Buena Park High School (BPHS) is a public
high 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 '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
located at 8833 Academy Drive in
Buena Park
Buena Park (''Buena'', Spanish for "Good") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census its population was 84,034. It is the location of several tourist attractions, namely Knott's Berry Farm. It is about 12 m ...
,
Orange County, California
Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...
, USA.
History
Buena Park High School opened its doors with 508 students on September 11, 1956, as the third school in the
Fullerton Joint Union High School District
Fullerton Joint Union High School District (FJUHSD), founded in 1893 is a school district in Orange County, California that serves a fifty-square-mile area which includes the cities of Fullerton, La Habra, and small sections of Anaheim, Buena P ...
. The school was made possible by a bond issue voted by citizens in the FJUHSD to serve students in
Buena Park
Buena Park (''Buena'', Spanish for "Good") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census its population was 84,034. It is the location of several tourist attractions, namely Knott's Berry Farm. It is about 12 m ...
and west
Fullerton.
Under the leadership of its first principal, Richard Spaulding, the enrollment increased to 2,900. Dr. John Machisic succeeded Spaulding in 1974, and served in that capacity until 1975. The BPHS student body recognized Richard Spaulding for his many years of service as principal by renaming the football stadium in his honor. Dr. Jack Holm followed Dr. Machisic for the next seven years until 1983, when Jim Bremer, a BPHS graduate (1960) began his tenure at Buena Park. Dr. George Giokaris assumed the responsibilities of principal from 1987 to 1989; Christine Hoffman served from 1989 to 1992; and Tom Triggs served from 1992 to 1998. Dr. Michael Conroy served from 1998 to 2001. Maggie Buchan served from 2001 to 2006. Dr. Benjamin Wolf served from 2006 to 2009. Jim Coombs served as principal from the summer of 2010 until Sonje Berg took office January 3, 2017. All of these leaders, including the assistant principals, have given their time, energy and creative talents to mold BPHS into the fine school it is today.
Since 1967, Buena Park High School has undergone the accreditation process eight times. Most recently, the school went through the process in 2016-2017. Under the supervision of the Western Association of Schools and colleges, an intensive review was completed of every facet of the school's operation. A full six-year accreditation was awarded to Buena Park High School which certifies to all other educational institutions that the high school meets all standards set for high quality schools and that credits and grades earned by its graduates are based on quality criteria.
Buena Park High School enjoys high status in academics, athletics and the performing arts. High performance standards in the classroom, in competitive sports, and in artistic productions have earned an outstanding reputation.
Athletics
Buena Park's sports teams are known as the
Coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
s, and are members of the
CIF Southern Section
The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF ...
. They compete in the Freeway League against the other five high schools in the district.
The 2001 football team made it to the D3 CIF Championship game and lost to Brea Olinda.
In addition, The 2008 water polo team placed second in the freeway league and advanced to the CIF quarter finals.
The 2009 Girls' Varsity Tennis team advanced to CIF for the first time in BPHS history. The Cross Country team also advanced to CIF for the first time in almost 20 years under the leadership of
Barry Migliorini. The Cross Country team swept the freeway league titles for the Frosh off and JV levels, varsity came in second losing to Troy high school. In 2011, they won the league title and went on to the CIF SS finals and one individual boy, Gilberto Solorza, advancing to the state finals in cross country. Cross Country is also one of the most winning sports in Buena Park, followed by Wrestling, Water Polo, and Football. In 2016, the Varsity football team was undefeated and went on to CIF. In 2019, the cross country team would make their 18th appearance at the CIF championship. As for the women's cross country team, this would mark their third CIF appearance since 1997.
Notable alumni
*
Harry Anderson
Harry Laverne Anderson (October 14, 1952 – April 16, 2018) was an American actor, comedian and magician. He is best known for his role of Judge Harry Stone on the 1984–1992 television series '' Night Court''. He later starred in the ...
— Actor, comedian, and magician (most well known for
Night Court
''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan municipal court presided over by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold "Harry" T. Stone (portray ...
)
*
Nathan Baesel
Nathan Baesel (born April 7, 1974, in La Palma, California) is an American actor.
Biography
Baesel attended Buena Park High School. After high school he went to Fullerton College, before graduating from Juilliard School in 2002. He has appeared ...
– Actor
*
Jaylinn Hawkins
Jaylinn Hawkins (born August 25, 1997) is an American football safety for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California.
College career
Hawkins attended Buena Park High School, where he was ...
— Football player for the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
*
K. W. Jeter
Kevin Wayne Jeter (born March 26, 1950) is an American science fiction and horror author known for his literary writing style, dark themes, and paranoid, unsympathetic characters. He has written novels set in the '' Star Trek'' and '' Star Wa ...
— Author
*
Francisco "Cisco" Rivera — professional
Mixed Martial Arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
, current
UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
#11 Bantamweight Contender
*
Nik Needham
Nikolas James Needham (born November 4, 1996) is an American football cornerback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UTEP.
College career
Needham was a member of the UTEP Miners for five s ...
— Football player for the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
*
Dave Rowland
Dave & Sugar was a pop-styled American country music trio which enjoyed its peak success in the mid- to late-1970s. The trio consisted of lead singer Dave Rowland and initially on backing vocals, Vicki Hackeman and Jackie Frantz. Over time, the ...
— Lead singer of the band
Dave & Sugar
Dave & Sugar was a pop-styled American country music trio which enjoyed its peak success in the mid- to late-1970s. The trio consisted of lead singer Dave Rowland and initially on backing vocals, Vicki Hackeman and Jackie Frantz. Over time, the ...
*
Steven Seagal
Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...
— Actor, producer, writer, director, martial artist, guitarist, and deputy sheriff
*
Josh Tupou
Joshua Enelangi Tupou (born May 2, 1994) is an American football nose tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Colorado.
Professional career
Tupou signed with the Cincinnati Ben ...
— Football player for the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
*
Zachary Zorn — Freestyle swimming world record holder and Olympic gold medalist (1968)
References
External links
Buena Park High Schoolofficial site
{{Coord, 33.862593, -117.97846, format=dms, display=title, type:edu_region:US-CA
Educational institutions established in 1956
High schools in Orange County, California
Buena Park, California
Public high schools in California
1956 establishments in California