Savanna High School (SHS) 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 ...

in the

Anaheim Union High School District The Anaheim Union High School District (AUHSD) is a public school district serving portions of the Orange County cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, La Palma, and Stanton. It oversees eight junior high schools (7-8), eight high schools (9 ...

(AUHSD), located in the city of

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

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 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Savanna was established in 1961 and is one of eight comprehensive high schools within the district. The school currently services the Northwest Anaheim region and southeast

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 ...

History

Savanna was the second of three new high schools opened in response to the city's rapid postwar growth, between

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

and Loara, all built by the Beckner Construction Company. The school was not completed until November 1961, and for the first quarter, students double-sessioned at Magnolia's campus. The school originally served grades 10 through 12, and did not enroll freshmen until 1980. The students of the school voted in 1961 to adopt the "Rebels" as its nickname over the "Surfers." In 1964, a freelance artist named T. Howard Ball built a

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

statue representing the mascot "Johnny Rebel," a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

soldier appearing to charge at its enemy with a rifle. The statue stood in the quad until 2009, when it was removed due to its deterioration. An art teacher proposed restoring the statue in 2015, but the school board rejected the project unanimously, citing its racial insensitivity as well as the projected cost of $45,000. In October 2017, in response to student and alumni objections to the mascot, the school held a nonbinding referendum of the student body on the future of the mascot and nickname. A majority of students voted to retain the nickname "Rebels" but to rebrand it to remove Confederate references and imagery. The school board agreed and voted in November to eliminate the Civil War references, including painting over an image of a Confederate soldier in the school gym and another mural which included a

Confederate battle flag The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and ...

Notable alumni

Don Aase Donald William Aase ( ;"The Week (July 24–30)," ''Sp ...

, professional baseball pitcher. *

Marty Castillo Martin Horace Castillo (born January 16, 1957) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman and catcher. Castillo, who is of Mexican descent, is an alumnus of Savanna High School in Anaheim, California. Drafted by the Detroit Tigers ...

, professional baseball player. * John Conley, professional football tight end. *

Steve DeBerg Steven Leroy DeBerg (born January 19, 1954) is an American retired professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 years. Early life DeBerg is an alumnus of Savanna High School in Anaheim, Califo ...

, professional football quarterback. *

Stephen Hillenburg Stephen McDannell Hillenburg (August 21, 1961 – November 26, 2018) was an American animator, writer, producer, director, and marine science educator. He is known for creating the Nickelodeon animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants' ...

, creator of ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character a ...

''. * Glenn Hoffman, professional baseball infielder and coach. *

Trevor Hoffman Trevor William Hoffman (born October 13, 1967) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1993 to 2010. A long-time closer, he pitched for the Florida Marlins, San Diego P ...

, professional baseball pitcher. *

Al Hrabosky Alan Thomas Hrabosky (; born July 21, 1949) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1970 to 1982 for the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, and Atlanta Braves. As of 2022, he is the ...

, professional baseball pitcher. * Greg Mathews, professional baseball pitcher. * Bernice Orwig, water polo player who won silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. *

Rick Ownbey Richard Wayne Ownbey (born October 20, 1957 in Corona, California) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played in parts of four seasons in the majors, between and , for the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals. Amateur career Ownbey a ...

, professional baseball pitcher. *

Allen Shellenberger Allen Shellenberger (September 15, 1969 – August 13, 2009) was an American drummer who played in the band Lit. Early life and career Shellenberger was born to Paul Shellenberger and Connie James. He founded Lit in 1988 in Fullerton, Cal ...

, drummer of the band Lit. * John L. Valentine, Utah state senator. *

Cress Williams Cress Williams (born July 26, 1970) is an American actor, known for his roles in ''Prison Break'' and '' Close to Home''. His most recent roles include Mayor Lavon Hayes on The CW series ''Hart of Dixie'' and the title character on The CW's ''Bla ...

, film and television actor.

References

External links

*
Savanna Band and Colorguard
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1961 High schools in Anaheim, California Public high schools in California 1961 establishments in California