California High School (San Ramon, California)

California High School (commonly referred to as Cal High) is one of two public high schools located in San Ramon, California, United States (Dougherty Valley High School is the other). It is one of four high schools in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District and serves students from the western portion of San Ramon and the unincorporated area of Norris Canyon. Its mascot is the grizzly bear.

As of the 2014–15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,639 students and 107.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 24.5:1. There were 78 students (3.0% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 39 (1.5% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for California High
National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 17, 2020.

Cal High's athletic rivals are Monte Vista High School and San Ramon Valley High School in Danville, and De La Salle High School in Concord, California.

Campus

Cal has an all-weather track and an aquatic center, including a multi-use athletic stadium and fields (football, soccer, lacrosse, and track and field). Outside, there are six tennis courts, four baseball/softball fields including one baseball field and one softball field intended for games, and an indoor gym and stadium. In 2004, a two-story, ten-classroom building was completed and was designated the World Language building. In 2006, the school added a new main building (67 classrooms on 3 stories) and a new library. In 2007, the school completed a new careers and technology building, student quad, and counseling building. In 2008, the new fine arts building was completed. In March 2010, a second gymnasium was completed on the site of outdoor basketball courts, called the Event Center. In April 2010, a new theater, which was under renovation for three years, opened. It has nine classrooms and is fully fitted with a video production studio and sound room, and an art gallery to display student work. Cal high has a large student and faculty parking area, though demand exceeds available space. In light of this, many of the streets around the school are permit parking zones. Cal High also has a recently renovated weight room, equipped with lifting machines and 12 fully stocked Olympic weightlifting cages used mainly by the football team and weightlifting class. Twelve years of construction were concluded with the installation of SunPower solar panels over the back parking lot in the summer of 2011.

Schedule

Unlike other schools in the district, Cal High operates on a block schedule. Classes are 95 minutes long from Monday through Friday. The base schedule consists of six 95-minute periods; students have three classes per school day. Odd-numbered classes are on one day and even numbered classes the next. Some students opt to add an extra 60-minute "B-period" class to their schedule. B-period classes meet on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday for 60 minutes from 2:40-3:40 pm. Students have a designated "tutorial" period after their first period of the day and lasts for 30 minutes. During this time period, they can read, study, collaborate on work, or get help from teachers. There is no tutorial on Wednesday, hence the day is shorter ending at 2:05 pm.

Awards and recognition

During the 2006–07 school year, California High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.

Cal High's student-run monthly newspaper is ''The Californian''. The first school newspaper, ''The Bear Facts'', was started in 1973.

California High School was ranked No. 250 in the top 500 US high schools by ''Newsweek'' in 2011, placing it within the top 1.5% of the over 18,000 high schools in the United States. In 2005, Cal High was a California Distinguished School.

In 2020, the California High School National History Bowl Team won 2nd place. They subsequently won 4th place in 2021.

In 2024, the California High School Men's Tennis Team, led by team captains Kartik Pandian, Jerry Xu, Vishesh Verma, and Ritvik Uprety and coached by Manny Vasquez and Ron Jow, won the CIF Northern California State Championship, becoming the best high school tennis team in Northern California.

California High School Theatre is the performing arts program and venue at California High School in San Ramon, California. Located in the Fine Arts Building, it includes a renovated theater and supports classes, student productions, and community events.

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Facilities

The theater reopened in April 2010 after a three-year renovation. It includes a proscenium stage, up-to-date lighting and sound systems, backstage dressing rooms, a scene shop, an art gallery, and a video production studio.

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Drama Classes

The program offers several levels of coursework:

* Beginning Theatre Arts
* Intermediate Theatre Arts
* Advanced/Production Theatre
* Technical Theatre & Stagecraft

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Student & Community Programs

* Cal High Drama Club meets bi-weekly and participates in the International Thespian Society.
* Cal High Drama Boosters support performances and school events.
* The theater hosts an annual season of productions and occasional guest or community events.

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Career & Technical Education Pathways

California High School offers multiple College & Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways, structured to prepare students for postsecondary education and workforce readiness.

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Biomedical Sciences Pathway

Project Lead the Way (PLTW) curriculum includes:

* Principles of Biomedical Science
* Human Body Systems
* Medical Interventions

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Engineering & Design Pathway

PLTW Engineering courses:

* Introduction to Engineering Design
* Principles of Engineering
* Computer Integrated Manufacturing
* Civil Engineering & Architecture

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Computer Science Pathway

This pathway includes:

* AP Computer Science Principles
* AP Computer Science A

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Sports Medicine Pathway

Sequence includes:

* Sports Medicine
* Advanced Sports Medicine

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Culinary Arts Pathway

Courses offered:

* Culinary Arts I
* International Cuisine

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Education & Careers in Teaching Pathway

Includes:

* Careers in Teaching I
* Careers in Teaching II

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Performing Arts Production Pathway

Course:

* Play Production (ROP)

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Media Arts & Graphic Design Pathway

Includes:

* Digital Photography
* Computer Graphic Arts I & II

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Past Productions (2013–2025)

This list is adapted from Cal High Drama's publicly posted archives:

* Spring 2013 – 40th Anniversary
* Autumn 2014 – Menu Mayhem
* Winter 2015 – Multiplex
* Spring 2015 – The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
* Autumn 2015 – Killing Me Softly
* Winter 2016 – Long Day’s Journey into Night
* Spring 2016 – Romeo and Juliet
* Autumn 2016 – Family (dys)Function
* Winter 2017 – Baby with the Bathwater
* Spring 2017 – Working – A Musical
* Winter 2018 – Be Aggressive
* Spring 2018 – The Great Gatsby
* Autumn 2018 – Hallowscenes
* Winter 2019 – Big Love
* Spring 2019 – Kaleidoscope
* Autumn 2019 – Almost, Maine
* Winter 2020 – The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)
* Autumn 2020 – Help Desk
* Winter 2021 – Hamlet
* Spring 2021 – We Will Rock You
* Autumn 2021 – Student-Directed One-Act Festival
* Winter 2022 – Dear Editor
* Spring 2022 – Clue
* Autumn 2022 – Student-Directed One-Act Festival
* Winter 2023 – The Cassettes of San Francisco
* Spring 2023 – Chicago
* Autumn 2023 – Macbeth
* Winter 2024 – Remedies for a Broken Heart
* Spring 2024 – The Play That Goes Wrong
* Autumn 2024 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
* Winter 2025 – Women of Troy / Little Women
* Spring 2025 – The SpongeBob Musical

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Notable Productions

* The SpongeBob Musical (Spring 2025) drew outstanding attendance and student praise.

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Community Partnerships

The theater occasionally hosts guest performances and is involved in local festivals, such as the San Ramon Community Performing Arts Festival.

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External Links

*

https://www.chsdrama.org/) Past Productions – Cal High Drama]
*

https://www.chsdrama.org/classes) Classes – Cal High Drama]
*

https://chs.srvusd.net/Academics/CTE/index.html) CTE Pathways at Cal High – SRVUSD site]

Notable people

Alumni

* David Bingham (American soccer), David Bingham (2008) – Major League Soccer player for Charlotte FC.
* Colby Buzzell (1995) – Author of multiple books and well-distributed magazine articles
* Chuck Cary (1978) Professional baseball player
* David Klech (2006) American track and field athlete
* Sandy LaBeaux (1978) – professional football player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Gamblers
* Chris Verhulst (1984) – NFL Professional Football Player Houston Oilers (1988–1989), Denver Broncos (1990)
* Andrew Wiedeman (2007) – Former professional soccer player
* Ryan Wright (2018) – NFL Professional Football player, punter

Faculty

* Tony Sanchez – Head football coach from 2004 to 2008. Went on to coach the Bishop Gorman High School (Nevada) and University of Nevada, Las Vegas football programs. Sanchez turned around California High "from doormat status to a berth in the North Coast Section finals," according to ESPN.
* Will Mark (lacrosse) – Former NCAA Division I goalie at LIU and Syracuse; two-time NEC Defensive Player of the Year, USILA and Inside Lacrosse All-America honoree. He now coaches JV and varsity lacrosse at California High School.
* Chase Jolie (lacrosse) – Former college lacrosse midfielder at Ithaca College and Monte Vista HS captain (Class of 2017); currently serves as an assistant offensive coordinator for Cal High's lacrosse team.
* Griffin Cook (lacrosse) – Syracuse University attacker and 2023 team co-captain. He now coaches offensive strategy and player development at Cal High.
* Scott Herrington (lacrosse) – Former standout attackman from Cal High and Cal Poly MCLA.

Gallery

File:Cal High School 02.jpg, Memorial sign
File:Cal High School 03.jpg, The science building (pre-2008/09 renovation)
File:Cal High School 04.jpg, The foreign language building
File:Cal High School 05.jpg, The library and main building

References

External links

Cal High website

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High schools in Contra Costa County, California
Public high schools in California
San Ramon, California
Educational institutions established in 1973
1973 establishments in California