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Mountain View High School (Mountain View, California)
Encyclopedia
Mountain View High School (MVHS or just MV), one of three Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District
public high schools, is located in at 3535 Truman Avenue, Mountain View, California
, 94040. Mountain View High School serves a diverse student body of over 1750 students from the cities of Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. As of 2008, the student body is 54% White, 22% Asian, 16% Hispanic, 6% other, 2% African-American. In the heart of the Silicon Valley, MVHS' neighbors include technology giants Google, Intuit, AOL, Adobe, Microsoft and NASA-Ames. As a college preparatory high school, MVHS responds to the community’s demand for rigor, relevance and excellence by offering open access to all 23 Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses across the curriculum. The school earned the distinction of California Distinguished High School in 1994 and 2003. In 2000 and 2007, MVHS received a full 6 year accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). The school sent 92% of its of graduates to post-secondary schools in the graduating class of 2005. Newsweek
ranked Mountain View High School as the 224th best high school in the nation in 2007.
or Santa Clara High School
s. In August 1902, the town of Mountain View
opened their first school at the corner of El Camino Real and Calderon Streets, naming it Mountain View Union High School. Since the student body at the time was mostly descendents of Civil War
veterans, blue and gray were selected as school colors, and since the nation’s mascot is the eagle, it would also become the official mascot of the school. By the dawn of the 1920’s, the high school's student body was increasing to the point where the campus was unable to accommodate any more students. In 1922, the school district decided to build a brand new campus at a new location on Castro Street. In 1924, the new campus first opened its doors in late August. By 1933, the opening of Moffett Field would force the school to add new buildings to the campus in order to accommodate both the locals and the military children who would be transferred in and out every year.
By the 1950’s, Mountain View Union High School would again reach the point where the school could no longer accommodate the increasing student body on its campus. In order to fix this issue, the school district added another school, Los Altos High
, to the district in the small rural town of Los Altos
.
By 1961, the district added another school near Grant Road at the corner of Truman and Bryant. This would be named Chester F. Awalt High School until its renaming in 1981. By 1980, Mountain View Union High School began to see a decline in enrollment to where the school would have to be shut down. Mountain View School District (known today as MVLA) decided to shut down the original school and sell it back to the city. Awalt High School decided to adopt the name Mountain View, while Los Altos decided to adopt the school colors and mascot. Thus, Mountain View became the black and gold Spartans and Los Altos dropped the Knights and became the blue and gray Eagles. Mountain View citizens and former students of Awalt High School and Mountain View Union High School were unhappy with the decision to close down Mountain View Union High School and rename Awalt High School.
ranked Mountain View High School as the 224th best high school in the nation in 2007.
Mountain View also has high statewide test scores. In 2009, MVHS achieved an Academic Performance Index (API) score of 865.
Mountain View competes in the regional SCVAL League. It consists of 13 other schools in the area.
The rival school for the Spartans are the Los Altos High School
Eagles, just 4 miles away.
In the fall of 2009, the Men's Cross Country team won the only athletic state title in the school.
Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District
The Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District is a school district serving Mountain View, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills, California...
public high schools, is located in at 3535 Truman Avenue, Mountain View, California
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
, 94040. Mountain View High School serves a diverse student body of over 1750 students from the cities of Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. As of 2008, the student body is 54% White, 22% Asian, 16% Hispanic, 6% other, 2% African-American. In the heart of the Silicon Valley, MVHS' neighbors include technology giants Google, Intuit, AOL, Adobe, Microsoft and NASA-Ames. As a college preparatory high school, MVHS responds to the community’s demand for rigor, relevance and excellence by offering open access to all 23 Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses across the curriculum. The school earned the distinction of California Distinguished High School in 1994 and 2003. In 2000 and 2007, MVHS received a full 6 year accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). The school sent 92% of its of graduates to post-secondary schools in the graduating class of 2005. Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
ranked Mountain View High School as the 224th best high school in the nation in 2007.
History
Before Mountain View High School was created in 1902, students living within the town’s limits would take the train from Castro Street to attend either Palo AltoPalo Alto High School
Palo Alto Senior High School, known locally as "Paly," was founded in 1898 and is one of the oldest high schools in the region. Located in Palo Alto, California, United States, Paly is nestled in the heart of Silicon Valley, and is adjacent to Stanford University. Paly is known for its academically...
or Santa Clara High School
Santa Clara High School (Santa Clara, California)
Santa Clara High SchoolAddress3000 Benton St.Santa Clara, CA 95051Founded1872School typePublicPrincipalDave GrissomEnrollment1788 FacultyApprox. 101Campus surroundingsSuburbanMascotBruinsSchool ColorsNoble Blue and Gold...
s. In August 1902, the town of Mountain View
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
opened their first school at the corner of El Camino Real and Calderon Streets, naming it Mountain View Union High School. Since the student body at the time was mostly descendents of Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
veterans, blue and gray were selected as school colors, and since the nation’s mascot is the eagle, it would also become the official mascot of the school. By the dawn of the 1920’s, the high school's student body was increasing to the point where the campus was unable to accommodate any more students. In 1922, the school district decided to build a brand new campus at a new location on Castro Street. In 1924, the new campus first opened its doors in late August. By 1933, the opening of Moffett Field would force the school to add new buildings to the campus in order to accommodate both the locals and the military children who would be transferred in and out every year.
By the 1950’s, Mountain View Union High School would again reach the point where the school could no longer accommodate the increasing student body on its campus. In order to fix this issue, the school district added another school, Los Altos High
Los Altos High School (Los Altos, California)
Los Altos High School, established in 1954, is a public school located in the affluent Silicon Valley suburb of Los Altos, California. It has generally demonstrated a high level of academic achievement...
, to the district in the small rural town of Los Altos
Los Altos, California
Los Altos is a city at the southern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 28,976 according to the 2010 census....
.
By 1961, the district added another school near Grant Road at the corner of Truman and Bryant. This would be named Chester F. Awalt High School until its renaming in 1981. By 1980, Mountain View Union High School began to see a decline in enrollment to where the school would have to be shut down. Mountain View School District (known today as MVLA) decided to shut down the original school and sell it back to the city. Awalt High School decided to adopt the name Mountain View, while Los Altos decided to adopt the school colors and mascot. Thus, Mountain View became the black and gold Spartans and Los Altos dropped the Knights and became the blue and gray Eagles. Mountain View citizens and former students of Awalt High School and Mountain View Union High School were unhappy with the decision to close down Mountain View Union High School and rename Awalt High School.
Classes
Mountain View High School offers a wide variety of classes, and in the 2008–2009 academic year additional courses were added, such as Photography II. The high school holds an open enrollment policy: any student may register for any class being offered at the school, regardless of the student's grade. In addition, Mountain View High School is one of few public high schools to have Chemistry in the 9th Grade.Performing Arts
Mountain View High School's music department includes a Symphonic Band (Open), Wind Ensemble (Audition), String Orchestra (Open), Chamber Orchestra (Audition), Jazz Ensemble (Audition), Studio 501 Big Band (Audition), Marching Band (Open), as well as a Color Guard and Winter Guard. The Winter Guard competes in CCGC, in Scholastic A. Both the Color and Winter Guard are by audition. The department also contains a notable choral program consisting of three choirs: Chamber Choir, and two auditioned choirs, A Cappella and Madrigals.Demographics
As of November 2005, the enrollment at Mountain View High School was 1,789. During the 2005-2006 school year, the students were 52% Caucasian, 15% Hispanic, 16% Asian, 3% Filipino, 3% African American, <1% Pacific Islander, <1% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 10% multi-racial and other.Academics
Eighteen students from the class of 2008 were named National Merit Scholar semifinalists. The classroom student:teacher ratio is 29:1, and there are 95 certified teachers, of which 56% hold advanced degrees. NewsweekNewsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
ranked Mountain View High School as the 224th best high school in the nation in 2007.
Mountain View also has high statewide test scores. In 2009, MVHS achieved an Academic Performance Index (API) score of 865.
Athletics
MVHS Athletics is part of Central Coast Section (CCS), which governs High School Athletics from San Francisco to King City, and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF). The school sponsors the following interscholastic teams for young men and women: basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball, badminton, and water polo. Young men may compete in baseball, football, and lacrosse, while young women may compete in softball.Mountain View competes in the regional SCVAL League. It consists of 13 other schools in the area.
The rival school for the Spartans are the Los Altos High School
Los Altos High School (Los Altos, California)
Los Altos High School, established in 1954, is a public school located in the affluent Silicon Valley suburb of Los Altos, California. It has generally demonstrated a high level of academic achievement...
Eagles, just 4 miles away.
In the fall of 2009, the Men's Cross Country team won the only athletic state title in the school.
Notable alumni
- Alan CranstonAlan CranstonAlan MacGregor Cranston was an American journalist and Democratic Senator from California.-Education:Cranston earned his high school diploma from the old Mountain View High School, where among other things, he was a track star...
, U.S. senator - Charles Huang, co-founder of RedOctaneRedOctaneRedOctane was an American electronic entertainment company perhaps best known for producing the Guitar Hero series beginning in November 2005. RedOctane became a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision in 2006...
- Kai Huang, co-founder of RedOctaneRedOctaneRedOctane was an American electronic entertainment company perhaps best known for producing the Guitar Hero series beginning in November 2005. RedOctane became a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision in 2006...
- Adam KrikorianAdam KrikorianAdam Krikorian is the water polo head coach for UCLA. He has won 14 national championships as player, assistant coach and head coach. And on March 27, 2009, he was named the head coach of the USA Women’s National Team...
, head coach of the UCLA water polo team, has won 14 NCAA championships - J.D. Nelson, football player for the Cincinnati BengalsCincinnati BengalsThe Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
- Jose Antonio VargasJose Antonio VargasJose Antonio Vargas is a Filipino journalist living and working in the United States. He is known for his coverage of HIV, the Virginia Tech shootings, and the influence that politics and the Internet have on each other. In 2008, Vargas was part of the team which won the Pulitzer Prize for...
, Washington Post reporter and 2008 Pulitzer Prize2008 Pulitzer PrizeThe 2008 Pulitzer Prizes were announced on April 7, 2008, the 92nd annual awards.The Washington Post won six awards, second only to the seven won by The New York Times in 2002. Three organizations were awarded prizes for the first time: Reuters, Investor's Business Daily and the Concord Monitor...
winner
See also
- Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School DistrictMountain View-Los Altos Union High School DistrictThe Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District is a school district serving Mountain View, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills, California...
- List of closed secondary schools in California
External links
- Official website
- The Oracle, MVHS school newspaper