Modesto High School is a public high school in

Modesto Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton ...

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 ...

, United States. It offers the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...

Program and the Avid program, Performing Arts Program and was the first public school to do so in the Central Valley of California. Modesto High School is the oldest high school in Modesto and among the oldest in California. 2022 marks year 139. In 1883, Ruliff Stephen Holway saw the need for a high school that could provide for needs extending beyond a primary grammar education. According to Sol P. Elias, member of the first graduating class of Modesto High School students, R.S. Holway was "a young schoolmaster... with the advantage of a charming character and a sympathetic mind... zeal and personality... (who) guided the pupils almost through the entire course until his departure... to accept a professorship at the University of California." Holway, MHS' first principal, was responsible for the education of the entire student body, playing a role of both teacher and administrator before he left to teach in the UC system. Forty pupils comprised the first class organized at the first building located at 14th and I Streets; after four years, ten of these students remained to take part in the first graduation of MHS students. In the succeeding years, the number of seniors receiving diplomas fluctuated greatly; the lowest number occurred in 1893 when no one remained in school all four years to graduate. The high school moved to its current location in 1918 On December 1, 2022,Principal Jason Manning and another school employee were placed on paid administrative leave amid allegations of “inappropriate conduct” during work hours. A video posted on social media allegedly showing the misconduct was deemed not related to this matter.

Athletics

Modesto High School offers a variety sports on a seasonal basis: *

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

Water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

Cross Country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

Cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

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 ...

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

Track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

Modesto High Boys Soccer team made history during their 2021-2022 season. They remained undefeated and advanced through the playoffs to the

CIF Sac-Joaquin Section The Sac-Joaquin Section (SJS) is the governing body of public and private high school athletics in parts of Northern San Joaquin Valley, California. Its geographic area also covers the California portion of the Lake Tahoe region; however, three ...

Championship for the first time in school history.

Notable alumni

James Algar James Algar (June 11, 1912 – February 26, 1998) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He worked at Walt Disney Productions for 43 years and received the Disney Legends award in 1998. He was born in Modesto, California ...

, an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He worked for the Walt Disney Productions for 43 years and received the Disney Legends award in 1998. He is known for directing "The Sorcerer’s Apprentice" segment of ''

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

'' from 1940. After World War II he was asked by Walt Disney to direct the first True-Life Adventure. The film, '' Seal Island'', won an Academy Award in 1949. 1929 graduate * Richard L. Bare, an American director, producer, and screenwriter of television shows and short films. Directed most episodes of the television show ''

Green Acres ''Green Acres'' is an American television sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to ''Petticoat Junction'', the series was first broadcast on ...

'' and seven notable episodes of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

''.; 1931 graduate *

Jeremiah Brent Jeremiah Brent (born Jeremy Clevenger Johnson; November 24, 1984) is an American interior designer and television personality. He founded his design firm Jeremiah Brent Design (JBD) in 2011, a full service interior design firm based in Los Angele ...

, known in high school as Jeremy

rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

Johnson, an American interior designer and television personality. He is married to fellow designer

Nate Berkus Nathan Jay Berkus (born September 17, 1971) is an American interior designer, author, and television personality. He runs the Chicago interior design firm Nate Berkus Associates and was a regularly featured guest on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', off ...

and is known for the television shows '' Nate & Jeremiah by Design'' (2017), ''

The Rachel Zoe Project ''The Rachel Zoe Project'' is an American reality documentary series starring celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe. The series premiered on September 9, 2008 on the Bravo television network. The show also airs on Arena in Australia, Really in the Unit ...

'' (2011), ''Home Made Simple'' (2015) and '' Say I Do'' (2020). He has been featured on the cover of ''

Architectural Digest ''Architectural Digest'' is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920. Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast, which also publishes internati ...

'', ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

'' and ''People'' magazine. 2002 graduate *

Erin Cafaro Erin Jane Cafaro (born June 9, 1983, in Modesto, California) is an American rower. She competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics, where she won a gold medal in the women's eight. At the 2012 London Olympics she won her second consecutive gold med ...

, 2008 Olympic gold medalist for women's eight crew; 2001 graduate *

Ernest Gallo Ernest J. Gallo (March 18, 1909March 6, 2007) was an American businessman and philanthropist. Gallo co-founded the E & J Gallo Winery in Modesto, California. Early life Gallo was born on March 18, 1909, in Jackson, California.Julio Gallo Julio Gallo (March 21, 1910 – May 2, 1993) was one of two of the founders of the E & J Gallo Winery. Biography He was born on March 21, 1910, in Oakland, California to Joseph Gallo, Sr. He had two brothers: his partner in the wine business, E ...

, winemaker *

Josh Harder Joshua Keck Harder (born August 1, 1986) is an American politician and venture capital investor who has served as the U.S. representative from California's 9th congressional district since 2019 (known as the 10th congressional district until 2 ...

, politician representing California's 10th Congressional District * Bill Koski - baseball player. *

Harve Presnell George Harvey Presnell (September 14, 1933 – June 30, 2009) was an American actor and singer. He began his career in the mid-1950s as a classical baritone, singing with orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States. His career re ...

, actor and singer known for his run on Broadway as "Leadville Johnny" in '' The Unsinkable Molly Brown''. He reprised the role in the 1964 film '' The Unsinkable Molly Brown'' for which he won a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year. Later films included '' Paint Your Wagon'', '' Fargo'', and ''

Saving Private Ryan ''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set during the Battle of Normandy in World War II, the film is known for its graphic portrayal of war, especially its depictio ...

''; 1951 graduate *

Louis Waldon Louis Waldon (December 16, 1934 – December 6, 2013) was an American film actor, whose career spanned nearly 45 years. He was born in Modesto, California. Waldon began his acting career in 1965. He was best known for his collaboration with Ameri ...

, actor; part of Andy Warhol's

Factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

Gene Winfield Gene Winfield (born June 16, 1927) is an American automotive customizer and fabricator. In the mid-1960s, his designs caught the attention of the film community, resulting in a large body of his work appearing on screen, including in the iconic 1 ...

, American automotive customizer known for work in film and television most notably creating cars for the film ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...

'' and television shows ''

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by MGM Television, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who wo ...

'', ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

'', and ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typic ...

''.; 1945 graduate *

Cy Young Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29, 1867 – November 4, 1955) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Born in Gilmore, Ohio, he worked on his family's farm as a youth before starting his professional baseball career. Young entered th ...

, winner of the gold medal for the javelin throw at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland; the only American to ever win the Olympic gold medal in the javelin throw; 1946 graduate

References

{{authority control International Baccalaureate schools in California High schools in Stanislaus County, California Education in Modesto, California Public high schools in California 1883 establishments in California Educational institutions established in 1883