Pasadena High School (PHS) is a

public high school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

. It is one of four high schools in the

Pasadena Unified School District The Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) was founded in 1874 and is a unified school district for Pasadena, California, Pasadena, Sierra Madre, California, Sierra Madre, and Altadena, California, Altadena, in the U.S. state of California. A ...

History

The school was first established as a district school in 1884 and became Pasadena High School in 1891. In 1928, the school merged into Pasadena Junior College and operated as a four-year school, grades 11, 12, 13 and 14. Pasadena realigned its 6-4-4 school system in 1954 with Pasadena High School regaining its separate identity. PHS, however, shared the

Pasadena City College Pasadena City College (PCC) is a Public college, public community college in Pasadena, California. It was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. History Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. It originally o ...

Colorado Boulevard campus through the graduating class of 1960 when PHS moved to its present campus on Sierra Madre Boulevard at Washington Boulevard. The

Rose Parade The Rose Parade, also known as the Tournament of Roses Parade (or simply the Tournament of Roses), is an annual parade held mostly along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, United States, on New Year's Day (or on Monday, January 2 if New ...

, post parade Showcase of Floats takes place in front of the high school utilizing some of the school grounds and parking lots. Pasadena High School's athletic field was renovated, adding light towers, a new track and replacing the grass field with artificial turf. It opened at the start of the 2009-10 school year. The school's junior varsity and varsity football teams as well as the boys' and girls' soccer teams play their home games on the field. The school also is used for its track meets in the spring. On January 8, 2019, Pasadena High School opened the renovated Tom Hamilton Gymnasium at the cost of $19 million. It is used for boys and girls junior varsity and varsity basketball teams and the girls volleyball team for their home games. On February 7th, students at Pasadena High School staged a walkout alongside four other nearby high schools. The school's auditorium is named after Gladiss Edwards, who was the principal during the late 1950s and into the 1960s.

Student profile

In the 2022-23 school year, Pasadena High School's student population consisted of 1,609 students, with 53.9% of students being Latino, 19.6% white, 12.3% African-American, and 7.7% Asian, 0.3% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and 0.4% American Indian/Alaska Native.

Academics

Pasadena High School offers several special unique programs. The Graphic Communications Academy was established in partnership with the Printing Industry of Southern California and Pasadena City College. The Visual Arts and Design Academy is linked with the

Art Center College of Design The ArtCenter College of Design is a private art college in Pasadena, California. It was incorporated in 1930 as a degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both the visual arts and design. ...

, Pasadena City College and the Pasadena Art Armory. The Center for Independent Study program is a remedial program to help students who are behind in credits. PHS also offers a career pathway called the App Academy, which helps students learn about web design.

Sports

Turkey Tussle

Pasadena High School competes against John Muir High School at the Rose Bowl in a football game known as the Turkey Tussle. The tradition began in 1947, and Muir leads the series 42-18-2.

NJROTC

Pasadena High School also has a NNDCC unit, which is a non-funded version of the US Navy's NJROTC program. Pasadena High School has had a Reserves Officer's Training Corps since 1920 starting as Army but has also been Air Force and Marines as well in the past. They disbanded in 2017-2018 academic year.

Notable alumni

* Robert Armstrong, 1968, cartoonist, known for creating Mickey Rat who popularized the term " couch potato" *

Louise Beavers Louise Beavers (March 8, 1900 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress who appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows from the 1920s to 1960. She played a prominent role in advancing the lives of black Am ...

, 1920, Actress * Walt Becker, 1986, film director, "

Van Wilder ''National Lampoon's Van Wilder'' (also known as ''Van Wilder: Party Liaison'' in certain countries) is a 2002 romantic comedy film directed by Walt Becker in his directorial debut and written by Brent Goldberg and David T. Wagner. The film s ...

," " Wild Dogs," " Old Dogs (film)" * Armon Binns, 2011, NFL player * Mario Clark, NFL cornerback *

Carol Cleveland Carol Cleveland (born Carol Gillian Frances on 13 January 1942) is an American-English actor, comedian, dancer, and model. She is particularly known for her work with Monty Python. Early life Born in East Sheen, London, she moved to the United ...

, 1960, actress, associated with ''

Monty Python's Flying Circus ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (also known as simply ''Monty Python'') is a British surreal humour, surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam, w ...

'' TV show *

Mike Connelly Michael James Connelly (October 16, 1935 – October 4, 2021) was an American professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college foo ...

, 1952, NFL lineman,

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

Michael Cooper Michael Jerome Cooper (born April 15, 1956), nicknamed "Coop", is an American basketball coach and former player. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers during his entire career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning five NBA champ ...

, 1974, basketball player and coach, 5-time NBA champion, WNBA head coach * Donald D. Engen, 1941, US Navy Vice Admiral, former Administrator of

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and Director of

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...

Bob Eubanks Robert Leland Eubanks (born January 8, 1938) is an American disc jockey, television personality and game show host, widely known for hosting the game show ''The Newlywed Game'' on and off since 1966. He also hosted the successful revamp version o ...

, 1955, radio-TV personality, host of ''

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'' and longtime broadcaster of

* Victor Gordo, 1987,

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

City Councilmember (2001-2020), 55th Mayor of Pasadena (2020-) *

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter of the Classical Hollywood cinema, classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American ...

, 1914,

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

film director ('' Scarface'', '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'', '' Rio Bravo'') * Chris Holden, 1978, 53rd Mayor of Pasadena, city councilman (District 3) (1989–2012), California State Assemblyman, 41st District (2012–2024) * Michael Holton, 1979, basketball player and

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

analyst * Chidi Iwuoma, 1996, NFL Player * Payton Jordan, Hall of Fame Olympic track coach and Masters track and field world record holder * Kathryn Le Veque, 1982, bestselling historical romance fiction author and publisher * María de López, Californian suffragette * Jim Matheny, UCLA and professional football player * Chris McAlister, 1995, NFL Player *

Edwin McMillan Edwin Mattison McMillan (September 18, 1907 – September 7, 1991) was an American physicist credited with being the first to produce a transuranium element, neptunium. For this, he shared the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Glenn Seaborg. ...

, co-recipient of 1951

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* Zephyr Moore Ramsey, African American lawyer *

Charley Paddock Charles William Paddock (August 11, 1900 – July 21, 1943) was an American athlete and two-time Olympic champion. Biography Paddock was born in Gainesville, Texas, to Charles H. and Lulu (Robinson) Paddock. His family moved to Pasadena, Cali ...

, two-time Olympic champion, "fastest man in the world" * William H. Press, 1965, astrophysicist and 165th president of

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* QUIÑ (Bianca Quiñones), singer * James Sanford, 1980 world's fastest human *

Stan Smith Stanley Roger Smith (born December 14, 1946) is an American former professional tennis player. A world No. 1 player and two-time major singles champion (at the 1971 US Open and 1972 Wimbledon Championships), Smith also paired with Bob Lutz t ...

, 1964, tennis player and two-time Grand Slam singles champion * May Sutton, tennis player, winner of singles title at U.S. National Championships and Wimbledon * Bill Sweek, 1964, basketball player and coach *

Jerry Tarkanian Jerry Tarkanian (August 8, 1930 – February 11, 2015) was an American basketball coach. He coached college basketball for 31 seasons over five decades at three schools. He spent the majority of his career coaching with the UNLV Runnin' Reb ...

, ~1948, college basketball coach, NCAA champion and Hall of Famer *

Kevin Tighe Kevin Tighe (; born Jon Kevin Fishburn; August 13, 1944) is an American actor who has worked in television, film, and theater since the late 1960s. He is best known for portraying firefighter-paramedic Roy DeSoto, on the 1972–1977 NBC series ' ...

, 1962, actor ''

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'' * Lester Towns, 1995, NFL player *

James Turrell James Turrell (born May 6, 1943) is an American artist known for his work within the Light and Space movement. He is considered the "master of light" often creating art installations that mix natural light with artificial color through openings ...

, 1961, an American artist known for his work within the Light and Space movement *

Alex Van Halen Alexander Arthur Van Halen ( , ; born May 8, 1953) is an American musician who was the drummer and a co-founder of the rock band Van Halen, which was formed in 1972 by Van Halen and his younger brother Eddie Van Halen, Eddie under the name "Ma ...

, 1972, member of rock band

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...

, 1973, founding member of

* Lee Walls, Major League Baseball outfielder *

Cynthia Whitcomb Cynthia Whitcomb is an American television screenwriter and teacher. She has been nominated for numerous awards including the Emmy Award, Emmy, the Edgar Allen Poe Award, Edgar and the Humanitas Prize. Background In 1969, Whitcomb graduated from ...

, 1969, television writer and playwright *

Dick Williams Richard Hirschfeld Williams (May 7, 1929 – July 7, 2011) was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager (baseball), manager, coach (baseball), coach and front-office consultant in Major League Baseball (MLB). Known especially as a hard-d ...

, 1947, former Major League Baseball player and manager * Dick Railsback, 1964, former American pole vaulter Dick Railsback

References

External links

* {{Portalbar, Schools, California, Education Educational institutions established in 1884 Public high schools in Los Angeles County, California 1884 establishments in California Schools in Pasadena, California