Canyon High School is a traditional four-year high school located in the

Anaheim Hills Anaheim Hills is a planned community encompassing the eastern portions of the city of Anaheim, in Orange County, California. History Prior to the development, a few scattered low-density neighborhoods existed in the area, including Peralta Hills ...

community in the city of

Anaheim, California 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 ...

and is an International Baccalaureate school. It is located on of land on

Imperial Highway The Imperial Highway is a west-east thoroughfare in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and Imperial in California. The main portion of the existing route begins at Vista Del Mar in Los Angeles near the Los Angeles Inter ...

between the cross streets of

Santa Ana Canyon Santa Ana Canyon ( es, Cañón de Santa Ana), or the Santa Ana Narrows, is the water gap where the Santa Ana River passes between the Santa Ana Mountains and the Chino Hills, near the intersection of Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino count ...

Road and Nohl Ranch Road, and serves students in the

Orange Unified School District Orange Unified School District (OUSD) is a public school district headquartered in Orange, California. Orange USD serves the cities of Orange and Villa Park, the unincorporated land of Silverado, and parts of Anaheim, Garden Grove, Santa Ana ...

. The school, which opened its doors in 1973, has a student population of 2,400. The school primarily serves the community of

as well as parts of East Anaheim and

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

, and was designated 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 ...

in 2007 by the

California Department of Education The California Department of Education is an agency within the Government of California that oversees public education. The department oversees funding and testing, and holds local educational agencies accountable for student achievement. Its st ...

. The school's fight song is

Washington and Lee Swing "Washington and Lee Swing" is the official fight song of Washington and Lee University. It was written in 1910 by Mark W. Sheafe, Clarence A. (Tod) Robbins, and Thornton W. Allen. It is widely used as the primary school song by other universities ...

. The school is currently ranked as one of the top 1,000 high schools in the United States by

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

at number 128, a distinction given to less than 1% of high schools nationally. It is the 204th highest ranked school in the state of California.

History

The school started in 1974 as a shared campus with the established

Villa Park High School Villa Park High School (VPHS) is a four-year suburban public high school located in the city of Villa Park, California, United States. It was built in 1964 and is one of four comprehensive high schools in the Orange Unified School District. The cam ...

for students in grades 10-12. Upon completion of the Anaheim Hills campus, a variety of names were considered for the site. A ballot of three proposed names was given to the students of Vista Del Rio Jr. High School to vote on. The students did not like any of the choices so a write-in campaign was started. Canyon High School was the name of choice due to its location and the fact that the local students call that area "The Canyon". Ultimately, the name Canyon High School was selected. Boundary changes in the district and an increase in the population of the Anaheim Hills community resulted in changes at the school. The school was designated to serve students in grades 9 through 12 in 1987, and

El Rancho Charter School Orange Unified School District (OUSD) is a public school district headquartered in Orange, California. Orange USD serves the cities of Orange and Villa Park, the unincorporated land of Silverado, and parts of Anaheim, Garden Grove, Santa Ana ...

was designated as the only feeder school within the boundaries of Canyon High School. The school implemented an

International Baccalaureate Program The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into ...

in 1988.

Education

Canyon High School offers a variety of programs for its students including the International Baccalaureate Program, Stellar Technology Program, and Specialized Science Program, in addition to numerous college-level Advanced Placement and Honors courses. The school focuses on technology, having undergone thousands of dollars worth of upgrading the schools technology, by adding 100 computers, and making 19 of its courses available as online classes. Canyon is also home to Orange County's only high school Aviation Academy which uses advanced simulators and encourages students to explore career options in the Aviation industry with an emphasis on becoming pilots. In 2019, the U.S. News & World Report ranked the school 387th in the state of California and 2,557th in the United States.

Athletics

The school mascot is the

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

. Students at Canyon High School compete in the following sports: *Baseball *Basketball *Cheer *Color Guard *Cross Country *Dance Team *Football *Lacrosse *Golf *Marching Band *Roller Hockey *Soccer *Softball *Song Team *Swimming *Tennis *Track & Field *Ultimate Frisbee *Volleyball *Water Polo *Winter Drumline *Wrestling

Notable alumni

David Buehler David Jonathan Buehler (born February 5, 1987) is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He was drafted by the Cowboys in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college foot ...

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

kicker *

Eden Espinosa Eden Erica Espinosa (born February 2, 1978) is an American actress and singer who is best known for her performances as Elphaba for the Broadway, Los Angeles, and San Francisco productions of the musical ''Wicked''. In 2022, she was nominated for ...

, singer/stage actress * Seonna Hong, artist *

Courtney Mathewson Courtney Lynn Kaiulani Mathewson (born September 14, 1986) is an American water polo player, part of the US team that won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She played water polo for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Brui ...

, Olympic gold medalist water polo player *

Connie Needham Connie Needham (born Connie Marie Bowen; December 5, 1959) is an American actress and dance instructor. As Connie Newton, she portrayed Elizabeth Bradford on the television series ''Eight is Enough'' from 1977 to 1981. Career Although her most ...

, actress * Brian Nestande,

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

man * Andy Park, Illustrator *

Chris Snitko Chris Snitko (born January 24, 1973), is a retired U.S. soccer goalkeeper (football), goalkeeper who was the 1995 ISAA Goalkeeper of the Year. He then spent six seasons in Major League Soccer and earned five cap (sports), caps with the United ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

player * Kwame Watson-Siriboe,

player

Professional baseball players

* John Cummings,

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Rob Deer Robert George Deer (born September 29, 1960) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. Early life Deer attended Canyon High School in Anaheim and Fresno City College. During his tenure with the Milwaukee Brewers, he worked for his ...

, All-Star

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Recording prolifically for Blue Note Records as both leader and sideman, Green performed in the hard bop, soul jazz, bebop, and Latin-tinged idioms ...

, second baseman *

Doug Linton Douglas Warren Linton (born February 9, 1965) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or parts of seven seasons in Major League Baseball between 1992 and 2003 for the Toronto Blue Jays, California Angels, New York Mets, Kansas ...

Vinnie Pestano Vincent "Vinnie" William Pestano (born February 20, 1985) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. Early life Pestano attended Canyon High School (Anaheim, California) and California State University, Fullerton before being dr ...

* Steve Scarsone, second baseman * Eric Valent,

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

* Christian Colon,

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

Royals opt for shortstop Colon with top pick
/ref>

References

External links

*https://www.canyonhighschool.org/ {{Coord, 33.848383, -117.78849, region:US_type:edu, display=title Educational institutions established in 1973 High schools in Anaheim, California International Baccalaureate schools in California Public high schools in California 1973 establishments in California