West Covina High School (WCHS) is a four-year comprehensive
secondary 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 '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
located in
West Covina, California
West Covina is a suburban city in Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most popul ...
, USA.
History
West Covina High School opened in 1956 on the old
Covina High School
Covina High School, commonly known as Covina High or CHS to the students, is a public high school located in Covina, California. Covina High School is one of three comprehensive high schools within the Covina-Valley Unified School District. Establi ...
campus on Citrus Ave. and Puente Ave. as the
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
ns. In 1957, the school moved to its new campus, which was built on an old cabbage patch, on Cameron Ave. and Fernwood St. Blue and white were the school colors. The Spartans were led by Principal Maurice Wooden, brother of the legendary
UCLA Bruins men's basketball
The UCLA Bruins men's basketball program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in the sport of men's basketball as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. Established in 1919, the program has won a record 11 NCAA titles. Coach John ...
coach
John Wooden
John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood, he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head ...
. The first class graduated in 1958.
In 1988, West Covina Unified School District merged Edgewood High School and West Covina High School, bringing all students to its current campus. The new mascot became the
Bulldog
The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.
In 2005, WCHS became fully accredited by the
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was an organization providing School accreditation, accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary school, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, ...
and 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 ...
.
Demographics
There has been a decrease in the percentage of
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
and
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
students over the years with an increase in the number and percentage of
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
students. There is a large number of
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...
students, who are of mainly Filipino
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
,
Taiwanese
Taiwanese may refer to:
* Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien
* Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa)
* Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan
* Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan
* Taiwanese people, ...
and
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
descent.
The ethnicity of the school in 2010-2011 was:
:
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
/
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
: 2,078
:
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 ...
: 468
:
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
: 210
:
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
Alaska Native
Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a numbe ...
: 2
:
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
: 7
:Not reported: 2
:Total: 2,892
Athletics
The Bulldog athletic teams compete in the Valle Vista League 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 ...
.
* Previous Leagues: Sierra, San Antonio, Hacienda
FIRST Robotics Competition
FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is an international high school robotics competition. Each year, teams of high school students, coaches, and mentors work during a six-week period to build robots capable of competing in that year's game that weig ...
team, Robotics Alliance of West Covina (RAWC) took first place in the Southern California Regional Competition and took second place in the
FIRST Championship
The FIRST Championship is a four-day robotics championship held annually in April at which FIRST student robotics teams compete. For several years, the event was held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, but moved to the Edward Jones Dome in ...
in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2008, the team achieved first in the San Diego Regional Competition and third in the World in the Championship in Atlanta. They were undefeated in their division (Newton Division) and lost to the first place team in Atlanta.
In March 2008, the All Male Hip Hop dance team took first place at the United Spirit Association Dance/Drill National Competition in the Medium Hip Hop and All Male divisions. In March 2009, it once again took first place at the USA Nationals Dance/Drill Competition in the All Male Division, which led to a back-to-back National Championship. In March 2010, the All Male Hip Hop dance team won another first place in the All Male Division, which had led the team to a 3-peat National Championship title.
In March 2010, 2017 and 2018 the Dance/Drill team took first place at the USA National Dance/Drill Competition in the Small Military Division.
During winter 2008, the Indoor Drumline won the ADLA Scholastic Open Championship with their show entitled "Teknologik". In 2009, it won the silver medal in the ADLA Scholastic World Championship with a show entitled "Imagine", and in 2010 took the gold again with its show "From the Ashes".
Yearly API
Notable alumni
*
Tom Brunansky
Thomas Andrew Brunansky (born August 20, 1960), nicknamed "Bruno", is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1981 to 1994 for the California Angels, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, and Milwaukee Brewe ...
- graduated 1978, major league baseball outfielder
*
Joey Eischen
Joseph Raymond Eischen (born May 25, 1970) is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball.
High school
Joey Eischen attended West Covina High School in West Covina, California and was a letterman in football, basketball, baseball, and tennis ...
- graduated 1988, major league baseball pitcher
* Justin Lehr - major league baseball pitcher
*
Nia Peeples
Virenia "Nia" Peeples (born December 10, 1961) is an American R&B and dance music singer and actress. Peeples is known for playing Nicole Chapman on the hit TV series '' Fame''; Pam Fields on the drama '' Pretty Little Liars''; Karen Taylor Wi ...
- graduated 1980, actress
* Keith Smith - graduated 1982, retired professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player.
*
Walter Thurmond
Walter Riley Thurmond III (born August 12, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League. He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He won Super ...
- graduated 2005, National Football League defensive back, Super Bowl XLVIII winner
*
Bob Zany
Bob Zany (born Robert Earl Tetreault; September 11, 1961) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is known for performing with his trademark cigar on stage. According to an article found on his web page, he "stuff a cigar into a plastic b ...
- graduated 1979, comedian
*
Bill Stoneman
William Hambly Stoneman III (born April 7, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player and executive who, during his eight-year (–) pitching career in Major League Baseball, threw two no-hitters; then, as general manager of the Ana ...
- graduated 1962, major league pitcher, general manager of Los Angeles Angels
* Derek Tennell - graduated 1982, retired NFL football player
* Steve Myer - graduated 1972, retired NFL football player
*
Emily Rios
Emily Clara Rios (born April 27, 1989) is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Andrea Cantillo on the AMC series ''Breaking Bad''. In 2013 she began portraying newspaper reporter Adriana Mendez on the FX series ''The ...
- graduated 2006, actress
* Sidney Jones - graduated 2014, NFL football player for the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
,
Super Bowl LII
Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the American Football Conferen ...
winner
* Christian Yeung - graduated 2005, basketball player and actor
* Sienna Lalau - graduated 2018, choreographer and dancer