Archie Williams High School is a public

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

located in

San Anselmo, California San Anselmo () is an List of cities in California, incorporated town in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. San Anselmo is located west of San Rafael, California, San Rafael, at an elevation of 46 feet (14 m). It ...

. It is named after a former math and computing teacher

Archie Williams Archie Franklin Williams (May 1, 1915 – June 24, 1993) was an American U.S. Air Force officer, athlete, and teacher. He was the winner of the 400 meter run at the 1936 Summer Olympics. As recorded on his birth certificate, his name is Archie ...

, who was also a gold medalist in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

, a flight instructor with the

Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the ...

, and one of the first African-American

meteorologists A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

. It was originally named Sir Francis Drake High School, after

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 (t ...

. It changed its name in 2021, after the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...

spurred a worldwide reexamination of

place names Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

and

monuments A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

connected to racism. The school was established in 1951 as the second high school in the

Tamalpais Union High School District The Tamalpais Union High School District or TUHSD provides high school education to students residing in ten elementary districts in central and southern Marin County, California and parts of West Marin. The headquarters are on the property of ...

. It is located at 1327

Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Sir Francis Drake Boulevard is an approximately 43.8 mile east–west arterial road in Marin County, California, running from the trailhead for Point Reyes Lighthouse at the end of the Point Reyes Peninsula to Interstate 580 just west of the ...

, situated on a 21-acre (85,000 m²) campus bordered by two creeks. The site was formerly known as Cordone Gardens. The graduation rate in 2015 was approximately 99%.

History

Archie Williams High School was founded as Sir Francis Drake High School (aka Drake High School) in 1951 to serve students in grades 9–12 from Corte Madera, Larkspur,

Kentfield Kentfield (formerly Ross Landing, Tamalpais, and Kent) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Marin County, California, United States, just north of San Francisco. Kentfield is located southwest of downtown San Rafael, at an elevation of 115 fee ...

Greenbrae Greenbrae is a small unincorporated community in Marin County, California. It is located south-southeast of downtown San Rafael, at an elevation of 33 feet (10 m), located adjacent to U.S. Route 101 at the opening of the Ross Valley. Part of ...

Ross Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sou ...

San Anselmo San Anselmo () is an incorporated town in Marin County, California, United States. San Anselmo is located west of San Rafael, at an elevation of 46 feet (14 m). It is located about north of San Francisco. The town is bordered by San Rafael t ...

, Fairfax, Woodacre, Lagunitas, Forest Knolls, San Geronimo, and

Nicasio Nicasio ( ; Spanish for " Nicasius") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Marin County, California, United States. It is located west-southwest of Novato, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 census the CDP population w ...

. This was the second high school to be introduced into the

, the first being

Tamalpais High School Tamalpais High School (often abbreviated as Tam) is a public secondary school located in Mill Valley, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is named after nearby Mount Tamalpais, which rises almost above Mill Valley. Tamalpais High Scho ...

. In 1958, Redwood High School opened to accommodate students from Corte Madera, Larkspur,

, and

. From 1971 until 1984, Drake High School operated a separate "School Within A School" (SWAS) within the pre-1950 Devonshire Hall, for students who wanted to explore alternative community-building, interactive, and experiential pedagogy. SWAS was a pioneer in developing such an

alternative school An alternative school is an educational establishment with a curriculum and methods that are nontraditional. Such schools offer a wide range of philosophies and teaching methods; some have strong political, scholarly, or philosophical orientati ...

within a public school system. Between 1992 and 1995, Drake High School started a new program of small learning communities due to the poor performance of students, which was affecting the perception of the school. Drake has received two state grants for these programs; one in 1996–1997 and the other being in 2000. Since then, there have been four Freshman-Sophomore Academies and two Junior-Senior Academies.

Name change

During the

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

against police brutality and racism that followed the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

George Floyd George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twe ...

, school officials initiated a process to consider changing the name of Sir Francis Drake High School, due to Drake's involvement with the

transatlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

and

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

, along with his symbolic connection to the

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

ideology of

Anglo-Saxonism 19th-century Anglo-Saxonism, or racial Anglo-Saxonism, was a racial belief system developed by British and American intellectuals, politicians and academics in the 19th century. Racialized Anglo-Saxonism contained both competing and intersecting do ...

. During the renaming process, the school adopted the temporary name "High School 1327", a reference to its address. On May 6, 2021, an elected school committee composed of students, parents and staff voted unanimously to rename the school after former teacher and Olympic athlete

. The Tamalpais United School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved the new name on May 11, 2021.

School awards

In 1990 the school was designated as a Next Century School by RJR Nabisco Foundation for its "entrepreneurship in education." Drake was one of thirty schools to receive this award. In 1999 Drake High School was designated as a

California Distinguished School 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 5-10% of California schools are awarded t ...

. In 2003 Drake was the first high school to be recognized has a Bay Area Green Business School for its environmental awareness around campus.

Extracurricular activities

Basketball

In 1982 both the boys and girls basketball teams took the state division II title. The boys basketball team returned to the states championship in 2014 but lost.

''Jolly Roger / The Pitch''

The school newspaper, originally named the ''Jolly Roger'', is published almost every month. The 1986-87 edition was a winner of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

’s Silver Crown Award for high school newspapers in 1988. The ''Jolly Roger'' has been a regular recipient of the Medalist rating, given to the top 5% among high school newspapers in its class in United States. Following the school's name change in 2021, the newspaper also changed its name from ''Jolly Roger'' to ''The Pitch''.

Mountain Biking Club

The school's NICA NorCal League mountain bike team is notable for being one of the first in the nation and has won numerous regional and statewide competitions. The team is eleven-time NorCal League champions (2004, 2006, 2009–2017) and eight-time California State champions (2009-2012, 2015–2018).

Notable alumni

Lance Acord Lance Acord (born September 9, 1964) A.S.C.American Society of Cinematographers.

, cinematographer *

Lee Altenberg Lee Altenberg is an American theoretical biologist. He is on the faculty of the Departments of Information and Computer Sciences and of Mathematics at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. He is best known for his work that helped establish the ev ...

, ('75) theoretical biologist *

Arj Barker Arjan Singh Āulakh (born 12 August 1974), known by the stage name Arj Barker, is an American comedian and actor from San Anselmo, California. He has toured in North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. He was born to an engineer father a ...

, comedian * Garm Beall, ('76) film composer * Alex Bennett, radio broadcaster for

Sirius XM Left SiriusXM Progress is located at channel 127 on Sirius XM Radio and carries a progressive talk radio format. The channel is programmed by Don Wicklin. America Left (2004–2005) Channel 167 originally started out as America Left, a channel dedicat ...

Joel Blum Joel Blum is an American stage actor. Early life Blum was born in San Francisco, California. After attending the College of Marin, he joined the national touring company of ''Godspell'' at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Ca ...

, Broadway actor and dancer, nominated for two Tony Awards *

Terry Bozzio Terry John Bozzio (born December 27, 1950) is an American drummer best known for his work with Missing Persons and Frank Zappa. He has been featured on nine solo or collaborative albums, 26 albums with Zappa and seven albums with Missing Person ...

, musician (

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

Missing Persons A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, de ...

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

) *

Scott Capurro Scott Allen Capurro (born December 10, 1962) is an American comedian, writer and actor based in San Francisco. His comedy material is deliberately provocative, referring often to gay life and culture, politics, race and racism, and popular cultu ...

, actor, comedian, author *

Reggie Carolan Reginald Howard "Stretch" Carolan (October 25, 1939 – January 1, 1983) was an American football player, a tight end in the American Football League (AFL). He played seven seasons the last five with the History of the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansa ...

, professional football player *

Konrad Dryden Konrad Claude Dryden (born September 13, 1963) is an American author who has written extensively on Italian opera, particularly about the movement known as Verismo. Lineage Dryden is the son of a British father, Kenneth Dryden (an RAF pilot a ...

, author *John Farey, ('73) musician *

Linda Gregg Linda Alouise Gregg (September 9, 1942 – March 20, 2019) was an American poet. Biography She was born in Suffern, New York. Ms. Gregg grew up on the other side of the country, in Marin County, California. She received both her Bachelor of A ...

, ('61), poet *

Erinn Hayes Erinn Hayes (née Carter; born May 25, 1976) is an American actress and comedian. She is known for her role as Dr. Lola Spratt on the sitcom ''Childrens Hospital'' (2008–2016), which she later reprised in its spin-off series '' Medical Police ...

, actress known for ''

Children's Hospital A children's hospital is a hospital that offers its services exclusively to infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In certain special cases, they may also treat adults. The number of children's hospitals proliferated in the 20th ...

'' *

Steve Lavin Stephen Michael Lavin (born September 4, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach and broadcaster who is the head coach of the San Diego Toreros men's basketball, San Diego Toreros of the West Coast Conference (WCC). He previously se ...

, college basketball head coach and ESPN broadcaster *

Jane Levy Jane Colburn Levy ( ; born ) is an American actress. After attending the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, she debuted as the original Mandy Milkovich on the Showtime comedy-drama '' Shameless'' (2011). Levy left ''Shameless'' following its first ...

, ('07) actress from

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

comedy ''

Suburgatory ''Suburgatory'' is an American television sitcom created by Emily Kapnek that aired on ABC from September 28, 2011, to May 14, 2014. The series originally aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30/7:30 Central following '' The Middle''. The title is a ...

'' and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

comedy

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist ''Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist'' is an American musical comedy-drama television series created by Austin Winsberg that premiered on January 7, 2020, on NBC. The series stars Jane Levy as Zoey Clarke, a software developer who discovers she has t ...

Edward Neumeier Edward Neumeier (born August 24, 1957) is an American screenwriter, producer and director best known for his work on the science fiction movies ''RoboCop'' and ''Starship Troopers (film), Starship Troopers''. He wrote the latter's sequels ''Sta ...

, ('75) screenwriter of ''

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferre ...

'' and ''

Starship Troopers ''Starship Troopers'' is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests, the story was first published as a two-part serial in ''The Magazine of F ...

'' *Carole Real, ('75) playwright *Douglas Rosenberg, ('75) dance performance art and professor at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

Michael Rossmann Michael G. Rossmann (30 July 1930 – 14 May 2019) was a German-American physicist, microbiologist, and Hanley Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences at Purdue University who led a team of researchers to be the first to map the structure ...

, FSM activist and teacher * Joe Ryan, pitcher for the Minnesota Twins *

Fiona O'Sullivan Fiona Julia O'Sullivan (born 17 September 1986) is a former footballer who played as a striker for clubs in the United States, Sweden, France, Germany and for English FA WSL team Notts County. Born and raised in the United States to an Irish f ...

, professional soccer player *

Jim Saia James Sebastian Saia (born June 15, 1964) is the men's head basketball coach at California State University, Los Angeles. High school career Born in San Francisco, Saia prepped at Sir Francis Drake High in San Anselmo, California and graduated i ...

, college basketball head coach *

Kirk R. Smith Kirk R. Smith (January 19, 1947June 15, 2020) was an American expert on the health and climate effects of household energy use in developing nations. He held a professorship in Global Environmental Health at the University of California, Berkele ...

, ('63) climatologist, Nobel Prize recipient *

Scott Thunes Scott Thunes (pronounced "TOO-nis") (born January 20, 1960) is a bass player, formerly with Frank Zappa, Wayne Kramer, Steve Vai, Andy Prieboy, Mike Keneally, Fear, The Waterboys, Big Bang Beat, and others. Thunes was raised in San Anselmo, ...

, ('76) musician (Frank Zappa) *

Margaret Torn Margaret Torn is an ecologist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory known for her research on carbon cycling, especially with respect to the interactions between soils and the atmosphere. Education and career Torn grew up in Marin county and ...

, ('78) carbon geochemist at

Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), commonly referred to as the Berkeley Lab, is a United States national laboratory that is owned by, and conducts scientific research on behalf of, the United States Department of Energy. Located in ...

*Eric L. Weiss, ('76) emergency medicine professor at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

Alex Zettl Alex Zettl is an American professor of experimental condensed-matter physics. His research involving the properties of novel materials has produced significant advances in the field. Biography Zettl received a B.A. degree from the University of ...

, ('74) physicist at

Notable faculty

* Albert L. Lavin and Peter Monahan, English teachers, co-authors of ''Writing: Unit-lessons in Composition'' * W. Keith MacNab, Chemistry teacher, co-author of ''Chemistry: Experiments and Principles'' (1968) *

(May 1, 1915 – June 24, 1993), Math & Computers Teacher and Track Coach, 1936 Berlin Olympics 400-meter gold medalist, Fighter Pilot and Trainer in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archie Williams High School High schools in Marin County, California Public high schools in California San Anselmo, California 1951 establishments in California Educational institutions established in 1951