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Palo Alto High School

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Coordinates: 37°26′13″N 122°09′25″W / 37.437°N 122.157°W / 37.437; -122.157
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Palo Alto High School
Address
Map
50 Embarcadero Road

Palo Alto
,
Santa Clara
,
California
94301

United States
Coordinates37°26′13″N 122°09′25″W / 37.437°N 122.157°W / 37.437; -122.157
Information
School typePublic, comprehensive high school
Founded1898
School districtPalo Alto Unified School District
OversightWestern Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Schools
SuperintendentDon Austin[1]
PrincipalBrent Kline[2]
Staff114.83 (FTE)[3]
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,932 (2023–2024)[3]
Student to teacher ratio16.82[3]
Color(s)    Green & White
MascotVikings
NewspaperThe Campanile
Feeder schoolsGreene Middle School
JLS Middle School
Websitewww.paly.net

Palo Alto Senior High School, commonly referred to locally as "Paly",[4] is a comprehensive public high school in Palo Alto, California. Operated by the Palo Alto Unified School District, the school is one of two high schools in the district, the other being across town: Gunn High School, with which Paly has a rivalry.

Palo Alto High School was originally established as a private school in 1894. The school was later established as a public school four years later, and a new campus was built in 1918. The school's property is adjacent to Stanford University, who provided the land for the school.

The school admits roughly 500 students each year and features various extracurriculars, including a variety of student-led publications, glassblowing, robotics, and a theater program. It is a two-time National Blue Ribbon School.[5]

History

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Palo Alto Senior High School initially opened in 1894 as a private school. At the time of its opening, the school consisted of 24 students to 3 teachers. The school would later become a public school in 1918. Classes were initially held in the Channing Avenue Grammar School; a three-room high school was later built using funds from a trustee. An expanded campus began construction in 1917 and finished construction by December 1918.[6]

Demographics

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2021–22[3]

  • 2,010 students: 1,042 Male (51.8%), 968 Female (48.2%)
White Asian Hispanic Two or More Races African American Pacific Islander Filipino American Indian

or Alaska Native

Not Reported
423 389 132 80 15 8 8 3 0
41.7% 34.7% 12.9% 7.6% 1.3% 0.7% 0.7% 0.3% 0%

2015–16[7]

  • 1,994 students: 982 Male (49.6%), 1004 Female (50.4%)
White Asian Hispanic Two or More Races African American Pacific Islander Filipino American Indian Not Reported
976 602 187 109 66 21 20 13 0
48.9% 30.2% 9.4% 5.5% 3.3% 1.1% 1% 0.7% 0%

Standardized testing

[edit]
Advanced Placement (AP) Testing for 2018–19[3]
AP Test Taking Students: 908[3]
1 2 3 4 5
20 85 280 583 1140
ACT Scores for 2018–19[8]
ACT Test Taking Students: 231
English Average Reading Average Math Average Science Average
28 28 28 28
SAT Scores for 2014–2015[9]
Critical Reading Average Math Average Writing Average
Palo Alto High 627 657 624
District 634 671 634
Statewide 489 500 484
2013 Academic Performance Index
2009 Base API[10] 2013 Growth API[11] Growth in the API from 2009 to 2013
901 905 4

Student media

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In October 2014, a new Media Arts Center (MAC) was unveiled at Paly. The MAC is the hub of journalism at Palo Alto High School.[12]

Year-round student publications

[edit]

These publications have a dedicated class associated with them.

  • The Campanile is the high school's newspaper. It prints 24 broadsheet pages once every three weeks. The Campanile has been in the National Scholastic Press Association Hall of Fame since 2004, and has also won four Pacemaker awards as well as a West regional award for editorial excellence from Time.
  • C Magazine is the high school Arts and Culture Magazine. C Magazine has won a Gold Crown award from Columbia Scholastic Press Association in 2015 and 2016.[13]
  • Verde is Paly's school magazine publication, founded in 1999.[14] It is published five times each year and available online. Verde has won Pacemaker and Gold Crown awards for scholastic journalism, including the 2005 Gold Crown award in the Newspaper category.[citation needed] In 2006 Verde won the Best in Show at National Journalism Convention held in San Francisco.[citation needed] In 2008 Verde was one of four newsmagazines awarded the Pacemaker award from the National Scholastic Press Association.[15] In 2023, Verde was named Best in Show in the Newsmagazine category for schools with 1,800 or more students.[16]
  • Viking is Paly's sports magazine publication, published five times each year and available online. Founded in 2007, Viking was the first publication at the high school level to solely cover athletics in the country. It won the National Scholastic Press Association's Student Journalist Impact Award in 2008.[14]
  • The Paly Voice, launched in 2003,[14] is Paly's online news source. It features searchable archives of all other Paly publications as well as exclusive online content. In the spring of 2005, the site won both the People's Voice and Overall Webby Award in the "Student" category.[17]
  • InFocus is Paly's broadcast TV news program. Founded in 1998, it airs daily during school.[14]
  • Madrono, the Palo Alto High School yearbook founded around 1918, has won numerous awards; one of the most prestigious being a gold medalist for the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. It will publish its 103rd issue in 2022.

Additional student publications

[edit]

These publications are clubs but do not have a dedicated class.

  • Proof is Paly's arts and entertainment magazine. It was first published second semester of the 2009–10 school year.
  • Agora is Paly's foreign affairs magazine.[14] First published in 2012, it is the first high school foreign affairs publication in the country.[18] It publishes once a semester.
  • Littera is Paly's club literary magazine. The club was created in the fall of 2018. It publishes an online issue every semester.

Athletics

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Titles won by teams from Palo Alto High School range from CIF State Championships in Boys Varsity Basketball in 1993 and 2006,[19] a football Division I state championship in 2010,[20][21] volleyball Division I state championships in 2010 and 2011,[22] to CCS Championships in Football in 1995, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2022, and 2023 [23] and countless CCS titles in other sports. In 2010, both the Boys and Girls Lacrosse teams won the inaugural Santa Clara Valley Athletic League Championships.

Paly has 25 varsity teams, including football, swimming, as well as badminton, softball, basketball, track and field/cross country running, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, volleyball, water polo, field hockey, ice hockey, and wrestling teams.[24] Since 2023, former NFL quarterback Andrew Luck, drafted first overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2012 NFL draft and four-time NFL Pro Bowler, has served as an assistant coach to Paly's football team. The school is also home to several athletic clubs, including an Ultimate Frisbee Club.[25]

Notable alumni

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See also: Category:Palo Alto High School alumni

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Superintendent". Palo Alto Unified School District. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  2. ^ Kavandry, Elena (March 13, 2020). "New principals announced for Gunn and Palo Alto high schools". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Palo Alto High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  4. ^ Rosin, Hanna (December 2015). "The Silicon Valley Suicides". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  5. ^ United States Department of Education, NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS PROGRAM Schools Recognized 1982 Through 2018, retrieved March 6, 2022
  6. ^ "Paly History". Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  7. ^ "Enrollment by Ethnicity for 2015–16: Palo Alto High School". California Department of Education. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  8. ^ "EdData - School Profile - Palo Alto High". www.ed-data.org. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  9. ^ "SAT Report - 2014-15 District Level Scores". California Department of Education. Retrieved September 26, 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  10. ^ "2009 Base API School Report – Palo Alto High". California Department of Education Assessment, Accountability and Awards Division. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
  11. ^ "2013 Growth API School Report – Palo Alto High High". California Department of Education Analysis, Measurement, & Accountability Reporting Division. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
  12. ^ Kadvany, Elena (October 12, 2014). "Paly to host three-day grand opening for Media Arts Center". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  13. ^ "2016 - Awards For Student Work Crown Awards - Scholastic Recipients". Columbia Scholastic Press Association. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  14. ^ a b c d e Kadvany, Elena (October 17, 2014). "Journalism students hone their skills in state-of-the-art facility". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  15. ^ "NSPA – Contest Winners". Studentpress.org. June 15, 2010. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  16. ^ |https://palyvoice.com/172688/news/journalism-program-earns-top-spots-in-contests/
  17. ^ Kazak, Don (May 4, 2005). "Paly Voice wins Webby award". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  18. ^ "MINUTES FOR REGULAR MEETING OF MAY 22, 2012" (PDF). Board of Education. Palo Alto Unified School District. May 22, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 29, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  19. ^ "CIF State Boys Basketball Champions" (PDF). pp. 60–61. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2010. Retrieved January 22, 2011.
  20. ^ "State Football Championship Results" (PDF). p. 39. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 24, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2011.
  21. ^ Stephens, Mitch (December 17, 2010). "Palo Alto shocks nationally ranked Centennial to capture CIF Division I state football title". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  22. ^ Borsos, Paige (December 17, 2010). "Volleyball Conquers State Championship in Five-Game Thriller". The Paly Voice. Palo Alto High School. Archived from the original on December 13, 2010. Retrieved January 22, 2011.
  23. ^ "Historical Record of CCS Football Champions Year-by-Year". Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2011.
  24. ^ "Brochure 1" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 13, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  25. ^ Blake, Jamie (November 17, 2008). "Ultimate Frisbee Club passionate about unique hobby". Palo Alto Online. Archived from the original on June 26, 2010. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  26. ^ "Obituary for Jeremy Anderson". San Francisco Examiner. June 23, 1982. p. 24. Retrieved April 11, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "The Joan Baez Web Pages". Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  28. ^ a b c "Palo Alto High School, Class of 1961". Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  29. ^ @Ron_Christie (March 30, 2018). "@JonHuntsman My friend/mentor is standing up for our closest ally #UnitedKingdom in the most difficult of circumsta…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  30. ^ Kwok, Adrienne; Maese-Czeropski, Aidan (September 7, 2015). "James Franco to teach film course in MAC". The Paly Voice. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  31. ^ Nolan, William F. "Erle Stanley Gardner (1889–1970)," 'Early Life' sub-section, pages 1 Archived March 18, 2006, at the Wayback Machine-2 Archived October 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 14, 2009.
  32. ^ "Get on the Train". Psychology Today. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  33. ^ Emmons, Mark (December 29, 2010). "Cardinal coach's energy, intensity level always in the red". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  34. ^ "Stanford to Introduce Jim Harbaugh as Head Football Coach" (Press release). Stanford University. December 18, 2006. Archived from the original on January 4, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  35. ^ "Allan Hoover; President's Son Was Rancher, Financier". Los Angeles Times. November 8, 1993.
  36. ^ Levenich, Christopher (Summer 2012). "The Fearless Philanthropist". Philanthropy. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  37. ^ Branch, Eric (April 21, 2019). "Former Palo Alto WR KeeSean Johnson eager to make his own name in NFL". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  38. ^ Disney Legends web site, "Legend Bio: Ollie Johnston, Animation." Retrieved March 14, 2009.
  39. ^ Faraudo, Jeff. "Kirksey strikes gold in two sports". Oakland Tribune. FindArticles.com. March 15, 2009. [1]
  40. ^ a b Palo Alto History Project, "The Grateful Dead: Making the Scene in Palo Alto" Archived March 30, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  41. ^ "L.W. "Bill" Lane, Jr. | American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration". aapra.org. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  42. ^ Stephens, Mitch (April 2, 2006). "BOYS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jeremy Lin / A knack for the big play". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on July 28, 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  43. ^ O'Neil, Dana (December 10, 2009). "Immigrant dream plays out through son: Harvard's do-it-all star learned the game from his father and a host of NBA legends". ESPN. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  44. ^ "The Last Roundup." Oakland Tribune. FindArticles.com. March 15, 2009 [2]
  45. ^ Tennis, Mark. "Mr. Basketball 2003: Trevor's Time." Scout.com, April 3, 2003 [3][dead link‍]
  46. ^ Player Bio: Teresa Noyola Archived October 21, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  47. ^ "Téa Obreht - The Tiger's Wife". Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  48. ^ "Joc Pederson Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2000–2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  49. ^ Cohen, Gary (2002–2016). "Stu Pederson Baseball Statistics (1980-1992)". TheBaseballCube.com. Gary Cohen. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  50. ^ Reichelstein, Daniela (June 29, 2009). "Plotkin to serve as Obama senior policy adviser: Palo Alto resident leaves Foothill–De Anza board after six years". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  51. ^ Cassidy, Mike (November 19, 2011). "Cassidy: Former Silicon Valley CEO settles into the writing life". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  52. ^ a b Brown, George; Prioleau, Cassie (February 19, 2010). "Palo Alto High School wrestlers Dave and Mark Schultz remembered for Olympic gold medals, love of wrestling". The Paly Voice. Palo Alto High School. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  53. ^ "Les Steers, World Champion High-Jumper, to Attend Oregon". Eugene Register-Guard. September 23, 1940. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  54. ^ "Hall of Fame". USATF. August 7, 1962. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  55. ^ Harrington, Jim (March 27, 2023). "Trailblazing Bay Area artist follows Grammy win with big homecoming shows". The Mercury News. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  56. ^ "Lew Welch 'went Southwest'". The Union. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  57. ^ "VIDEO: Paly duo put fresh spin on classics".
  58. ^ Simon, Mark (December 11, 1999). "Palo Alto to Honor Local Boy". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  59. ^ Sheehy, Kelsey. "Meet the U.S. High School Students Competing in 2012 Olympic Games". usnews.com. U.S. News & World Report LP. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
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