Hillsdale High School is a
public co-educational high school in
San Mateo,
California, serving grades 9–12 as part of the
San Mateo Union High School District
The San Mateo Union High School District is a high school district headquartered in San Mateo, California. In addition to San Mateo, the district serves the cities of San Bruno, Millbrae, Burlingame, Hillsborough, and Foster City.
Schools
The ...
. Hillsdale generally serves the residents of San Mateo and
Foster City. The main feeder schools to Hillsdale are Abbott, Bayside, Borel, and Bowditch Middle Schools of the
San Mateo-Foster City School District.
History
When it opened in 1955, Hillsdale High School was awarded the School Design Award from the
American Institute of Architects. It served as the prototype for Bay Area high schools, with indoor/outdoor passages, landscaped courtyards, and skylights in classrooms.
The design is credited to
John Lyon Reid.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, teachers Greg Jouriles and Sue Bedford developed and implemented an integrated humanities curriculum, scheduling social studies and English classes back-to-back. The extended periods were first rolled out to first-year honors students in 1989, followed by a parallel program implemented by Christine Del Gaudio and Marty Kongsle for the remaining first-year students in 1992.
1994 marked the start of the annual Battle at Dawn, a re-enactment of the
Battle of Neuve Chapelle for first-year students at HHS as part of their studies about
World War I.
In 1996, HHS proposed implementing a senior exhibition as a graduation requirement to pass fourth-year English classes. Students would have to defend a fifteen-page thesis before a three-member panel for their senior exhibition, which drew attention from parents concerned their children would not pass.
[ The senior exhibition requirement was implemented in 1997, and the review of multiple drafts added a substantial load to teachers' grading burden, including one-on-one assistance and mentoring. As a result, a tutorial period was added to the teachers' schedules in 1999, and the English, social studies, and math teachers collaborated to create the Reflective, Eager, Aspiring, Learning Masters (REALM) program to help personalize instruction.][ Jeff Gilbert left HHS in 2001 to join the Stanford Teacher Education Program, introducing the two schools, and Stanford faculty entered into a Professional Development School relationship with HHS in the fall of 2001.][
In the early 2000s, HHS won multiple grants to transform school culture into small learning communities (SLC),] an approach championed by Linda Darling-Hammond, who had introduced HHS faculty to the concept during a professional development day in January 2002.[ The planning for SLCs at HHS was funded by a spring 2002 federal grant which culminated in Coyote Point Day, a two-day discussion and planning session held offsite at ]Coyote Point Park
Coyote Point Recreation Area is a park operated by San Mateo County, California in the United States. Located on San Francisco Bay, it is south of San Francisco International Airport on the border of Burlingame and San Mateo. Facilities with ...
in November 2002.[
Under the SLC model, incoming first-year students at HHS are divided into four houses (Florence, Kyoto, Oaxaca, and Marrakech), named for important medieval centers of learning; each house has approximately 100 students, who stay with a common set of teachers covering math, English, social science, and science for two years.][
]
Campus
SMUHSD residents approved Measure D in 2000 and Measure M in 2006, which directly funded the repair and modernization of District schools, including Hillsdale.
Statistics
Demographics
2020-2021[
1,689 students: 862 male (51%), 827 female (49%)
]
Athletics
Hillsdale participates in the Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) in the following sports:
* Cross country
*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
* Tennis
* Volleyball
* Water Polo
* Basketball
*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 ...
* Wrestling
* Badminton
* Softball
* Swimming
* Track and Field
* Baseball
* Lacrosse
Awards
Hillsdale High School has received a number of awards and honors:
*1955 American Institute of Architects School Design award for its Neo-Brutalist style[
*1990 "Best of San Mateo County" by the '' San Mateo County Times''][
*1993 Named a United States Department of Education, National Blue Ribbon School
*2001 ]Stanford Graduate School of Education
The Stanford Graduate School of Education (also known as Stanford GSE, or GSE) is one of the seven schools of Stanford University, and is one of the top education schools in the United States. It was founded in 1891 and offers master's and doc ...
's first Professional Development School[
*2007 Named 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 ...
*2009–2010 The Mock Trial team won first place in the California State Mock Trial Championship (and ultimately placed 19th at the national competition in Philadelphia, PA)
*2011 Ranked no. 225 in the '' Newsweek'' Top 1,000 Public High Schools
*2016 Received Gold Recognition from Schools of Opportunity
Schools of Opportunity is a project that aims to recognize public high schools that minimize opportunity gaps with outstanding education. The National Education Policy Center, a non-profit education policy research center, created Schools of Opp ...
Notable alumni
* Valerie Fleming, Olympic Silver Medalist and World Cup Champion bobsledder.[
* Billy Hardwick, Bowling Hall of Fame.]
* John Holdren, scientist, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...
, co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.[
* Karen Kraft, two-time Olympic Medalist in women's rowing.
*]Jay Mathews
Jay Mathews is an author and education columnist with the ''Washington Post''.
Career
Mathews has worked at the ''Washington Post'' writing news reports and books about China, disability rights, the stock market, and education. He writes the ''Cla ...
, author and education columnist with '' The Washington Post''.
*J. Michael McGinnis
James Michael McGinnis (born 12 July 1944) is a US physician, epidemiologist, and long-time contributor to national and international health programs and policy, including continuous policy responsibilities for leadership in disease prevention an ...
, physician and public health scholar.[
* Jed Rose, credited with co-inventing the nicotine patch.]
* Thomas Schumacher, theatrical producer.
*Nick Vanos
Nicolaas Peter Vanos (April 13, 1963 – August 16, 1987) was an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. The San Mateo, California, native was selected 32nd by the Suns in the 1985 ...
(d. 1987), former NBA player with the Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
.[
*]David Yarnold
David Yarnold (born November 26, 1952) was the president and CEO of the National Audubon Society. He became the conservation organization's 10th president in September, 2010.
Biography
He was born in Los Angeles, California, and earned a B. ...
, former assistant managing editor of the '' San Jose Mercury News'' and president and CEO of the National Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organ ...
.[
]
See also
* San Mateo County high schools
References
External links
San Mateo Union High School District official website
Great Schools profile
California Department of Education - DataQuest reports
{{authority control
Educational institutions established in 1955
High schools in San Mateo County, California
Public high schools in California
1955 establishments in California