Santa Clara High School (SCHS) is a private, Roman
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
four-year
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 ...
serving grades 9-12 in
Oxnard, California
Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...
. It is located within in the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles ( la, Archidiœcesis Angelorum in California, es, Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in th ...
. Originally founded in September 1901, it is the oldest high school in
Ventura County
Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura.
Ventura County comprises the Oxnar ...
.
History
The school, originally named St. Joseph's Institute, was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet on September 2, 1901. The school moved to the top floor of the Santa Clara Elementary School building on South "E" Street, and in April 1930, the name was changed to Santa Clara High School. Over the next two decades, increasing enrollment necessitated a new facility, and under the leadership of Monsignor Anthony Jacobs, and a generous land grant from Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Friedrich, the new Santa Clara High School opened on South Saviers Road in the spring of 1952. In 1964, the high school annexed the adjacent empty junior high school facility, acquiring sixteen new classrooms, office space and a new auditorium, doubling the capacity of the high school.
In 1967, the school became an Archdiocesan high school and operational responsibility of the school shifted to the
Archdiocese of Los Angeles
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles ( la, Archidiœcesis Angelorum in California, es, Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church (Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particularly ...
. In 1981, the Sisters of St. Joseph, who kept residences at the school, moved to St. Anthony's Convent and their space was renovated into additional classrooms and office space. In 1986 a new gymnasium, Friedrich Pavilion, was constructed.
Athletics
Santa Clara High School is a member school 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 ...
. As of 2018, the Saints compete in the Tri-County Athletic Association for all sports except football. The school's football team competed in the
Citrus Coast League The Citrus Coast League (CCL) is a high school athletic conference in California that is affiliated with the CIF Southern Section. Established in 2018, the league consists primarily of small public high schools in Ventura County, with one member eac ...
in 2018, but left after one season as it switched to
eight-man football
Eight-man football is a form of gridiron football, generally played by high schools with smaller enrollments. Eight-man football differs from the traditional 11-man game with the reduction of three players on each side of the ball and a field wi ...
from the conventional 11-man format due to a lack of players.
Santa Clara is known for its success in basketball. Under head coach Lou Cvijanovich who began coaching the boys' team in the 1958–59 school year, the Saints won 30 league titles (most league titles of any high school program in the country), 15 CIF-SS titles (second most in California high school history), as well as three California state championships (1989, 1990, 1999). The program appeared in three straight state championship games (1989–1991), winning titles in 1989 and 1990. In Cvijanovich's 41st and final season coaching for Santa Clara, the team captured the state title, winning 30 games and securing Cvijanovich's record 829th victory in the process. Twenty years later in 2019, and just three months after the Cvijanovich's death, the Saints won a CIF-SS championship in 2019 under Bobby Tenorio.
The Santa Clara boys' soccer team won its first CIF-SS championship in 2017.
Notable staff and alumni
* Lou Cvijanovich: Basketball coach from 1958-1999. Coach with the most wins in California high school history.
* Terrance Dotsy: American football player
*
Dave Laut
David Lester Laut (December 21, 1956 – August 27, 2009) was an American shot putter. He was born in Findlay, Ohio, and grew up in Oxnard, California. Laut attended Art Haycox Elementary School, E. O. Green Junior High School, Santa Clara H ...
:
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
graduate; won bronze medal at the
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...
for
shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
. He was inducted into the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
* Isaiah Mustafa: Actor and professional football player; appeared in
Old Spice
Old Spice is an American brand of male grooming products encompassing aftershaves, deodorants and antiperspirants, shampoos, body washes, and soaps. It is manufactured by Procter & Gamble.
Old Spice was launched as Early American Old Spice by W ...
Ventura County Star
The ''Ventura County Star'' (Marked online as VC Star) is a daily newspaper published in Camarillo, California and serves all of Ventura County. It is owned by Gannett, the largest publisher of newspapers in the United States. It is a successor ...
''
*
Cierre Wood
Cierre Marcelle Wood (born February 21, 1991) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Notre Dame. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Houston Texans in 2013.
High school career
Wood attended Santa ...
: NFL running back,
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
; indicted on murder and 20 felony child abuse charges in the death of his girlfriend’s 5-year-old daughter in 2019