Palo Alto High School
Encyclopedia
Palo Alto Senior High School, known locally as "Paly," was founded in 1898 and is one of the oldest high school
s 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 rigorous environment. Paly carries on a distinguished athletic tradition, marked by a rivalry with crosstown foe Gunn
. Titles won by teams from Paly range from CIF
State Championships in Boys Varsity Basketball in 1993 and 2006, a football Division I state championship in 2010, a volleyball Division I state championship in 2010, to CCS Championships in Football in 1995, 2006, 2007, and 2010, 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 is situated on the older, northern side of Palo Alto, a location it has occupied since 1919. The western boundary of campus is El Camino Real
, opposite which stands Stanford Stadium
and the campus of Stanford University
. The northern end of Paly runs along Embarcadero Road (from which the main parking lot is accessible).
The school can be reached by the VTA
bus line 22 along El Camino Real, the Dumbarton Express
bus, the SamTrans
bus line KX, Stanford's free Marguerite shuttle
, Caltrain's Palo Alto station, as well as by the Palo Alto city shuttle, which runs along Embarcadero Road.
team competes in the Santa Clara County division of the Constitutional Rights Foundation's mock trial competition. Palo Alto competed in the 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 county finals, beating Lincoln High School
in 1995 and 1996 and Lynbrook High School
in 2005 and 2007 to represent Santa Clara County in the California Mock Trial Competition. In 2008, Palo Alto placed 9th in the state.
(CX) team, and the recently founded Public Forum team. Founded in the early 1990s by Victor Jih
, the team has gone through various iterations over the years since winning the Tournament of Champions
in LD debate in 1994. It is currently directed by Jennie Savage, a former competitive policy debater from the Montgomery Academy, AL, as well as a Congressional staffer, published author, community organizer, and executive speech coach.
Palo Alto has a very competitive Lincoln-Douglas Debate
team headed in 2010-2011 by Tournament of Champions attendee Nadia Arid, a Stanford junior, with Stanford sophomore Ben Holguin (who was in the octafinals of the Tournament of Champions), and freshman Nikhil Barghava (a Paly graduate) as assistants. The LD team attended the Tournament of Champions in 2005, 2007, and 2008, 2010, and 2011. In the 2007-2008 year, the Palo Alto team won the Dempsey-Cronin Invitational at Santa Clara University, the Stanford Invitational, the College Preparatory School invitational, and the Harker Invitational in JV. Varsity debaters were in late elimination rounds at the College Preparatory School tournament, Stanford, Harker, and Berkeley. In 2008-2009, the team won the varsity division of the Santa Clara University tournament, and was in advanced elimination rounds at the tournaments: CPS, Berkeley, and Harker, and Avi Arfin won the California State LD Championships. Paly debaters are regular attendees at the Vassar Round Robin in Poughkeepsie, NY, as well as the Victory Briefs and Archer Round Robins in Los Angeles.
The four-year Policy squad has competed in the varsity divisions of numerous national tournaments, including Greenhill, Wake Forest, the Big Bronx, USC, the Glenbrooks, Golden Desert, Alta, Long Beach, Berkeley, and Stanford. In 2011, Palo Alto's Policy debate team was ranked among the top 10 in the state. The team has a high standard of excellence, consistently making it to elimination rounds at the national tournaments it attends. At the Santa Clara University tournament, Paly has won top speaker two years in a row. Nassim Fedel won the award in 2009, and Gregory Dunn in 2010. Other debaters such as Chloe Chen, Alex Lenail, and Steven Hu have brought the team numerous other honors as well.
In August, the Paly debate team hosts a popular debate and speech institute at Palo Alto High School for Bay Area middle schoolers. This program fills up quickly and is taught in small classes by the debate team members. All proceeds from the camp go towards the debate team.
, A Chorus Line
, Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage, Big Love, Metamorphoses, A Midsummer Night's Dream
, Learned Ladies, Romeo and Juliet
, Anything Goes
, The Laramie Project
and 43 Plays For 43 Presidents. Every other year, Paly holds a Spring showcase of student-written and directed one-act plays called "Speed Limit 25".
The Thespian Society is the oldest club on campus, and facilitates field trips to see plays throughout the Bay Area, as well as to attend improv and acting workshops. Since 2004, the annual Play in a Day festival has been held the first weekend of Winter Break, when theater alumni join current students in the Haymarket to write, rehearse and perform one-act plays within a period of just over 24 hours.
In 2008, Kristen Lo left the theatre department and was subsequently replaced by Kathleen Woods.
) Competition, the Electric Vehicle Rally, Botball
, and The Tech Challenge. In 2006, the team won first place at the FIRST Las Vegas Regional Competition and recently got 4th place in the FIRST Portland Regional Competition in March 2010. In 2007, the team was selected to participate in, and given a $10,000 grant from, MIT's InvenTeams program.
Palo Alto High School's SAT scores for 2008 were among the highest in California. Only two schools (with graduating classes of 200+ students) had higher composite scores. These were Henry M. Gunn High School and Saratoga High (both with scores of 1920). Paly's Critical Reading scores were the highest in the state of California.
School Average score: 27.3
| National Average score: 21.0
2009
School Average score: 26.5
| National Average score: 21.1
2008
School Average score: 26.8
| National Average score: 21.1
2007
School Average score: 25.7
| National Average score: 21.2
2010 Palo Alto High School's graduating class had an unprecedented 46 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists and 52 Commended Scholars.
2009 Palo Alto High School's graduating class had 27 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists and 55 Commended Scholars.
2008 Palo Alto High School's graduating class had 34 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists and 47 Commended Scholars.
Source:
website.
team, a swimming
team, as well as badminton
/softball
, basketball
, track and field
/cross country running
, golf
, lacrosse
, soccer, tennis
, volleyball
, water polo
, and wrestling
teams. In addition, Palo Alto High School also fields boy's and girl's junior varsity teams as well as "frosh soph" (freshman and sophomore only) teams in water polo
, track and field
, basketball
. soccer, baseball
, and football
. The school is also home to several athletic clubs, including an Ultimate Frisbee Club. The 2010-11 school year was arguably the most successful athletic year for Palo Alto team sports. The football team as well as the girls volleyball team each won a Division 1 State championship title. The football team finished ranked No. 13 in the country after upsetting No. 5 ranked Centennial, and the girls volleyball team was named Girls Team of the Year by Maxpreps after upsetting No. 1 ranked Long Beach Poly, and finishing with a 41-1 record. After the conclusion of the fall sports season, the girls basketball team went on to win a Division 1 CCS title, followed by the baseball team (which featured many of the football players that won the State title) also winning a Division 1 CCS championship.
The senior class has almost always won Spirit Week. One exception was of the class of 2006. The class theme was voted to be "Herbology: We're higher than you," but the school decided it would not be appropriate and students found wearing the shirts were asked to remove the shirt, turn it inside out, or add language making the statement political. During Spirit Week, the class was penalized for wearing the shirts and was the first senior class to fail to win while earning a negative score. The class of 1987 won Spirit Week three years in a row, and the class of 2002 won three out of four years (1998, 1999, and 2001) with the class of 2001 winning its only Spirit Week as seniors in 2000.
In recent years, the tradition of the senior class rigging the Spirit Week scores to ensure victory has become increasingly problematic. The class of 2012 seemed to have the victory secured during the Spirit Week of 2010 until the senior class ('11) mysteriously pulled out a victory. The very next year, in the Spirit Week of 2011, the sophomore class of 2014 was reported by the ASB to have surged to victory on the final day of competition, with the senior class ('12) and junior class ('13) tied for second. However, after much outcry from the senior class of 2012, a "recount" of the scores and "rejudge" of Friday's class floats and spirit dances, and the addition of "class unity" points, led to the final outcome being the customary senior, junior, sophomore, freshman sequence. However, much of the student body believes that Sophomores earned the true victory and the class of 2012 was being a sore loser. By now, many students in the Class of 2012 and 2013 want ASB to reverse the scores to put the Sophomores back in the lead.
Charles de Gaulle's motorcade detoured through campus in 1960.
Sources: The Paly Voice at http://voice.paly.net
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
s in the region. Located in Palo Alto
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Paly is nestled in the heart of Silicon Valley, and is adjacent to Stanford University. Paly is known for its academically rigorous environment. Paly carries on a distinguished athletic tradition, marked by a rivalry with crosstown foe Gunn
Gunn High School
Henry M. Gunn High School is one of two public high schools in Palo Alto, California. Gunn High School is a four-year high school with a current enrollment of just over 1,900 students. The Class of 1966 was the first class to graduate from Gunn High School. The academic year has two semesters with...
. Titles won by teams from Paly range from CIF
California Interscholastic Federation
The California Interscholastic Federation is the governing body for high school sports in the state of California. It mirrors similar governing bodies in other states; however, it differs from some of the others in that it covers most high schools in the state of California, both public and...
State Championships in Boys Varsity Basketball in 1993 and 2006, a football Division I state championship in 2010, a volleyball Division I state championship in 2010, to CCS Championships in Football in 1995, 2006, 2007, and 2010, 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 is situated on the older, northern side of Palo Alto, a location it has occupied since 1919. The western boundary of campus is El Camino Real
El Camino Real (California)
El Camino Real and sometimes associated with Calle Real usually refers to the 600-mile California Mission Trail, connecting the former Alta California's 21 missions , 4 presidios, and several pueblos, stretching from Mission San Diego de Alcalá in San Diego...
, opposite which stands Stanford Stadium
Stanford Stadium
Stanford Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium on the Stanford University campus, the home of Stanford Cardinal college football team. It originally opened in 1921 as a football and track stadium, an earthen horseshoe with wooden bleacher seating and flooring upon a steel frame...
and the campus of Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. The northern end of Paly runs along Embarcadero Road (from which the main parking lot is accessible).
The school can be reached by the VTA
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is a special-purpose district responsible for public transit services, congestion management, specific highway improvement projects, and countywide transportation planning for Santa Clara County, California, United States...
bus line 22 along El Camino Real, the Dumbarton Express
Dumbarton Express
The Dumbarton Express is a California bus service operating between Union City BART station and Palo Alto Caltrain station via the Dumbarton Bridge. The service is operated by a group of operators including BART, VTA, Union City Transit, and AC Transit...
bus, the SamTrans
SamTrans
SamTrans is a public transport agency in and around San Mateo, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It provides bus service throughout San Mateo County and into portions of San Francisco and Palo Alto...
bus line KX, Stanford's free Marguerite shuttle
Marguerite (free shuttle)
Marguerite is a free shuttle service Stanford University offers to its students, faculty, staff, and the general public.Stanford's history of providing free transportation is as old as the university itself...
, Caltrain's Palo Alto station, as well as by the Palo Alto city shuttle, which runs along Embarcadero Road.
2010
- In 2010 US News & World Report magazine ranked it #83.
- Palo Alto High School student named Intel Finalist out of 40 nationwide, winning fourth place.
- Palo Alto High School student places second at the national 2009 SiemensSiemensSiemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
Competition in Math, Science & Technology. - Palo Alto High School students qualify for the National Science Bowl, tying for seventh among 68 teams.
- Palo Alto High School students win first place at the Bay Area Regional Science Olympiad and third place at the Northern California Science Olympiad
- Palo Alto High School places second at the 2010 week-long school-wide Collaborative Problem-Solving Contest
- Palo Alto High School has 7 U.S. Physics Olympiad Semi-Final qualifiers out of approximately 350 nationwide.
- Palo Alto High School student wins a gold medal at the 2010 China Girls Math Olympiad.
- Palo Alto High School student wins a gold medal in the International Linguistics OlympiadInternational Linguistics OlympiadThe International Linguistics Olympiad is one of the newest in a group of twelve International Science Olympiads. The setup differs from other science olympiads, in that the program contains both individual and team contests...
in StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
in 2010.
2009
- Palo Alto High School places third at the 2009 week-long school-wide Collaborative Problem-Solving Contest
- Palo Alto High School student qualifies for the U.S. Physics Team
- Palo Alto High School student places second at the first Annual Math Prize for Girls in New York City.
2008
- Palo Alto High School has 7 USAMO qualifiers out of 486 nationwide. Of all public high schools in the country, only Saratoga had more (with 8).
- Two of the eight members of the team representing the United States at the 2008 China Girls Math Olympiad are from Palo Alto High School. The highest individual score from the US team comes from a Paly student.
- Palo Alto High School places second at the 2008 week-long school-wide Collaborative Problem-Solving Contest
- Palo Alto High places third overall at the 2008 Fall Startup Contest. One student places first for his grade nationally.
2007
- In 2007 US News & World Report magazine ranked it #85 out of over 18,000 public high schools.
- Palo Alto High School student named Presidential Scholar, out of 141 nation-wide.
- Palo Alto High School places second at the 2007 week-long school-wide Collaborative Problem-Solving Contest
2002
- In 2002 NewsweekNewsweekNewsweek 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...
magazine ranked it among the top 200 public high schools based on Advanced Placement test scores.
Student Government
Paly ASB leadership includes the ASB President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Spirit Commissioners, Class Presidents and VP's, and Web Design/Communications Officer. The purpose of the ASB, as defined by its constitution, is the representation on behalf of the student body, the conduct of activities on behalf of the students of Palo Alto High School as approved by the principal and the governing board of the Palo Alto Unified School District. Activities include Spirit Week, school dances, and other ceremonies usually during lunch so the students can have more fun.Publications
- The Campanile is Paly's school print publication. It claims one of the largest circulations of any high school newspaper in the Bay AreaSan Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
and is one of the longest running student journalism programs on the west coast. It prints 26 broadsheet pages once every three weeks. It has won four PacemakerNational Pacemaker AwardsThe National Pacemaker Awards are awards for excellence in American student journalism, given annually since 1927. The awards are generally considered to be the highest national honors in their field, and are unofficially known as the "Pulitzer Prizes of student journalism."The National Scholastic...
awards and also a West regional award for editorial excellence from TimeTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
. The current teacher and advisor of the Campanile is Esther WojcickiEsther WojcickiEsther Hochman 'Woj' Wojcicki is an American journalist, educator, and vice chair of the Creative Commons board of directors. Wojcicki has been a pioneer in exploring the interface between education and technology.- Education and career :...
.
- Verde is Paly's school magazine publication, published five times each year and available online at voice.paly.net/verde. Verde is the widest distributed student-run magazine in the nation, and has won numerous Pacemaker and Gold Crown awards for scholastic journalism, including the 2005 Gold Crown award in the Newspaper category. In 2006 Verde won the Best in Show at National Journalism Convention held in San Francisco. In 2008 Verde was one of four newsmagazines awarded the Pacemaker award from the National Scholastic Press Association, considered to be the "Pulitzer Prizes of student journalism."
- The Paly VoiceThe Paly VoiceStarted in Fall 2002, The Paly Voice is a student-run journalism Web site published continuously by the students in Palo Alto High School's Web Journalism class....
, launched in the 2002-3 school year, 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, a rare accomplishment for a high school level Internet site. The Voice was also one of the national Online Pacemaker award recipients in 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2004, and was a finalist for the same award in 2003. The Voice can be accessed at voice.paly.net.
- InFocus is Paly's television news channel. It is broadcast five days a week during fourth period, and available only on Paly campus and online at voice.paly.net. It came under fire from Campanile for its unreliability, an issue highlighted by the occasional missed broadcasts due to technical difficulties. The conflict manifested in a cartoon in the Campanile in October, 2007 and a subsequent InFocus segment.
- Calliope is Paly's literary magazine, published once or twice a year. Its first publication was in 1981-82. It is also available online at calliope.paly.net.
- The Viking is Paly's campus sports magazine. It was first published first semester of the 2007-2008 year. The magazine received "Best in Show" at the National Scholastic Press Association in Anaheim in 2008. The Viking is the first sports magazine in the nation at the high school level.
- [Proof] is Paly's arts and entertainment magazine. It was first published second semester of the 2009-2010 school year. The magazine is a Columbia Scholastic Press Association Silver Crown Medalist, a rare accomplishment for a high school publication after only it's first printing.
Mock Trial
Palo Alto's mock trialMock trial
A Mock Trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisting of volunteers as role players to test theories or...
team competes in the Santa Clara County division of the Constitutional Rights Foundation's mock trial competition. Palo Alto competed in the 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 county finals, beating Lincoln High School
Abraham Lincoln High School (San Jose, California)
Abraham Lincoln High School is a high school in the San Jose Unified School District. It is a magnet school for "Academic, Visual, and Performing Arts". The current principal is Matt Hewitson....
in 1995 and 1996 and Lynbrook High School
Lynbrook High School
Lynbrook High School is a co-educational, public, four-year secondary school located in the West San Jose neighborhood of San Jose, California, USA...
in 2005 and 2007 to represent Santa Clara County in the California Mock Trial Competition. In 2008, Palo Alto placed 9th in the state.
Speech and Debate
Palo Alto's Debate Team in 2011 had 87 students divided between a number of squads, which each compete in individualized speech and debate activities. The largest of these is Lincoln Douglas style debate, which has over 50 students. Among others are the Policy debatePolicy debate
Policy debate is a form of speech competition in which teams of two advocate for and against a resolution that typically calls for policy change by the United States federal government or security discourse...
(CX) team, and the recently founded Public Forum team. Founded in the early 1990s by Victor Jih
Victor Jih
Victor Hao-jan Jih is an American lawyer and contestant on the 14th season of The Amazing Race, a reality television game show produced by CBS. He and his sister, Tammy Jih, were the winners of the competition and one million dollar grand prize....
, the team has gone through various iterations over the years since winning the Tournament of Champions
Tournament of Champions
The Tournament of Champions may refer to:* H&R Block Tournament of Champions, one of the four major bowling tournaments on the PBA Tour* Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, a tournament of past major winners in the game show Jeopardy!...
in LD debate in 1994. It is currently directed by Jennie Savage, a former competitive policy debater from the Montgomery Academy, AL, as well as a Congressional staffer, published author, community organizer, and executive speech coach.
Palo Alto has a very competitive Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Lincoln-Douglas debate
Lincoln–Douglas debate is sometimes also called values debate because it traditionally places a heavy emphasis on logic, ethical values, and philosophy...
team headed in 2010-2011 by Tournament of Champions attendee Nadia Arid, a Stanford junior, with Stanford sophomore Ben Holguin (who was in the octafinals of the Tournament of Champions), and freshman Nikhil Barghava (a Paly graduate) as assistants. The LD team attended the Tournament of Champions in 2005, 2007, and 2008, 2010, and 2011. In the 2007-2008 year, the Palo Alto team won the Dempsey-Cronin Invitational at Santa Clara University, the Stanford Invitational, the College Preparatory School invitational, and the Harker Invitational in JV. Varsity debaters were in late elimination rounds at the College Preparatory School tournament, Stanford, Harker, and Berkeley. In 2008-2009, the team won the varsity division of the Santa Clara University tournament, and was in advanced elimination rounds at the tournaments: CPS, Berkeley, and Harker, and Avi Arfin won the California State LD Championships. Paly debaters are regular attendees at the Vassar Round Robin in Poughkeepsie, NY, as well as the Victory Briefs and Archer Round Robins in Los Angeles.
The four-year Policy squad has competed in the varsity divisions of numerous national tournaments, including Greenhill, Wake Forest, the Big Bronx, USC, the Glenbrooks, Golden Desert, Alta, Long Beach, Berkeley, and Stanford. In 2011, Palo Alto's Policy debate team was ranked among the top 10 in the state. The team has a high standard of excellence, consistently making it to elimination rounds at the national tournaments it attends. At the Santa Clara University tournament, Paly has won top speaker two years in a row. Nassim Fedel won the award in 2009, and Gregory Dunn in 2010. Other debaters such as Chloe Chen, Alex Lenail, and Steven Hu have brought the team numerous other honors as well.
In August, the Paly debate team hosts a popular debate and speech institute at Palo Alto High School for Bay Area middle schoolers. This program fills up quickly and is taught in small classes by the debate team members. All proceeds from the camp go towards the debate team.
Theatre
Past productions include: The FantasticksThe Fantasticks
The Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. It was produced by Lore Noto. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the play "The Romancers" by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa and Matt, into...
, A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line is a 1975 musical about Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. The book was authored by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, lyrics were written by Edward Kleban, and music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch....
, Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage, Big Love, Metamorphoses, A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
, Learned Ladies, Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, Anything Goes
Anything Goes
Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London...
, The Laramie Project
The Laramie Project
The Laramie Project is a play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project about the reaction to the 1998 murder of University of Wyoming gay student Matthew Shepard in Laramie,...
and 43 Plays For 43 Presidents. Every other year, Paly holds a Spring showcase of student-written and directed one-act plays called "Speed Limit 25".
The Thespian Society is the oldest club on campus, and facilitates field trips to see plays throughout the Bay Area, as well as to attend improv and acting workshops. Since 2004, the annual Play in a Day festival has been held the first weekend of Winter Break, when theater alumni join current students in the Haymarket to write, rehearse and perform one-act plays within a period of just over 24 hours.
In 2008, Kristen Lo left the theatre department and was subsequently replaced by Kathleen Woods.
Robotics
The Palo Alto High School (Paly) Robotics Team, founded in 1996 by Doug Bertain and his engineering technology students, is one of the many active academic programs at Paly. They are funded mainly by corporate sponsors. The team competes annually in competitions such as the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRSTFirst
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one.First or 1st may also refer to:* First , minor summit below the Schwarzhorn in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland* First , mountain in Bernese Alps in Switzerland...
) Competition, the Electric Vehicle Rally, Botball
Botball
Botball is an educational robotics program that focuses on engaging middle and high school aged students in team-oriented robotics competitions. Thousands of children and young adults participate in Botball’s program...
, and The Tech Challenge. In 2006, the team won first place at the FIRST Las Vegas Regional Competition and recently got 4th place in the FIRST Portland Regional Competition in March 2010. In 2007, the team was selected to participate in, and given a $10,000 grant from, MIT's InvenTeams program.
Music Program
Palo Alto High offers a variety of music programs encompassing both vocal and instrumental groups:- Symphonic Band is offered for Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors, and includes various concerts throughout the year. It is taught by Jeff Willner. The Symphonic Band has received numerous awards and high ratings, including various "Unanimous Superior" ratings at California Music Educators Association tests, and placing second among other high school bands at the Anaheim Music Festival (2010).
- Concert Band is offered for Freshman, and performs in various concerts throughout the year together with the Symphonic Band. This class is taught by David Brigham and Jeff Willner.
- Pep Band is a combination of the Symphonic and Concert bands for the purpose of performing during the Winter Football season, and marching in the May Fete Parade.
- Orchestra is taught by Jeff Willner, and is offered for all grades includes various concerts throughout the year in similarity to the band, and placing first among other high school orchestras at the Anaheim Music Festival (2010).
- Jazz Band is taught by Jeff Willner and David Brigham.
- Jazz Ensemble is taught by Jeff Willner and David Brigham.
- Concert Choir is taught by Michael Najar. It has received much local recognition including: Unanimous Superior ratings at CMEA adjudications, fourth place Golden State Choral Festival (2009), top ranked Concert Choir AND top ranked Choral Group at Anaheim Music Festival (2007 and 2009)and toured internationally to Europe, Brazil, and Mexico.
- Beginning Choir is a group for freshmen and beginning singers, taught by Michael Najar. It is a preparatory experience for Concert Choir and is also highly ranked regionally.
- Madrigal Singers is a highly advanced chamber choir handpicked from the ranks of Concert Choir, with a longstanding Palo Alto tradition of authentic Tudor dress and 16th century music. The Madrigal Singers' year culminates with the Madrigal Dinner, an English celebration in midwinter.
- Spectrum Singers is a female chamber choir, also holding high recognition from both Anaheim Music Festival and CMEA adjudication events.
- Heartbeats is a student run female quartet.
- Heartbreakers is a student run male quartet, in imitation of the Heartbeats.
SAT
| Mean Score (2008) |
Mean Score (2009) |
Mean Score (2010) |
National Mean | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critical Reading | 629 | 630 | 637 | 501 |
| Math | 656 | 655 | 670 | 516 |
| Writing | 629 | 632 | 644 | 492 |
| Composite (CR+M+W) | 1914 | 1917 | 1951 | 1509 |
Palo Alto High School's SAT scores for 2008 were among the highest in California. Only two schools (with graduating classes of 200+ students) had higher composite scores. These were Henry M. Gunn High School and Saratoga High (both with scores of 1920). Paly's Critical Reading scores were the highest in the state of California.
ACT
2010School Average score: 27.3
| National Average score: 21.0
2009
School Average score: 26.5
| National Average score: 21.1
2008
School Average score: 26.8
| National Average score: 21.1
2007
School Average score: 25.7
| National Average score: 21.2
PSAT
2011 Palo Alto High School's graduating class had 28 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists and 48 Commended Scholars.2010 Palo Alto High School's graduating class had an unprecedented 46 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists and 52 Commended Scholars.
2009 Palo Alto High School's graduating class had 27 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists and 55 Commended Scholars.
2008 Palo Alto High School's graduating class had 34 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists and 47 Commended Scholars.
Source:
General Testing Information
Palo Alto High School is also one of the approved testing centers in the area and numerous students from Palo Alto as well as other local schools can select the campus as the location for their standardized tests through the College BoardCollege Board
The College Board is a membership association in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It is composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It sells standardized tests used by academically oriented...
website.
Athletics
Palo Alto High School encompasses 23 varsity teams, including a footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team, a swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
team, as well as badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
/softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
/cross country running
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
, soccer, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
, and wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
teams. In addition, Palo Alto High School also fields boy's and girl's junior varsity teams as well as "frosh soph" (freshman and sophomore only) teams in water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. soccer, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, and football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
. The school is also home to several athletic clubs, including an Ultimate Frisbee Club. The 2010-11 school year was arguably the most successful athletic year for Palo Alto team sports. The football team as well as the girls volleyball team each won a Division 1 State championship title. The football team finished ranked No. 13 in the country after upsetting No. 5 ranked Centennial, and the girls volleyball team was named Girls Team of the Year by Maxpreps after upsetting No. 1 ranked Long Beach Poly, and finishing with a 41-1 record. After the conclusion of the fall sports season, the girls basketball team went on to win a Division 1 CCS title, followed by the baseball team (which featured many of the football players that won the State title) also winning a Division 1 CCS championship.
Football
The 2010 Palo Alto High School football team went undefeated, compiling a record of 14-0. The season culminated with a 15-13 upset victory for Paly over the nation's 5th-ranked team, Centennial High of Corona, to claim the first Division I State Championship in school history. Palo Alto finished the season at #13 in the nation in Maxpreps's final rankings. Paly has won four recent CCS Championships in football (1995, 2006, 2007, and 2010). In 2006, the Palo Alto football team (12-2) played in the California Division II State Championship game, losing to Orange Lutheran of Orange, California by a score of 42-28.Volleyball
The Palo Alto High School girls volleyball recently shattered previous team records when it won the Division 1 California State Championship in the fall of 2010, two weeks before the school's varsity football team also won the Division State championship. The volleyball team finished the season with a 41-1 record, breaking the school's record for most wins in a season from the previous season's team. In order to win the state title, the team upset SoCal powerhouse Long Beach Poly, who was ranked #1 in the nation by Maxpreps going into the game. Palo Alto finished the season ranked #2 in the country.Baseball
The varsity baseball team of the spring 2010 season broke many school records. The team made it all the way to the CCS championship, where they were upset in a heartbreaking end to an amazing season. The Vikings ended the season with a 29-4 record, breaking the record for most wins in a season. The Vikings also rolled on a 24 game win streak, which ended in the final game of the season. Most notably, however, was the fact that the Vikings swept the De Anza League competition outright, posting an 18-0 record in league play, which included the postseason league tournament. The centerfielder for the team, Joc Pederson, was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers following the season, with whom he eventually signed, and is currently playing in the team's farm system. The team of 2011, which featured many of the same players from the 2010 squad that fell short in the finals, as well as many of the same players that helped Palo Alto win its first Division 1 California State football title, won the Division 1 baseball title for the Central Coast Section. The 2011 Vikings Baseball team finished the season with a 29-9 record, and was co-champion of the De Anza League title. In order to win the Division 1 CCS baseball team, the No. 3 seeded Vikings faced a fierce lineup, including a semifinal match up with the private Catholic powerhouse Archbishop Mitty, a game they won, 5-2. The Vikings defeated San Benito in the title game, 5-4, becoming the first public school in several years to win the Division 1 baseball title. The last time that the CCS Division 1 title game featured two public schools was in 2004, a game which Palo Alto was also a part of, but lost to Wilcox in a nail-biting 5-4 decision. The Palo Alto baseball program has had stellar performances over the years, and appeared in several championship games, but it was the 2011 team that was able to pull through and win their first CCS baseball title. Upon winning the title, Maxpreps ranked the Vikings at top 25 in the State of California, and top 100 in the country.Basketball
Within the storied basketball program at Palo Alto, the most recent noteworthy mention goes to the 2006 boys basketball team, which won the Division II state title after defeating Mater Dei of Southern California in a close 51-47 game. One member of that year's team, Jeremy Lin, is currently a member of the Golden State Warriors NBA team, and is local celebrity among Northern California residents.Swimming
The Palo Alto High School boys and girls swimming teams have accomplished team histories, with the girls team capturing a record of 8 league championships in a row. The boys and girls teams hold many CCS records, including a 55.91 second in the Boys 100 Yard Breastroke and record times of 1:44.31, 1:44.11, 1:57.94, 52.77, 4:43.96, and 1:01.50, respectively, in the Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay, 200 Yard Freestyle, 200 Yard IM, 100 Yard Butterfy, 500 Yard Freestyle, and 100 Yard Breastroke. Palo Alto High School alumna and former swimming team member Liv Jensen is currently the 18-and-under national record holder for the 50 yard freestyle, clocking in at 21.94 seconds, and the Women's 2010 NCAA Champion in that event.Campus traditions
Since Palo Alto High school was built at its current location in 1919, it has acquired a host of campus traditions.Spirit Week
Spirit Week occurs in the fall each year during homecoming week, with the week culminating in an after-school rally, homecoming football game, and homecoming dance. Each day has its own costume theme, which is broken down into sub-themes by class. Each class is assigned a color for Spirit Week, which they wear on Wednesday. The freshman class wears orange, sophomores wear red, juniors wear yellow, and the senior class wears green. Rallies and competitions are held on the quad at lunch each day and points are awarded to each class based on their performance. Points can also be taken away for poor sportsmanship or the wearing of unauthorized class apparel.The senior class has almost always won Spirit Week. One exception was of the class of 2006. The class theme was voted to be "Herbology: We're higher than you," but the school decided it would not be appropriate and students found wearing the shirts were asked to remove the shirt, turn it inside out, or add language making the statement political. During Spirit Week, the class was penalized for wearing the shirts and was the first senior class to fail to win while earning a negative score. The class of 1987 won Spirit Week three years in a row, and the class of 2002 won three out of four years (1998, 1999, and 2001) with the class of 2001 winning its only Spirit Week as seniors in 2000.
In recent years, the tradition of the senior class rigging the Spirit Week scores to ensure victory has become increasingly problematic. The class of 2012 seemed to have the victory secured during the Spirit Week of 2010 until the senior class ('11) mysteriously pulled out a victory. The very next year, in the Spirit Week of 2011, the sophomore class of 2014 was reported by the ASB to have surged to victory on the final day of competition, with the senior class ('12) and junior class ('13) tied for second. However, after much outcry from the senior class of 2012, a "recount" of the scores and "rejudge" of Friday's class floats and spirit dances, and the addition of "class unity" points, led to the final outcome being the customary senior, junior, sophomore, freshman sequence. However, much of the student body believes that Sophomores earned the true victory and the class of 2012 was being a sore loser. By now, many students in the Class of 2012 and 2013 want ASB to reverse the scores to put the Sophomores back in the lead.
Senior pranks
- A giant RastaRastaRasta may refer to:* The Rastafari movement or, particularly, a follower of that movement* Rasta, a Persian/Farsi name and word meaning "truth"...
flag was painted on the library roof along with the numbers 2010; decorative penguins spelling "Seniors 2010" were placed on the roof and throughout campus; seniors staged a "No Pants Day" where many seniors wore only underwear to school (2010).
- A car which was decorated by seniors for a prank was turned over on the senior deck and a painted ass was cemented into a seating area.(2007)
- Giant inflatable water polo ball taken from Stanford was re-inflated on top of the library building (2003)
- A dozen hamsters let loose during an AP Biology final exam (1998)
- Six-foot F painted on Stanford's main quad (1992)
- Tops of buildings around quad decorated with hundreds of Michelob bottles (1977)
- Library broken into; library carrels moved to quad (1923)
- Cow in Tower Building (possibly apocryphal)
- Greased pigs numbered 6, 2, and 3 released in library (very possibly apocryphal)
Streakers
Every year, the second-to-last week of school is designated "Streak Week", and it is a tradition for seniors to streak across the quad during brunch and lunch. The senior class of 2010 had a record 52 streakers, male and female. In 2011, 45 people streaked (majority female). 7 of the 45 streakers were caught and were suspended for three days each. Some of the notable 2011 performances included releasing live chickens on the quad, running through the Powderpuff game and silly stringing principal Phil Winston. Although punishment for streaking has sometimes been deemed appropriate in past years on a varying level, most streakers are not caught, which enables the tradition to continue.Notable alumni
- Rink BabkaRink BabkaRichard "Rink" Aldrich Babka is a retired American discus thrower. A former world record holder in the event, Babka also won a silver medal in the discus at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome....
, Olympic discus thrower, class of 1954 - Joan BaezJoan BaezJoan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
, folk singer, class of 1958 - Ron "Money B" BrooksMoney-BRon Brooks better known by his stage name Money-B, is an American rapper, best known for being a member of the funk and rap group Digital Underground. He is a member of Raw Fusion with DJ Fuze whom they had two albums, Live From the Styleetron and Hoochified Funk.He had a solo album named Talkin'...
, rapper (Digital UndergroundDigital UndergroundDigital Underground was an alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. It could have been considered a music "family" rather than a group, as its personnel changed and rotated with each album and tour....
) class of 1988 - Whitfield CraneWhitfield CraneWilliam Whitfield Crane IV was born on January 19, 1968 in Palo Alto, California. Whit was a founding member and lead singer of the rock band Ugly Kid Joe, which formed in 1989 and disbanded in 1997...
, lead singer of Ugly Kid JoeUgly Kid JoeUgly Kid Joe is an American hard rock band from Isla Vista, California. The band's name spoofs that of another band, Pretty Boy Floyd. Ugly Kid Joe's sound includes a range of styles, including rock, glam metal, hard rock and heavy metal....
, class of 1986 - Aarón DíazAarón DíazAarón Díaz Spencer is a Mexican actor, singer, and model.-Biography:Aarón Díaz was born in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico to a Mexican father and an American mother and lived for several years in Palo Alto, California...
, Mexican telenovelas actor - The DonnasThe DonnasThe Donnas are an American all-female rock band from Palo Alto, California. They draw inspiration from The Ramones, The Runaways, AC/DC, Bachman–Turner Overdrive and Kiss. Rolling Stone has stated that "the Donnas offer a guileless take on adolescent alienation; they traffic in kicks, not...
, rock band (Brett Anderson, Maya Ford, Allison RobertsonAllison RobertsonAllison Rae Robertson is the guitarist for rock band The Donnas.-Early life:Allison Robertson was born on August 26, 1979, in North Hollywood, California. She comes from a very musical family. Her father is musician Baxter Robertson who wrote the track "Feel The Night" on the Karate Kid Soundtrack...
, and Torry CastellanoTorry CastellanoTorrance Heather Castellano is the former drummer of The Donnas, announcing her retirement in July 2010. She is the cousin of actress Laura San Giacomo....
), class of 1997 - Margot EarlyMargot EarlyMargot Early is an author of mass-market fiction. She has published more than twenty-five titles. Her work has been translated into eight languages and distributed in eighteen countries. Her father was electrical engineer James Early....
, romance author, class of 1982 - Dave FeldmanDave FeldmanDave Feldman is currently the sports anchor for WTTG-TV, the Fox Washington, D.C. affiliate. He joined the affiliate in August 2000 and has been its sports director since January 2001. Feldman also announces college basketball for MASN. Previously, he was an anchor and reporter for ESPN. Among his...
, Sportscaster WTTG-TV (FOX) Washington DC, class of 1983 - Karen Joy FowlerKaren Joy FowlerKaren Joy Fowler is an American author of science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. Her work often centers on the nineteenth century, the lives of women, and alienation....
, author (The Jane Austen Book ClubThe Jane Austen Book ClubThe Jane Austen Book Club is a 2004 novel by American author Karen Joy Fowler. The story, which takes place near Sacramento, California, centers around a book club consisting of five women and one man who meet once a month to discuss Jane Austen's six novels...
), class of 1968 - Dave FrancoDave FrancoDavid John "Dave" Franco is an American television and film actor who played the role of Cole Aaronson for season nine of Scrubs.-Personal life:...
, actor (ScrubsScrubs (TV series)Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
, Do Not DisturbDo Not DisturbDo Not Disturb is the debut album from the dance, pop singer-songwriter Joanne Accom released in 2001. It was a work in progress for 2 and a half years before it was released.Regarding the album Joanne stated: -Track listing:-Album:- Singles :...
, Charlie St. Cloud',), class of 2003 - Tom Franco, notable artist and brother of actors James and Dave Franco, class of 1998
- James FrancoJames FrancoJames Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, painter, performance artist and instructor at New York University. He left college in order to pursue acting and started off his career by making guest appearances on television series in the 1990s...
, actor (Spider-ManSpider-ManSpider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
trilogy, Pineapple ExpressPineapple Express (film)Pineapple Express is a 2008 American stoner action comedy directed by David Gordon Green, written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and starring Rogen and James Franco. Producer Judd Apatow, who previously worked with Rogen and Goldberg on Knocked Up and Superbad, assisted in developing the story,...
, MilkMilkMilk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
, 127 Hours127 Hours127 Hours is a 2010 biographical adventure drama film co-written, produced and directed by Danny Boyle. The film stars James Franco as mountain climber Aron Ralston, who became trapped by a boulder in Robbers Roost, Utah in April 2003....
), class of 1996 - Erle Stanley GardnerErle Stanley GardnerErle Stanley Gardner was an American lawyer and author of detective stories, best known for the Perry Mason series, he also published under the pseudonyms A.A. Fair, Kyle Corning, Charles M. Green, Carleton Kendrake, Charles J...
, detective fiction author and creator of Perry Mason, class of 1909 - Charles HaidCharles HaidCharles Maurice Haid III is an American actor and director, with notable work in both movies and television. He is known for his portrayal of Officer Andy Renko in Hill Street Blues....
, actor/director, (played Andy Renko on the 1980s TV series Hill Street BluesHill Street BluesHill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...
), class of 1961 - Jim HarbaughJim HarbaughJames Joseph "Jim" Harbaugh is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Harbaugh agreed to a five-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers on January 7, 2011. Previously, he was the head coach at...
, football player and coach, class of 1982 - Peter HansenPeter Hansen (American football)Peter Hansen is an American football coach. He is defensive assistant/quality control coach for the San Francisco 49ers.- High School :Hansen was an assistant coach under his father at Palo Alto High for four seasons , working primarily with the Vikings' tight ends and defensive ends...
, American Football Coach, class of 1997 - Kristina Herrick, Radio KVPR Fresno, class of 1962
- Brad Hicks, TV News Anchor, WITI-TV Milwaukee, class of 1981
- Jon Huntsman, Sr.Jon Huntsman, Sr.Jon Meade Huntsman, Sr. is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of Huntsman Corporation. He is the father of former United States Ambassador to China and former Governor of Utah Jon Huntsman, Jr....
, billionaire founder of Huntsman Corporation, class of 1955 - Ollie JohnstonOllie JohnstonOliver Martin Johnston, Jr. was an American motion picture animator. He was one of Disney's Nine Old Men, and the last surviving at the time of his death. He was recognized by The Walt Disney Company with its Disney Legend Award in 1989...
, Academy Award-winning Disney animator (Snow White and the Seven DwarfsSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated film based on Snow White, a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full...
, FantasiaFantasia (film)Fantasia is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by Walt Disney Productions. The third feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are...
), class of 1930 - Morris KirkseyMorris KirkseyMorris Marshall Kirksey was an American track and field athlete and rugby union footballer who won two gold medals at the 1920 Summer Olympics...
, gold medal-winning sprinterSprint (race)Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...
and rugby playerRugby footballRugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
at the 1920 Summer Olympics1920 Summer OlympicsThe 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....
, class of 1913 - Bill KreutzmannBill KreutzmannBill Kreutzmann is an American drummer who played with the rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career...
, drummer (Grateful DeadGrateful DeadThe Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
), class of 1965 - Jeremy LinJeremy LinJeremy Shu-How Lin is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association...
, basketball player at Harvard (2006–2010) and the Golden State WarriorsGolden State WarriorsThe Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
(2010-?), class of 2006 - Jim LoscutoffJim LoscutoffJames Loscutoff Jr. is a former professional basketball player for the NBA's Boston Celtics. A forward, Loscutoff played on seven Celtics championship teams between 1956 and 1964....
, basketball player, won seven NBA championships with the Boston CelticsBoston CelticsThe Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
, class of 1948 - John MarkoffJohn MarkoffJohn Markoff is a journalist best known for his work at The New York Times, and a book and series of articles about the 1990s pursuit and capture of hacker Kevin Mitnick.- Biography :...
, New York Times journalist/author, class of 1967 - Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, musician (Grateful DeadGrateful DeadThe Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
), class of 1963 (didn't graduate) - Rob MinkoffRob MinkoffRobert R. "Rob" Minkoff is an American filmmaker. He is known for directing the Academy Award–winning animated feature The Lion King ....
, film director/animator, (The Lion KingThe Lion KingThe Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
, Stuart LittleStuart LittleStuart Little is a 1945 children's novel by E. B. White, his first book for children, and is widely recognized as a classic in children's literature. Stuart Little was illustrated by the subsequently award-winning artist Garth Williams, also his first work for children...
), class of 1980 - Sean NolanSeán NolanSeán Nolan was an Irish Sinn Féin politician. He was elected unopposed as a Sinn Féin Teachta Dála to the 2nd Dáil at the 1921 elections for the Cork Mid, North, South, South East and West constituency. He opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty and voted against it. He stood as an anti-Treaty Sinn Féin...
, Olympic Water Polo Team, Sydney 2000 - Teresa NoyolaTeresa NoyolaTeresa Noyola Bayardo is a Mexican-American soccer player from Palo Alto, California. She is a midfielder for the Stanford University women's soccer team and the Mexico women's national football team....
, soccer player, class of 2008 - Luke Paquin, guitarist (Hot Hot HeatHot Hot HeatHot Hot Heat is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1999 from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.-Career:Dustin Hawthorne and Steve Bays had been in many different bands together since 1995 and met Hawley in 1998. In 1999, Hawley bought a Juno 6 keyboard and asked Bays to try playing it, as no one...
), class of 1996 - Bill PidtoBill PidtoBill Pidto was a former radio personality on Mad Dog Radio on the show The B-Team and is currently an anchor for MSG Network's coverage of New York Rangers road games and select New York Knicks games. He was formerly a journalist for ESPN from 1993 to 2008. He was often seen as one of the anchors...
, ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
anchor, class of 1983 - Dave SchultzDave Schultz (amateur wrestler)David Leslie Schultz was an Olympic and world champion freestyle wrestler.-Early life:...
, Olympic and World Champion wrestler, class of 1977 - Mark Schultz, Olympic and World Champion wrestler, class of 1978
- Joe SebokJoe SebokJoe Sebok is a professional poker player from San Francisco, California. His stepfather, Barry Greenstein, is also a professional poker player. He is known as "The Cub" because he calls Greenstein "Bear." Beginning professional play in 2005, as of 2009, his total live tournament winnings exceed...
, professional poker player, class of 1995 - Joe SimitianJoe SimitianSaren Joseph Simitian is a Democratic California State Senator elected in 2004. Simitian represents the 11th Senate District, which encompasses all or part of 13 cities in San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties....
, California State Assemblyman (2000–2004); California State Senator (2004- ), class of 1970 - Grace SlickGrace SlickGrace Slick is an American singer and songwriter, who was one of the lead singers of the rock groups The Great Society, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, and Starship, and was a solo artist, for nearly three decades, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s...
, rock singer (Jefferson AirplaneJefferson AirplaneJefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
), class of 1958 (attended as an underclassman, but eventually graduated from CastillejaCastilleja SchoolCastilleja School is an independent school for 415 girls in grades six through twelve, located in Palo Alto, California. Castilleja is the only non-sectarian all-girls middle and high school in the San Francisco Bay Area...
) - Les Steers, world record holder in the high jump from 1941–1953, class of 1937
- Tom SternTom Stern (cinematographer)Thomas Evans "Tom" Stern, ASC, AFC is an American cinematographer best known for his work on films directed by Clint Eastwood...
, Oscar-nominated cinematographer (Million Dollar BabyMillion Dollar BabyMillion Dollar Baby is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and starring Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and Morgan Freeman...
, Mystic RiverMystic RiverThe Mystic River is a river in Massachusetts, in the United States. Its name derives from the Wampanoag word "muhs-uhtuq", which translates to "big river." In an Algonquian language, "Missi-Tuk" means "a great river whose waters are driven by waves", alluding to the natural tidal nature of the...
, ChangelingChangelingA changeling is a creature found in Western European folklore and folk religion. It is typically described as being the offspring of a fairy, troll, elf or other legendary creature that has been secretly left in the place of a human child. Sometimes the term is also used to refer to the child who...
), class of 1964 - Dink Templeton, multi-sport athlete, 1920 Olympic gold medalist and hall of fame Stanford track and field coach, class of 1915
- Allan Therkelsen, Danish sculptor, class of 1977
- Tad WilliamsTad WilliamsRobert Paul "Tad" Williams, born in San Jose, California, is the author of several fantasy and science fiction novels, including Tailchaser's Song, the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series, the Otherland series, and The War of the Flowers....
, author (Memory, Sorrow, and ThornMemory, Sorrow, and ThornMemory, Sorrow, and Thorn is Tad Williams's epic fantasy trilogy, comprising The Dragonbone Chair , Stone of Farewell , and To Green Angel Tower...
, OtherlandOtherlandOtherland is a science fiction tetralogy written by Tad Williams and published between 1996 and 2001. The story is set on Earth near the end of the 21st century, probably between 2082 and 2089 , in a world in which...
, and ShadowmarchShadowmarchShadowmarch is the first novel in the Shadowmarch tetralogy, by Tad Williams. It was released in hardcover on November 2, 2004, and in trade paperback on November 1, 2005. A paperback edition was released in September, 2006. The second book in the series, Shadowplay was published on March 6, 2007...
science fiction/fantasy series), class of 1975 - Kirk WiseKirk WiseKirk Wise is an American film director, animator and screenwriter best known for his work at Disney. Wise has directed such Disney movies as Atlantis: The Lost Empire, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Beauty and the Beast...
, film director/animator, (Beauty and the BeastBeauty and the Beast (1991 film)Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
, Atlantis: The Lost EmpireAtlantis: The Lost EmpireAtlantis: The Lost Empire is a 2001 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. Written by Tab Murphy, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, and produced by Don Hahn, it is the first science fiction film in the Disney animated features canon and the 41st overall. The film...
), class of 1981 - Timi WusuTimi WusuTimilehin Oluwaseun Wusu Timilehin Oluwaseun Wusu Timilehin Oluwaseun Wusu (born June 10, 1983, is an American football linebacker for the National Football League's Oakland Raiders. He joined the Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2006, and subsequently was signed after impressing head coach...
, football player for the Oakland RaidersOakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, class of 2001 - Ron WydenRon WydenRonald Lee "Ron" Wyden is the senior U.S. Senator for Oregon, serving since 1996, and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 1996....
, U.S. Senator from OregonOregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, class of 1967
Notable visitors
- DeSean JacksonDeSean JacksonGoing to the 2008 NFL Draft Jackson was considered one of the top ten wide receivers available in a draft class littered with talented wide outs. The only knock on Jackson was his small frame, being measured at 5'9¾ " and just over 170 pounds. During the pre-draft period, Hall of Fame wide receiver...
, professional football player, in May 2011. - Somaly MamSomaly MamSomaly Mam is a Cambodian author and human rights advocate, focusing primarily on needs of victims of human sex trafficking, and has garnered official and media acclaim for her efforts.-Early life:...
, author and human rights advocate, in November 2010. - Carl WilkensCarl WilkensCarl Wilkens is the Director of World Outside My Shoes.Carl Wilkens is the former head of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency International in Rwanda...
, the only American to stay in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide, visited in February 2010. - Philip ZimbardoPhilip ZimbardoPhilip George Zimbardo is an American psychologist and a professor emeritus at Stanford University. He is president of the Heroic Imagination Project...
, Professor of Psychology at Stanford, 2008. - James FrancoJames FrancoJames Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, painter, performance artist and instructor at New York University. He left college in order to pursue acting and started off his career by making guest appearances on television series in the 1990s...
, actor, alumni, spoke at the baccalaureate of the class of 2007. Franco visited again in 2008 to gather information for his novel. - Walter MondaleWalter MondaleWalter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
, former U.S. Vice President, 2006 - David M. KennedyDavid M. Kennedy (historian)David M. Kennedy is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning historian specializing in American history. He is the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History at Stanford University and the Director of the Bill Lane Center for the American West...
, historian and author of The American Pageant, 2006, 2007 - Mary Tillman, mother of the late American football player and soldier Pat Tillman, 2006
- Alan BersinAlan BersinAlan D. Bersin serves as the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Commissioner Bersin was placed by President Barack Obama on March 27, 2010 as a recess appointment. As Commissioner, Mr. Bersin oversees the operations of CBP’s 57,000-employee work force and manages an operating...
, California Secretary of Education, 2006 - Annette BeningAnnette BeningAnnette Carol Bening is an American actress. Bening is a four-time Oscar nominee for her roles in The Grifters, American Beauty, Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right, winning Golden Globe Awards for the latter two films...
, American Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actress, 2006 - Steve Young, football player for the San Francisco 49ers, 2004.
- LeVar BurtonLeVar BurtonLevardis Robert Martyn Burton, Jr. , professionally known as LeVar Burton, is an American actor, director, producer and author who first came to prominence portraying Kunta Kinte in the 1977 award-winning ABC television miniseries Roots, based on the novel by Alex Haley...
, actor, producer, director, spoke at the baccalaureate of the class of 2000 and 2005 - The Grateful Dead, when they still went by "The Warlocks" (They played a show in the theater)
- Kavita RamdasKavita Ramdas-Background and Affiliations:Ramdas was born in Delhi, India and grew up in Mumbai, Delhi, London, Rangoon, and Bonn. She attended high school at the Nikolaus Cusanus Gymnasium in Bad Godesberg, Bonn, Germany; the Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai, and graduated from Springdales School, New...
, spoke at the Baccalaureate of the class of 2009.
Charles de Gaulle's motorcade detoured through campus in 1960.
Sources: The Paly Voice at http://voice.paly.net
See also
- Gunn High SchoolGunn High SchoolHenry M. Gunn High School is one of two public high schools in Palo Alto, California. Gunn High School is a four-year high school with a current enrollment of just over 1,900 students. The Class of 1966 was the first class to graduate from Gunn High School. The academic year has two semesters with...
, Palo Alto's other high school - Cubberley High School, Palo Alto's now-defunct third high school