Balboa High School (San Francisco)
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Balboa High School, colloquially known as Bal, is an American public high school located near the
Excelsior District The Excelsior District is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. Location The Excelsior District is located along Mission Street, east of San Jose Ave, south of Interstate 280 Southern Fwy, west of John McLaren Park, and somewhat north of ...
in the Mission Terrace neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Balboa serves grades nine through 12 as part of the
San Francisco Unified School District San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), established in 1851, is the only public school district within the City and County of San Francisco, and the first in the state of California. Under the management of the San Francisco Board of Educa ...
(SFUSD). Balboa is a
comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...
located in an urban working class district. It educates a greater proportion of the city's disadvantaged and
minority Minority may refer to: Politics * Minority government, formed when a political party does not have a majority of overall seats in parliament * Minority leader, in American politics, the floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative b ...
students relative to other city high schools. Mirroring conditions in the areas it serves, the school has a history marked by periods of violence, controversy, and low academic performance. The school motto is "First on the Pacific". The campus is the only historic landmark school in the district and the only one operating in the city. Following the dismissal of the entire
faculty Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument) A faculty is a legal in ...
in 1999, it became the first school in
northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...
to embrace and convert its curriculum to the concept of
small learning communities A Small Learning Community (SLC), also referred to as a School-Within-A-School, is a school organizational model that is an increasingly common form of learning environment in American secondary schools to subdivide large school populations into s ...
. It was the first in California to start a school-based student health clinic. In response to the AIDS pandemic, it was the first school in California to distribute free
condom A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...
s to students. In the last decade, Balboa has experienced a turnaround and has improved its reputation and academic performance. The school achieved placement on '' Newsweek'' "America's Top Public High Schools" list in 2007 and 2008.


History

Balboa High School is named for 16th-century Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa. Founded in 1928, campus construction was completed in 1931. In the spring of 1952, students at Balboa invented a variation on a conga line dance which inspired bandleader and songwriter
Ray Anthony Raymond Antonini (born January 20, 1922), known as Ray Anthony, is an American bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter, and actor. He is the last surviving member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Biography Anthony was born to an Italian family in Ben ...
to compose an accompanying hit song with the same name, " The Bunny Hop". In 1986, Balboa converted its metal shop into the first school-based health clinic in California: the Balboa Teen Health Center. The clinic provides basic medical and mental health services. The clinic has improved access and the health habits of a disadvantaged student population that might otherwise have no professional health assistance. In an effort to prevent the spread of
AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
, Balboa became the first school in California to distribute free condoms to students in May 1992. This program and the clinic's other
family planning Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marita ...
and sexually transmitted disease efforts have featured somewhat controversially in a number of research papers and debates. Balboa became embroiled in controversy over a
hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...
incident on February 22, 1994, in which three Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC)
cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...
s were assaulted by other team members under orders from senior commanders and one cadet was rendered partially deaf from a punctured
eardrum In the anatomy of humans and various other tetrapods, the eardrum, also called the tympanic membrane or myringa, is a thin, cone-shaped membrane that separates the external ear The outer ear, external ear, or auris externa is the extern ...
. The resulting litigation from this incident exposed a culture and history of JROTC hazing at Balboa and several other SFUSD schools extending back to the 1980s. This
controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...
has been cited by JROTC opponents in efforts to eliminate the program at all SFUSD schools, which lasted from 2007 to 2009. On August 30, 2018, a firearm was discharged in the little theatre room where a student was playing with it in his backpack. Four students were arrested; two were able to return to school. The incident is included on the List of school shootings in the United States.


Academic resurgence

In 1996, frustrated by high turnover and low performance on the part of the educational staff, the SFUSD dismissed the entire
faculty Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument) A faculty is a legal in ...
. During the 1999–2000 academic year, Balboa shifted its academic program to the concept of
Small Learning Communities A Small Learning Community (SLC), also referred to as a School-Within-A-School, is a school organizational model that is an increasingly common form of learning environment in American secondary schools to subdivide large school populations into s ...
(SLC). These communities would form a 'school within a school" in an effort to turn around past poor academic performance. To support the formation of SLCs, Balboa was the recipient of funding from the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was l ...
in 2004 and 2005 through the Every Child Can Learn Foundation Secondary Redesign Initiative. Frustrated by poor conditions such as insufficient textbooks and dilapidated facilities during the late 1990s, students at Balboa became members of the
class-action lawsuit A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class action ...
Williams v. California. Filed in 2000 by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against the
State of California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, the suit alleged a failure to provide adequate facilities, textbooks, and teachers for the poorest schools in the state. The case was named after Eliezer Williams, a middle school student at the time, soon to enter Balboa. The lawsuit was resolved in 2004, with the State of California agreeing to provide $138 million for instructional material, US$50 million for critical facility repairs at nearly 2,400 state schools, and to reimburse school districts for future repairs of deficient facilities. Estimates indicate California may be liable for up to US$1 billion in reimbursements over several years. Building on an effort started in 2001 to increase scores by providing
breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.Anderson, Heather Arndt (2013)''Breakfast: A History'' AltaMira Press. Various "typical" or "t ...
before tests, Balboa initiated a pilot breakfast program in 2005 called "Grab N Go." A first for Northern California, the program has increased the number of disadvantaged students receiving breakfast. Using magnetic
swipe card The term digital card can refer to a physical item, such as a memory card on a camera, or, increasingly since 2017, to the digital content hosted as a virtual card or cloud card, as a digital virtual representation of a physical card. They share ...
s, eligible students can pick up a pre-bagged meal as they enter the building and can eat the meal during the first ten minutes of their first class. Previously, students would have to arrive up to 30 minutes before classes started and finish the meal in the
cafeteria A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school ...
. Prior to 2001 participation in the free or reduced fee meal program averaged under 40% of eligible enrollment. Since the pilot program started, breakfast participation has averaged over 55%. The program was credited with increasing academic performance, and received a Victory Against Hunger Award from the Congressional Hunger Center in 2006. Balboa was one of four schools nationwide to receive part of a grant from the got breakfast? campaign in March 2007 to support the program. Balboa has continued to serve subsidized lunch meals in a traditional two-tiered system. The social stratification caused by the separate lunch lines has attracted some criticism and efforts by the district to improve participation by eligible students. For the spring 2006 administration, 47% of the school's ninth-graders scored "proficient" or above on the statewide standardized English exam, up from 39% from the previous year. Balboa has reached third-highest rating of high schools in the San Francisco Unified District, next to Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts a Public School as second, and Lowell High School as first, in accordance to Great Schools Rating of administrators, parents, and fellow students.


Campus


Location

The school campus is located a few blocks away from major thoroughfares including Mission Street. The campus is close to Balboa Park, Balboa Park Station, and Interstate 280. San Francisco Municipal Railway transit
lines Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...
J, K, M, 8X, 14, 14L, 14X, 26, 29, 43, 49, and 54 provide nearby service. The Balboa campus is part of a larger SFUSD academic complex that includes neighboring James Denman Middle School and the San Miguel Child Development Center. Balboa is close to City College of San Francisco, the private Lick-Wilmerding High School, and Catholic
Archbishop Riordan High School Archbishop Riordan High School is a diocesan, co-ed Catholic high school established by the Society of Mary in San Francisco, California. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. It opened in fall 1949 as Riordan High Schoo ...
. Situated at the bottom of a valley, parts of the campus are built over a former river and lake.


Landmark

Balboa is one of two of the only historic landmark schools operating in San Francisco (the second being Mission High School designated with landmark number 250.) The campus became city historic landmark number 205 by proclamation signed on January 20, 1995, by mayor Frank Jordan. Balboa is regarded as one of the better designed and visually engaging schools within the SFUSD. San Francisco architect John Reid Jr. designed the first campus buildings in the Spanish Colonial Revival Style with a prominent center courtyard, mission style roof tiles, and arcades. Although originally designed with a distinctive red mission tile roof, all campus buildings had their roofs replaced in 1998 with seismically stable materials. An original roof tile is displayed in Balboa's Hall of History.


Facilities

The main entrance along the eastern side of the campus quadrangle is dominated by the three-story main classroom building. The library building to the north of the quad is equal in height to the main building and houses classrooms adjacent to and above the first floor library, including two computer labs and all the science lab classrooms. Distinct bridges on all three levels connect these two buildings. Arts and athletic facilities dominate the southern half of the campus. Facilities along this side of the quad include the gymnasium, tennis courts, track, and football field. The main cafeteria and the Teen Health Clinic are housed on the southern side of the quad. Vocational and cafeteria facilities form the western side of the campus quad. Balboa's auditorium, theater, and music rehearsal rooms also are found on the western side of the campus quad. In 2004, the theater was refurbished with the help of charitable funding from theatrical producer
Carole Shorenstein Hays Carole Shorenstein Hays (born September 15, 1948 as Carole J. Shorenstein) is an American theatrical producer. Biography Shorenstein was one of three children born to real estate developer Walter Shorenstein and Phyllis Finley. Her father was ...
. In partnership with
PG&E The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered in the Pacific Gas & Electric Building, in San Francisco, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 milli ...
, Balboa will be one of seven SFUSD schools to participate in the district's "Solar Schools" program.
Solar panel A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...
s will be installed on the roof to benefit from and raise awareness of alternative energy.


Demographics

According to '' U.S. News & World Report'', 94% of Balboa's student body is "of color," with 68% of the student body coming from an economically disadvantaged household, determined by student eligibility for California's
Reduced-price meal Reduced-price meal is a term used in the United States to describe a federally reimbursable meal, or snack, served to a qualified child when the family of the child's income is between 130 and 185 percent of the US federal poverty threshold. Scho ...
program. Balboa historically has had a school population of primarily ethnic minorities. Between 1993 and 2010, the White population at Balboa totaled less than 5% of yearly enrollment, but the incoming freshman classes of 2013 and 2014 spiked the white population up to 5.4%. Up to 2003, the predominant ethnic groups at the school alternated between Hispanic (24–30%) and African American (19–24%). During this time Filipino students also figured prominently in the ethnic distribution (19–30%) briefly becoming the majority ethnic group between 1997 and 1999. American Indians have always comprised less than 1%, and Pacific Islanders less than 3% of the school population. Starting in 2004, the school's increasing academic stature combined with citywide demographic changes attributable to gentrification and policy change radically changed the student demographic at Balboa.
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
students became the predominant ethnic group (34–39%) previously accounting for less than 20% of the school population. Hispanic and Filipino students followed with declining majorities. The largest decline was in the number of African American students, accounting for only 11.3% of the school population through the 2007–2008 school year. Coinciding with the academic turmoil of the late 1990s, the dropout rate at Balboa experienced a spike of over 230 students (16.8%) leaving in 1998. The year 2000 saw a sharp decline in the dropout rate, with no students leaving that year. The rate has averaged 2–6% since then. The demographic composition of
certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...
faculty over the last decade has consisted primarily of White teachers (32–54%) with approximately similar distributions of staff reporting Asian (6–15%), Filipino (9–19%), or Hispanic (11–19%) ethnicity. African American staff accounted for the remaining 8–11%. The number of staff over the last decade has averaged between 55 and 91 members.


Curriculum

Balboa participates in the SFUSD's admissions lottery in which students from the entire city can indicate a preference to attend any of the district schools regardless of geographical location. Based on this preference and certain socioeconomic factors, students are then assigned to schools per district policies and goals.


Small learning communities

Academic instruction at Balboa High School is centered on the concept of SLCs called pathways. Each community has a thematic focus that encourages individualized learning, an awareness of the future, and personal responsibility. Teachers and students work in a shared thematic collaboration to integrate lessons from their classes. The same sets of students are present in each of the classes, fostering the learning community. Some teachers will follow their students into successive grade levels to enhance continuity. In their first two years, communities of approximately 60–120 students experience focused core literary and mathematics instruction, with emphasis on community citizenship, and an exploration of career paths. Academies or pathways are chosen by students at the end of the 10th grade for the second half of their school career with the goal of preparation for career and college. A few exceptions are noted below. Every community or academy has several goals in common. Students are educated in preparation for their future career or post-secondary education. All communities provide the University of California "A-G college prep" coursework necessary for university admissions eligibility. All 11th and 12th grade academies have a common goal of combining coursework with external experiences through field trips, internships, or a mentorship with local business entities or the community at large. These external events are used to raise career awareness. Students in all communities will develop a personal portfolio or
résumé A résumé, sometimes spelled resume (or alternatively resumé), also called a curriculum vitae (CV), is a document created and used by a person to present their background, skills, and accomplishments. Résumés can be used for a variety of re ...
. Students will develop skills in research and presentation with the goal of developing
collaborative Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...
and social skills. *Game Design Academy (formerly Academy of Information Technology (AoIT)): A two-year academy which develops digital technology skills. Students participate in an electronic mentorship program with professionals in the technology industry and develop a digital portfolio. In collaboration with the Pearson Foundation, AoIT students have developed
digital storytelling Digital storytelling is a short form of digital media production that allows everyday people to create and share their stories online. The method is frequently used in schools, museums, libraries, social work and health settings, and communities. ...
exercises to learn about historical subjects such as
abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...
. *CAST *LAW: The Law Academy prepares 11th and 12th grade students for college and career with a focus on justice. By encouraging students to challenge and reflect on their coursework in American history, American literature, and Pre-law; students develop an awareness of community and
interdependence Systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of systems, i.e. cohesive groups of interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or human-made. Every system has causal boundaries, is influenced by its context, defined by its struc ...
. Students will build analytical and problem solving skills by identifying a need or issue in a community and addressing it. *Peers United for Leadership, Service, and Equity (PULSE) *Wilderness Arts and Literacy Collaborative (WALC): A co-curricular academic pathway started in 1998 with the goal of using education in and of the
environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
to provide an alternative means to learning science, art, technology, math, and literacy. The
Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...
provided an initial grant as part of a private / public funding initiative to help start the WALC. Sponsored by the Tides Center, students combine wilderness experiences in environmental citizenship such as hiking, habitat restoration, recycling, or
gardening Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture. In gardens, ornamental plants are often grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants, such as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, fruits ...
with a rigorous classroom curriculum. WALC is offered to 11th and 12th grade students.


Extracurricular activities


Athletics

The athletic programs at Balboa participate in the San Francisco Section of the California Interscholastic Federation. Female sports teams are fielded in badminton, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, fencing, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track, swimming, and volleyball. Twelve male sports teams are fielded in baseball, basketball, cross country, fencing,
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, golf, soccer, tennis, track, volleyball, swimming and wrestling. The football team achieved a 111–39–5 record between 1962 and 1977, including six wins of the annual city Turkey Day title game in 1967(11-0),1968(9-2),1971(11-0),1973(10-0-1),1975(12-0) and 1976(10-2), led by coach Archie Chagonjian. From 1967 to 1977, the team won section or season titles 11 times. Beginning in the Fall of 1993 the football program at Balboa went into decline, failing to make it to the Turkey Day playoff until 2004. They lost to Lowell in 2004 but made it back again in 2005, with that year's Samoan team members notably performing a haka dance before going on to lose to Lincoln High. Balboa also has made a comeback in baseball making it to the Semi-Finals under their new coach, John Tynan in 2007. They had a 13–2 record going into the game against Lowell, but lost 4–3. The Balboa team had many star players, including the player of the year, Nikolas Fangonilo. Another big accomplishment Balboa recently achieved in sports is the Championship Title for Boys Volleyball in 2009 under the coaching of Cubales, the athletic director. They defeated Lowell in an exciting 5 games. Balboa that year had three first team all-city players and one second team all-city player. In the 2010 season, the Balboa Cross Country team had its first major victory under the coaching of David Binkowski and Elizabeth Cossick. A 10th grade female, Isabela Bowden, took first place in the All-City meet. Her first place time was 20:44 with a mile pace at 6:42. This was the first time Balboa Cross Country placed in the top five during an All-City meet in competitive history.


Organizations


Mock Trial

The Mock Trial team is sponsored by a local law firm. The team practices from September to February in preparation for City and County of San Francisco competitions held the last two weeks of February. The champion from this competition advances to the state competition in March. The state champion will then move on to the national competition in May, representing the state of California. In 2006, it was crowned the champion of the City and County of San Francisco. Despite a 0–2 record in the first rounds, technicalities (a team's win–loss record and point percentages) allowed Balboa to move on to the semi-finals. It was then that the Balboa team defeated The School of the Arts after losing to SOTA previously in the first round. The team then went on to defeat Mission High School in the finals. As the winning team for San Francisco, Balboa went on to represent the county at the state competitions in Riverside, California. In commemoration of this achievement, San Francisco District 11 Supervisor
Gerardo Sandoval Gerardo Compos Sandoval (born 1962) is a judge of the Superior Court of California in and for the County of San Francisco. He was formerly a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. A practicing attorney, he defeated Superior Court j ...
awarded the Balboa Mock Trial team the title of "District 11 Local Heroes." In 2007, Balboa lost to Lowell High School, yet defeated Mission High School to advance to the semi-final competitions. In the semi-finals, Balboa lost to the School of the Arts who would then lose to Lowell High School in the city/county championships. Balboa's record for 2007 was 1–2. 2008 had Balboa faring better in competition; the school would enter the city finals with an undefeated record, to become the runner up to SOTA as city champions.


United Playaz

United Playaz is an anti-violence and gang prevention program that seeks to stop the seeds of school violence through collaborative meetings and activities. The program was started in 1994 by former Balboa student turned gang prevention counselor, Rudy Corpuz, in response to racially motivated gang violence between Balboa students. The group is best known for fostering meetings and discussions between the school administration, community, and various adversarial student factions. These efforts were credited with turning the security situation at Balboa around by 1997. The "Playaz" have hosted sports programs, talent shows, and
field trip A field trip or excursion is a journey by a group of people to a place away from their normal environment. When done for students, as it happens in several school systems, it is also known as school trip in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and ...
s to dissuade at-risk youth from gangs. They provide ways for students to openly discuss and express opinions on issues and tensions which unchecked lead to violence. United Playaz was the subject of an episode on television news magazine ''
California Connected ''California Connected'' was a television newsmagazine that broadcast stories about the state of California to "increase civic engagement." The show was created by Marley Klaus and aired on twelve PBS member stations throughout California. In 200 ...
'' in June 2003. The United Playaz collaborates with the ROOTS program, a program for students whose parents or family members are
incarcerated A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...
. ROOTS focuses on interdependence with their peers including the "Playaz."


Notable people


Alumni

*
McLeod Bethel-Thompson McLeod John Baltazar Bethel-Thompson (born July 3, 1988) is an American professional football quarterback for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at UCLA and Sacramento State. He is the grands ...
2006: Professional football player *
Dewey Crumpler Dewey Crumpler (born 1949) is an American painter and an associate professor at the San Francisco Art Institute. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and is featured in the permanent collections of the Oakland museum of Cali ...
, 1967: Artist *
Gary DeLong Gary DeLong is an American former soccer goalkeeper. In 1958, DeLong graduated from Balboa High School in San Francisco, California where he was a 1958 All State/San Francisco Section soccer player. He is a member of the San Francisco Prep Hal ...
, 1958: Former
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
goalkeeper for the United States men's national soccer team * Juan Eichelberger, 1971: Former professional MLB baseball player *
Solofa Fatu Solofa Fatu Jr. (born October 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring names Rikishi and Fatu with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he is a one-time Intercontinental Champion, two-time World Tag Te ...
, 1984: WWE Hall of Famer best known as ''Rikishi'' *
Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...
, dropped out in 1959: Lead guitarist and vocalist for the
Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
* Cindy Herron, 1979: Singer of the contemporary R&B quartet En Vogue. Actress best known for her role in '' Juice'' * Calvin Jones, 1968: Former professional football cornerback for the Denver Broncos from 1973–1976 * Philip Lamantia, dropped out in 1943: Surrealist poet of the
Beat Generation The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Generatio ...
*
Jim McLennan Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim'' ...
, 1950: NHRA Hall of Fame inductee,
drag racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most c ...
pioneer * Michael Norris, 1972: Former professional MLB baseball player * Richard Quitevis, 1987: Turntablist best known as ''DJ QBert'' * Brandy Reed, 1994: Former WNBA professional basketball player * George H. Ruge, 1939: Radio, television broadcaster and producer. Charter member of the Broadcast Legends. *
George Marshall Ruge George Marshall Ruge is an American film director, producer, writer, second unit director, stunt coordinator, and actor. Ruge is known for his work as director, second unit director, and stunt coordinator on such film projects as the ''Pirates ...
, 1969: American filmmaker, film director, actor, writer, stunt coordinator *
Calvin E. Simmons Calvin Eugene Simmons (April 27, 1950 – August 21, 1982) was an American symphony orchestra conductor. He was the first African-American conductor of a major orchestra. Life and career Simmons was born in San Francisco, California, in 1950. A ...
, 1972: The first African-American
conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...
of a major U.S.
symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...
. Former assistant conductor of the
Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...
and musical director of the Oakland Symphony Orchestra * Bob Sweeney, 1936: Actor, director of '' The Andy Griffith Show'', and producer for '' Hawaii Five-O'' *
Leonard Lake Leonard Thomas Lake (October 29, 1945June 6, 1985), also known as Leonard Hill and a variety of other aliases, was an American serial killer. During the mid-1980s, he and his accomplice, British Hong Kong-born Charles Ng, raped, tortured and mu ...
, 1964: Serial killer * Raymond Taft, 1937: Masters swimming coach and medalist, inducted as an International Swimming Hall of Fame honoree * George Varoff, 1932: Record setting
pole vaulter Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the My ...
* Willie Wise, 1965: Former professional basketball player with the
Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...
and Seattle SuperSonics. Draft pick of the San Francisco Warriors


Staff

* James Burke, 1964 Olympic Wrestler, USA Wrestling Hall of Fame coach * Lloyd Leith, 1931–1936:
Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...
coach and referee *
Kevin Restani Kevin Gilbert "Big Bird" Restani (December 23, 1951 – April 25, 2010) was an American professional basketball player from San Francisco, California. After being selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1974 NBA draft, Restani played in ei ...
, 2006–2010: former professional
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
player.


See also

* San Francisco County high schools * List of San Francisco Designated Landmarks


References


External links

*
School district website
{{authority control San Francisco Designated Landmarks Public high schools in San Francisco Educational institutions established in 1928 San Francisco Unified School District schools 1928 establishments in California