public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
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 ...
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
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 ...
.
The school is part of the
San Rafael City Schools {{Short description, School district in California, United States
San Rafael City Schools is a school district headquartered in San Rafael, California, United States.
The district, according to the San Rafael city charter, is composed of two separ ...
school district
A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations.
North America United States
In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...
. Its official nickname is 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.San Rafael City Schools /ref>
History
San Rafael High School opened in 1888. The school's current campus opened in 1924.
The school is cited as the origin (1971) of the time and codeword
420
420 may refer to:
* 420 (number)
* 420 (cannabis culture), informal reference to cannabis use and celebrations on April 20
**California Senate Bill 420 or the Medical Marijuana Program Act
*AD 420, a year in the 5th century of the Julian calendar
* ...
in
cannabis culture
Cannabis culture describes a social atmosphere or series of associated social behaviors that depends heavily upon cannabis consumption, particularly as an entheogen, recreational drug and medicine.
Historically cannabis has been used an entheo ...
; originally "420" served as a code word for "The Waldos", a group of
marijuana
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
users who would meet in front of the 1940
Benny Bufano
Beniamino "Bene" Bufano (October 15, 1890August 18, 1970) was an Italian American sculptor, best known for his large-scale monuments representing peace and his modernist work often featured smoothly rounded animals and relatively simple shapes ...
statue of
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...
at 4:20p.m. to smoke marijuana, both near the statue and at other clandestine locations on campus grounds. The "420" moniker was in widespread use on campus during the 1974–1976 timeframe by the school stoner community. As the usage spread, the original connotations of the term "420" faded away.
San Rafael High School served as the setting for the video of the 1984 power ballad "
Sister Christian
"Sister Christian" is a power ballad by the American hard rock band Night Ranger. It was released in March 1984 as the second single from their album '' Midnight Madness''. It was ranked No. 32 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 1980s. It was wr ...
" by
Night Ranger
Night Ranger is an American hard rock band from San Francisco formed in 1979 that gained popularity during the 1980s with a series of albums and singles. Guitarist Brad Gillis and drummer Kelly Keagy have been the band's only constant members, ...
.
KSRH is the school's radio station, which is completely operated by students. The station broadcasts with 10 watts of power on 88.1 FM and 107.3 Cable FM. The station takes requests during school hours at (415) 457-KSRH.
Facilities at the school were upgraded with funds from bond measures passed in 1999 and 2002.
Beginning with the 2001–2002 school year, San Rafael High School moved to an A/B rotating
block schedule
Block scheduling or blocking is a type of academic scheduling used in schools in the American K-12 system, in which each pupil has fewer classes per day. It is more common in middle and high schools than in primary schools. Each class is schedu ...
.
In 2006, the school scored 680 on the Academic Performance Index (API), the California Department of Education’s program for measuring school accountability. It also passed all Adequate Yearly Performance (AYP) criteria required by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001.
In September 2008, the school served as a primary location for the independent feature film '' The Prankster''. School was in session while filming took place and some students and teachers had background roles in the movie. Former principal Judy Colton had a small speaking part with
Kurt Fuller
Kurt Fuller (born September 16, 1953) is an American character actor. He has appeared in a number of television, film, and stage projects. He is best known for his roles in the films ''No Holds Barred'' and ''Ghostbusters II'' (both 1989), ''Way ...
, who played Dean Pecarino in the film.
In 2019 construction began on a new two-story building to house the school's administrative offices, a kitchen, general student commons area and classrooms along with support spaces for Madrone High School, a continuation high school on the campus of San Rafael High School.
Notable alumni
Professional baseball
*
Jerry Goff
Jerry Leroy Goff (born April 12, 1964) is a former professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Montreal Expos, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Houston Astros. He was listed at and 207 pounds. In his last major league game, ...
(1982) - Catcher for the
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...
,
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
, and
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
*
Jesse Foppert
Jesse William Foppert (; born July 10, 1980) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher.
High school and collegiate career
Foppert attended San Rafael High School where he was a two-time all-MCAL player as a shortstop. He then went to th ...
(1998) - Pitcher for the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
*
Will Venable
William Dion Venable (born October 29, 1982) is an American professional baseball coach and former player. He is the associate manager of the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB as an outfielder for the San Diego Pad ...
(2001) - Outfielder for the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...
Professional football
*
Ron Snidow
Ronald Wayne Snidow (December 30, 1941 – May 17, 2009) was an American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Browns. He attended San Rafael High School in California. He pl ...
(1959) - Defensive tackle for the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
and the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
*
Natu Tuatagaloa
Gerardus Mauritius "Natu" Tuatagaloa (born May 25, 1966) is a former American football defensive end in the NFL. He played for the 1995 Houston Oilers, Seattle Seahawks in 1992 and 1993, and for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1989 to 1991 . His par ...
(1984) - Defensive end NFL
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
,
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
,
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...
; elected to the San Rafael City Schools Board of Education in 2001San Rafael City Schools, Board Members accessed March 23, 2008
Stage and screen
* Phillip R. Ford (1979) - Entertainer and cult film director of ''
Vegas in Space
''Vegas in Space'' is a 1991 science fiction/comedy film directed by Phillip R. Ford and starring Doris Fish, Tippi, Miss X, Ramona Fischer, and Lori Naslund. The plot concerns three male space travelers who must become women in order to complete ...
''.
*
Whit Johnson
Whit Johnson (born June 25, 1982) is an American Journalism, journalist and co-anchor of the weekend editions of ''Good Morning America'', the anchor of the Saturday edition of ''ABC World News Tonight'', and he is also fill-in and substitute anc ...
(2000) - Co-anchor on Good Morning America
*
Edgar Kennedy
Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras. Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to por ...
- actor
*
Byron Stewart
Byron Stewart (born May 1, 1956 in Baxter Springs, Kansas) is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Warren Coolidge in the television series '' The White Shadow'' and the television medical drama '' St. Elsewhere''.
Stewart's first ...
(1974) - Warren Coolidge on the CBS television series '' The White Shadow''.
*
Dan Totheroh
Webster Daniel Totheroh (July 22, 1894 – December 3, 1976) was an American author, playwright, and screenwriter.
Biography
Dan Totheroh was born in Oakland, California and raised largely in Marin County, California, Marin County, graduating ...
(1914) - Actor, author, playwright, and screenwriter; long-time member of the Mountain Play Association
Miscellaneous
*
Harold Haley
Harold Joseph Haley (November 14, 1904 – August 7, 1970) was an American judge. He was a Superior Court judge in Marin County, California. He was taken hostage in his courtroom, along with several others, during the course of a trial, and was k ...
(1922) - former Marin County Superior Court Judge
* Eleanor Garatti (1928) - Swimmer, Olympic Gold Medal winner in 1928 & 1932; 1929 world record in the 100-meter freestyle
* Nikki Tyler (1990) - Adult film actress