Ventura High School
Coordinates: 34°16′42″N 119°16′06″W / 34.27833°N 119.26833°W
| Ventura High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Two North Catalina St. Ventura, California, United States | |
| Coordinates | 34°16′42″N, 119°16′06″W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1889 |
| Principal | Val Wyatt |
| Faculty | 95 |
| Enrollment | 2149 (as of 2009-2010 school year) |
| Campus | Mid-Size City |
| Color(s) | Black, Gold |
| Athletics conference | CIF Channel League |
| Mascot | Cougars |
| Website | |
Ventura High School is a secondary school located in Ventura, California. The school was founded in 1889 and is a California Distinguished School. It is part of the Ventura Unified School District. In 2012, French and Italian language teacher at VHS, Sebastien De Clerck was honored as a California Teacher of Year for 2013.[1]
Notable alumni
- Mike Larrabee (Double Gold Medalist in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics)
- Eric Turner (former defensive back for the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and the Oakland Raiders.)
- Jamaal Wilkes (shooting guard for UCLA, Golden State Warriors, and the Los Angeles Lakers)
- Tyler Ebell (National High School Heisman, UCLA, UTEP, Edmonton Eskimos, Toronto Argonauts, BC Lions)
- Michael Enfield (3 year starter for UCLA, Sydney FC)
- Ramsey Jay (Motivational Speaker)
- Bob Tuttle (Championship Coach)
- Brook Jacoby, Cleveland Indians
- Vincent Bonsignore (Sports Journalist, Los Angeles Daily News)
- Chris Thomas ( Former professional football player with the San Francisco 49ers, the Washington Redskins, the St. Louis Rams, and the Kansas City Chiefs.)
- Roman Fortin ( Former professional football player with the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons and San Diego Chargers)
- Don Lang (former third baseman with the St. Louis Cardinals)
- Karen Grassle (Best known for playing Caroline Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie)
- Kevin Costner (Actor)
- Dan Clark, musician, member of the band, Army of Freshmen
- Bill Payne, class of 1967, founding member of the band [Little Feat]
- Shane Cohn and Joseph Locklear, founding members of Shim Come Quick and The Pullmen
Music
Ventura High's music department has two Jazz Bands, a jazz combo group, a Wind Ensemble, a Symphonic Band, and a String Orchestra. The Jazz band's perform at the school football games as a pep-band. In 2010, 7 members of the VHS music department made it into the All State Ensemble. In April 2010, the Wind Ensemble traveled to Chicago for the national Heritage Music Festival and won second place. In February 2010 the Wind Ensemble performed for Elementary School Students in Ojai, California. In 2009 the department's Symphonic Band performed at Universal Studios, Hollywood and its Wind Ensemble and String Orchestra in San Francisco, California. In 2008 the groups performed in Boston and at Disneyland.
Athletics
David Hess is the athletic director. The school competes in the Channel League and has 21 varsity teams. Its primary rival is Buena High School in eastern Ventura. The stadium above the campus is named for alum Mike Larrabee. The football field is named for alum Eric "E-Rock" Turner. The gymnasium is named for former coach Bob Tuttle.