Clairemont High School
| Clairemont High School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Established | 1960 |
| Type | Public |
| Principal | Dr. Jennifer Roberson |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Location |
4150 Ute Drive, San Diego, California, USA 92117 |
| District | San Diego City Schools |
| Colors | Orange and Blue |
| Mascot | Chieftain |
| Website | CHS |
Clairemont High School is a public high school (grades 9-12) located in the Clairemont neighborhood of San Diego, California. It is part of the San Diego Unified School District. The campus is situated close to the intersection of Balboa Ave and Clairemont Drive. There are approximately 1,350 students and 87 certified staff members.[1] It has accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
This school is ranked No. 848 on Newsweek's 2005 list of the Best High Schools in America (out of 27,468 high schools nationwide).[2]
History
The school is named for the Clairemont neighborhood where it is located.
When CHS opened its doors in 1958, it consisted of no senior class; a junior class (class of 1960) consisting mostly of transfers from Mission Bay High School in nearby Pacific Beach and Kearny High School; and a sophomore class (class of 1961) coming from its neighbor, Marston Junior High. There was no freshman class.
In 1960, the two closest rivals were Kearny High School and Mission Bay High. Their current rivals are crosstown locals Madison High.
Mary Catherine Swanson started the AVID program at Clairemont High in 1980 with 32 students.
Clairemont High includes a program for highly gifted students (scored in the 99.9%ile on a mental ability test) called the GATE Seminar program.
Sports
Clairemont has a variety of sports teams. The most attended game is football. The last time the football team won CIF was in 1981. The team made the playoffs in 1962, 1991, 1994, 2004, and 2006. Clairemont has a long distance running tradition and has recently won CIF championships in girls Cross Country in 2009 and 2010.[citation needed]
Clairemont's mascot is the Chieftain, their school newspaper is "The Arrow" and their annual is "The Calumet" (which is a ceremonial pipe used for special occasions by early native American tribes).
In popular culture
The movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High (and the book published first) were inspired by author Cameron Crowe's undercover research at Clairemont High School during the 1978-79 school year.[3]
A track on the band Pierce The Veil's album Selfish Machines is titled "Fast Times At Clairemont High".
Notable alumni
- Jennifer Batten, class of 1975, solo guitarist, toured with Jeff Beck and Michael Jackson.
- Mo Gaffney, class of 1976, actress/comedienne.
- Bob Geren, class of 1979, baseball player and former manager of the Oakland Athletics.
- Kristen R. Ghodsee, class of 1988, writer and professor.
- Kris Jenner, class of 1973, stars on Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
- Kevin Mitchell, baseball player and 1989 National League MVP, San Francisco Giants.
- Tony Muser, former Major League Baseball manager.
- David Oliver (actor), class of 1980, roles: Another World (Perry Hutchins), A Year in the Life, and 21 Jump Street.
- Andy Rathbone, class of 1980, author of a number of ...for Dummies books about Microsoft Windows, as well as other computing books
- Thomas A. Shannon, Jr., class of 1976, Assistant Secretary of State.
- Bob Taylor, class of 1972, luthier and founder of Taylor Guitars.
- Kelly Ward, class of 1974, most famous for his role as Putzie in the film Grease.
- Kendra Wilkinson, class of 2003, Playboy model and reality-television personality.
- Stephen Piercey (Musician), class of 1974,Lead singer of heavy metal band Ratt.
- Vic Fuentes, lead singer of the band Pierce the Veil
- Mike Fuentes, drummer of the band Pierce the Veil
References
- ↑ Clairemont High web site
- ↑ The 100 Best High Schools in America - Newsweek America's Best High Schools - MSNBC.com
- ↑ IMDB
External links
Coordinates: 32°48′33″N 117°12′11″W / 32.80917°N 117.20306°W