Watsonville High School is a
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 in
Watsonville,
Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County (), officially the County of Santa Cruz, is a county on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 270,861. The county seat is Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz County comprises the San ...
, and is part of the
Pajaro Valley Unified School District
Pajaro Valley Unified School District is a school district based in Watsonville, California, USA. The Superintendent is Michelle Rodriguez. The District is overseen by a seven members of the board of trustees that meets an average of twice a mo ...
. The school mascot is Willy the Wildcat. The school colors are black and gold. Watsonville High School is a large school with over 2,000 students and staff, making it the largest school in the Pajaro Valley Unified School district.
History
Watsonville High School was originally a two-year high school course which was connected to a grammar school. The program met the standard for college entry requirements, as well as teaching Latin and Greek. In 1891, the course was extended to three years. There was an increased need for a separate building, so the district passed a bond measure to build a new two-story building, designed by
W.H. Weeks, on the corner of Third and Marchant Streets.
On November 8, 1901, seven years after it was built, the school burnt to the ground. In December, a second bond measure was proposed to rebuild the school, but it failed. In February, the school district was able to pass a smaller bond to hire Weeks to build a "Spanish style" school on the foundations of the original building.
Sports
Their most recent sports rival is
Pajaro Valley High School, which is also located in Watsonville. Watsonville High's long-time rival is
Aptos High School
Aptos High School is a comprehensive secondary school in Aptos, California, USA in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. Aptos High serves the communities of Rio Del Mar, Corralitos, Seacliff, Seascape, La Selva Beach, Buena Vista and Wats ...
; the football game between the two schools is known as the "Black and Blue Bowl." A new rival in many sports, is
North Monterey County High School.
*Baseball
*Basketball
*Cross Country
*Fall Cheer
*Football
*Golf
*Lacrosse
*Soccer
*Softball
*Swimming and Diving
*Tennis
*Track and Field
*Volleyball
*Winter Cheer
*Wrestling
Notable alumni
*
Luis Alejo
Luis Angel Alejo (born March 27, 1974) is an American politician who served in the California State Assembly representing the California's 30th State Assembly district, 30th Assembly District, encompassing the Pajaro Valley, Pajaro and Salinas Val ...
, State Assemblymember (2010– )
*
Brenda Buttner,
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
host
*
Sherman Cocroft, NFL player
*
Mark Eichhorn, MLB player
*
Marv Marinovich, NFL player
*
Tlaloc Rivas, theatre director and professor
*
Simon Salinas, State Assemblymember (2000–2006)
*
Ken Sears, NBA player
References
External links
Official sitePajaro Valley Unified School District website
{{authority control
Coalition of Essential Schools
High schools in Santa Cruz County, California
Watsonville, California
Public high schools in California
1892 establishments in California