California High School (San Ramon, California)

Infobox School
name=California High School

---

superintendent=Robert Kessler
principal=Mark Corti
teamname=The Fighting Grizzlies
Mission Statement=
newspaper="The Californian"
established=1973
type=Public
location=San Ramon, California
enrollment=2300+
campus=
colors=Black and Orange color box|#CC5500 color box|black
nicknames=Cal, Cal High, The Grizzlies
conference=East Bay Athletic League
Athletic league=East Bay Athletic League
website=http://www.chs.srvusd.k12.ca.us/

California High School (commonly referred to as Cal High) is a public school located in San Ramon, California, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its mascot is a Grizzly bear. The school's newspaper is "The Californian" which is published monthly. The majority of students at California High School graduate to continue their education at upper education institutesFact|date=May 2008. A large amount of graduating Cal High students are accepted each year to top colleges (notably UC Berkeley and UCLA)Fact|date=May 2008.

Cal High operates on a block schedule, unlike other schools in the district, which means classes are 100 minutes long and 90 minutes on Mondays. Students meet Tuesdays through Fridays for 30 minutes of SSR (Silent Sustained Reading), which is to become "Tutorial", a time for reading, studying, helping others with classwork, and making up tests, for the 2008-2009 school year. The average Cal High student has a total of 6 classes, those who wish to partake in an extra "A-period" class have 7 classes. (Three classes per school day, odd numbered classes one day and even numbered classes the next. A-period classes meet every day, early in the morning, for 50 minutes, 45 minutes on Mondays.) [ [http://www.calhigh.net California High School Official Site] ]

Cal High's sports rivals are Monte Vista High School and San Ramon Valley High School, both located in Danville, California.

Campus

Cal has an All-weather track with an Aquatic Center, including multi-use athletic stadium and fields (Football, Soccer, Lacrosse, Track and Field). Outside, there are six tennis courts, Outdoor Volleyball and Basketball Hard courts, four baseball/softball fields including baseball/softball stadium, and an indoor gym and stadium. In 2004, a new addition was a two-story ten classroom building. In 2006, a main building (67 classrooms, 3 stories) and new library were built. In 2007, a new careers and technology building, a new student Quad, and a new counciling building were added. Construction will add a new Performing Arts theater, music conservatory, new Fine and Applied Art building (9 classrooms), auxiliary gym, career center, and administration building. Cal has a large student and faculty parking, but demand outstrips available space. [http://www.chs.srvusd.k12.ca.us/CHSHOMEPAGE/facilities.html — California High School website: "Facilities"]

Notable Faculty

William Everett Pence - Biology teacher who assisted students with discovering the chromosomes of three cancer-related genes. Mr. Pence was also California's Teacher of the Year in 1999. [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/sr/ct/honoreesall.asp — California Dept. of Education - 1990-2006 California Teacher of the Year] He was an United States Aquanaut in 1984.

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 [ [http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/list-2003.pdf U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 2003 through 2006 (PDF)] , United States Department of Education. Accessed May 11, 2006.] , the highest award an American school can receive. [ [http://www.journalinquirer.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17475750&BRD=985&PAG=461&dept_id=161556&rfi=6 CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department] , "Journal Inquirer", November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."] [Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test; "The Washington Post". September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."]

Cal High's student run monthly newspaper, 'The Californian', is an award winning newspaper. The paper's writers, photographers, and graphic designs/artists have won numerous awards over the past 7 years (2000-2008), including a total of 17 during the 2007-2008 school year.

California High School is ranked #983 in the top 1,200 US High Schools by Newsweek.cite web
url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12532678?s=100&np=13&sort=sta
title = Newsweek rankings of the top US high schools
accessdate = 2006-11-06
date = 2006-05-23
publisher = MSNBC] In 2005, Cal High was a California Distinguished School.cite web
url = http://www.chs.srvusd.k12.ca.us/
title = Message From Principal
accessdate = 2007-09-14]

Gallery

References

External links

* [http://www.chs.srvusd.k12.ca.us/ Cal High website]