by small-arms fire in Baiji, Iraq. He was from the 82nd Airborne Division, and received a Purple Heart Medal for his services.[30] Class of 2003.
- Willie Howard, Stanford Rose Bowl, Minnesota Vikings, class of 1996.
Notes
- ^ LAHS, About
- ^ US Census Bureau, Los Altos, California
- ^ Los Altos High School, School Tree
- ^ Monteverdi, J.P., W. Blier, G. Stumpf, W. Pi, and K. Anderson, 2001: First WSR-88D Documentation of an Anticyclonic Supercell with Anticyclonic Tornadoes: The Sunnyvale–Los Altos, California, Tornadoes of 4 May 1998. Mon. Wea. Rev., 129, 2805–2814.
- ^ http://www.latc.com/1998/05/04/news/news5.html
- ^ California School Population Stats
- ^ Newsweek, America's Top Public High Schools, Los Altos
- ^ High School Statistics
- ^ See previous two references.
- ^ Los Altos City API Scores
- ^ City-Data, Los Altos High School racial API compared to State Average
- ^ ODFL, about
- ^ Los Altos Athletics
- ^ LAHS Track Page
- ^ LAHS Music Department
- ^ LAHS Performing Arts Department
- ^ Broken Box Office Theatre Company
- ^ Main Street Singers
- ^ Main Street Singers Tour
- ^ List of WBA bands
- ^ Class Championships 1/2/3A
- ^ LAHS Instrumental Music: Looking Back in Time (Marching Band)
- ^ LAHS Instrumental Music: Looking Back in Time (1998 In Review)
- ^ ODFL Projects
- ^ Cool Los Altos, Community Site
- ^ Coolcity Los Altos
- ^ Raj Mathai, NBC 11
- ^ Los Altos Town Crier, Olson
- ^ Theodore Olson, New York Times
- ^ Sgt. William M. Sigua, Washington Post
External links
- Los Altos High School website
- The Main Street Singers of Los Altos High School - an a cappella choral music group
- The Talon (school newspaper)
- TerraServer-USA aerial image