- Miramonte High School
-
Miramonte High School 
Matador Insignia Address 750 Moraga Way
Orinda, California, United StatesInformation Type Public high school Established 1955 Principal Adam Clark Enrollment 1,452 Newspaper The Mirador Information (925) 280-3930 Colors
MascotGreen and Black
MatadorWebsite http://www.acalanes.k12.ca.us/miramonte/ Coordinates: 37°50′26″N 122°08′46″W / 37.8404819°N 122.1460766°W[1]
Miramonte High School is a public high school located in Orinda, California. It is part of the Acalanes Union High School District, which has a college preparatory program, with 15 Advanced Placement courses offered. Over 98% of its graduates go on to college.[citation needed] 320 students graduated in 2005, with 75% attending a four year college. 35% are attending out-of-state colleges. Miramonte High School ranks 89th of all high schools in the nation as of Autumn 2009, according to Newsweek's Challenge Index.[2] On September 4, Miramonte High School was ranked first in the 2008 Academic Performance Index (API) released by the California Department of Education (CDE). One of its principals was Jason Sedaikas.
Miramonte High School once participated in the Virtual High School Consortium, a response to the problems of distance education which allowed courses to be taught over the internet. The high school students could participate in these virtual classes from on-site internet access, or from a home connection. No classes are currently being provided as virtual classes. Miramonte has incorporated the Blackboard Learning System into its curricula; many teachers now post assignments and course documents on this system.
Miramonte High School offers its seniors the choice of a WISE project their senior year. WISE replaces the senior's second semester of English with an independent inquiry into a topic of the student's choice. The choices of subject matter are varied; although photography and theatre work are consistently popular, project subjects have included astrophysics, choral conducting, and interning at Chez Panisse.
Miramonte is well known around the country for its astounding water polo program, which has won produced numerous all Americans and Olympic athletes. The Men's Water Polo Team has been name North Coast Section Fall Team Champions 11 times in the last 15 years.[3] Miramonte continues a "high school rivalry" with nearby Lamorinda high schools (notably Campolindo High School). Miramonte's school mascot is a matador. Students often wear shirts that say "Beat Campo".
Contents
Demographics
- Total students: 1352
- Students by Gender:
- 55% Female
- 45% Male
- Students by Ethnicity
- Less than 1% Black/African American
- 1% Hispanic
- 8% Asian
- 90% White/Caucasian
- Student to Teacher ratio: 21:1
- Miramonte is listed as the 89th best high school in the United States, but NOT on the Newsweek Challenge Index as stated earlier in this article. U.S. News & World Report posted "America's Best High Schools: Gold Medal List" to their website on December 12, 2009 and Miramonte is 89th on that list.[2]
History
Miramonte was founded in 1955.
Miramonte High School and the 1984 murder of cheerleader Kirsten Costas by less popular classmate Bernadette Protti were the basis for an article in Rolling Stone magazine entitled "Death of a Cheerleader" and the TV movie A Friend to Die For starring Tori Spelling.
In 1984 the Miramonte Matadors, known as the Mats, were voted State Champions in N.C.S. 2A American football after defeating Cardinal Newman H.S. on December 3, 1983 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in the F.A.L. Championship game. The Mats were also North Coast Champions, South Area Champions and F.A.L. Champions.
In 1997 the Mats again won the N.C.S. 2A Championship after defeating Granada High School in the F.A.L. Championship game at the Oakland Coliseum.
In 2008-2009 Miramonte's Water Polo team was named "2008-09 ESPN RISE Magazine Boys' Team of the Year" (includes all sports). Since 1967 Miramonte's Water Polo team has won 15 NOR CAL championships and 26 League Championships. It also featured bio's on several of the players.
In 2009, US News & World Report ranks Miramonte High School as the 89th Best Public High School in the United States.
Notable alumni
- Ashley English, Women's World Cup of Rugby Team Captain, 2008. Player, 2004
- Nicolle Devenish Wallace, former White House Communications Director and spokesperson for John McCain for President.
- Mike MacDonald, member of four National Championship winning teams in rugby union at UC Berkeley, member of the United States national rugby union team, and currently a player for Leeds Carnegie of the Guinness Premiership[1]
- Luke Sassano, midfielder for the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer.
- Dana Sparks, actress/spokesperson for Falcon Crest, Passions, L.A. Law, L'Oréal, Mercedes Benz, etc.
- Bryan Barker, NFL player
- Drew Bennett, NFL player
- Ken Dorsey, NFL player
- Sanjay Lal, UC Berkeley Coach, NFL Oakland Raiders Coach
- Heather Petri, 2000, 2004, 2008 US water polo Olympic medalist
- Jennifer Howitt, Rhodes Scholar, gold-medal-winning Paralympic wheelchair basketball player [2][3]
- Nikhil Jassawalla, Hollywood and Bollywood screenwriter, producer, and film financier.
- Rawson Marshall Thurber, Writer and Director of Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, "Terry Tate: Office Linebacker"
- Chris Bauer, film, TV and stage actor. Graduated 1984.
- Kirsten Costas, famous murder victim and subject of 1994 TV film A Friend to Die For who was killed by classmate Bernadette Protti
- David Callaham, screenwriter of Doom, The Expendables and the upcoming Godzilla reboot
- Derek Santos Olson, TV Writer Friday Night Lights
- Kirk Everist, U.S. water polo player in the 1992 Summer Olympics and 1996 Summer Olympics, three-time All-American, member of back-to-back NCAA championships (1987–88) at University of California, Berkeley, named 1988 Collegiate Player of the Year and NCAA Tournament MVP, currently men's water polo coach at Cal.
- Doug Robbins, played catcher on two-time champion Stanford Cardinal baseball team (1987–88), won gold medal as member of U.S. Baseball Team at the 1988 Summer Olympics.[4]
- Nicole Branagh, 2008 Beach Volleyball Olympian
- Alex Feinberg, Drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 2008.
- Christine Chen, an Emmy award winning journalist
- Brett Jackson, Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2009.
- Alex Fagan Jr., one of the San Francisco police officers at the center of the Fajitagate scandal
- Yurii Hanley Sr., 4 time NCAA champion in water polo (University of California, Berkley) and co-founder of Lamorinda Water Polo Club
References
- ^ "GNIS Detail - Miramonte High School". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 19 January 1981. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:228820. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
- ^ a b "America's Best High Schools: Gold Medal List". U.S. News & World Report. 9 December 2009. http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/high-schools/2009/12/09/americas-best-high-schools-gold-medal-list.html?PageNr=4. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
- ^ North Coast Section California Interscholastic Federation
External links
Categories:- Educational institutions established in 1955
- High schools in Contra Costa County, California
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
