- Oakland High School (Oakland, California)
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Coordinates: 37°48′17.58″N 122°14′10.43″W / 37.8048833°N 122.2362306°W
Oakland High School Motto "In Virtue Summum Bonum Ponamus" (In virtue we place the highest good.) Established 1869 Type Public Principal Alicia Romero Students 1875 Grades 9-12 Location 1023 MacArthur Boulevard,
Oakland, California, USADistrict Oakland Unified School District Colors Blue and White Mascot Willy the Wildcat Yearbook The Oaken Bucket Newspaper The Aegis Website http://oaklandhigh.ousd.k12.ca.us/ Oakland Senior High School (also known as O-High and OHS) is a public high school in California. Established in 1869, it is the oldest high school in Oakland, California and the sixth oldest high school in the state.
Contents
Background
Oakland High was first located at Twelfth and Market, then Twelfth and Jefferson. It has been in its current location at the corner of MacArthur Boulevard and Park Boulevard since 1928. The building that stood before its current manifestation was known as the "Pink Prison" or "Pink Palace." The stairway leading up from Park Blvd is what remains of the exterior. The lamps in the commons are also original fixtures. What is now the football field and basketball courts was once classrooms and a huge theater. The school colors are blue and white.
The building was torn down in 1980 to be rebuilt as a safer structure in the event of a major earthquake.
A new football/soccer/baseball field was inaugurated in the spring of 2006. The football field is officially known as Jackie Jensen Field, while the baseball/softball field is dedicated to Mike Marcoulis, Sr., longtime coach and teacher.
The current principal is Alicia Romero. Assistant principals are Oliver Chambers, Shoshanna Towers, and Anisa Rasheed. Other official positions include: Percy Foster (Reflection Room), Tiago Robinson (Truancy Reduction), Carlos Padilla (Head Counselor), Amy Dellefield (Student Activities Director), and Carlos Sutton (Athletic Director).
Beginning in the summer of 2008, renovations and rebuilding will occur in the main building as well in the portables.
Students
With nearly 1,900 students, 52% are Asian including students of Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai, Mien, Laotian, and Tongan descent. Another 28% of students are African American, 16% of students are Latino or Hispanic. Only 1% are white while other ethnicities make up less than 3%.
Class Colors
Freshmen: Purple
Sophomores: Orange
Juniors: Green
Seniors: BlueStudent life
Oakland High School boasts more than 40 student-run clubs and 24 sports offerings, from the Hip Hop Club to the Math Club and soccer to badminton, OHS has everything one can be interested in. Also popular with the students are the two academies: the Environmental Sciences Academy and Visual Arts Magnet Program. O-High is also renowned for its excellent Special Education program.
Clubs
- Aegis
- Amnesty International
- African-American Student Union
- Archery Club
- Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Club
- Build On
- California Scholarship Federation
- Cambodian Club
- Cantonese Club
- Chess Club
- Close Up
- Drama Club
- East Coast College Tour Club
- Environmental Science Club
- Club Francophone
- Future Leaders Institute (FLI)
- Gay-Straight Alliance
- Glee Club
- Guitar Club
- Hip-Hop Club
- Interact
- Japanese Club
- Junior Statesmen of America
- Key Club
- KIWIN'S
- Lao Iu-Mien Club
- Latinos Unidos
- Leo Club
- Lion Dance Club
- Math Club
- National Honor Society
- Oak Leaves
- Operation Adjustment
- Outdoors Club
- Peer Health Educators
- Polynesian Club
- Pop Culture Club
- Procrastinators Club
- Sound and Light Crew
- Upward Bound
- Vietnamese Student Association
- Water Polo Club
- Yearbook
- Youth Power Club
Academics
OHS offers many Advanced Placement (AP) courses, as well as 1 Honors (HP) course, and a wide array of interesting and challenging academic electives. In addition, there are many concurrent enrollment college courses offered from the Peralta Colleges after school.
The AP Test Site Coordinator for the school is Carlos Padilla.HP Courses
- English 3 HP
AP Courses
- English Literature and Composition AP
- English Language and Composition AP
- Calculus AB AP
- Calculus BC AP
- Statistics AP
- Biology AP
- Chemistry AP
- Environmental Science AP
- Spanish 4 AP
- US History AP
- World History AP
Test scores
For 2009, the school's API score was 629 out of a possible 1000 points.
California Standard Tests Scores, proficiency rate [1] English Mathematics Science History/Social 30% 17% 31% 15% Academies
Visual Arts Academy Magnet Program (VAAMP)
VAAMP teaches student how to be creative and pique their interest in art. Led by Jackie "Ms. B" Marston and Keith "K-Dub" Williams, VAAMP is thriving with new young artists. VAAMP students painted the mural on Park Blvd., entitled "Beautiful Struggle". Featured in the middle is one of the greatest art teachers that ever set foot in OHS. Her name is Ms.Broussard, who has gone through some personal issues and has set a great example for each one of the VAAMPers so that we understand that we all need to live and love. Ms. Broussard has taught many students about what artists truly are.
Environmental Science Academy (ESA)
The Environmental Science Academy is run by Katherine Noonan and Kevin Jordan. ESA is usually known for high-achieving students and many field trips. Students are also given various tools to prepare for the future such as community service, college courses, School-to-Careers, etc. There are occasionally rafting and camping trips for ESA students. Trips include Catalina Island, Snow Trip (Juniors and Seniors Only), and a Senior Trip to either Costa Rica or Hawaii.
Sophomore ESA students usually have a core class consisting of Biology and Environmental Studies taught by either Noonan or Jordan. This class goes to Lake Merritt on a weekly basis to test the water and learn more about the environment. During their senior year, they are taught AP Environmental Science by their respective sophomore teacher.
Athletics
In the 2008-2009 season, the Oakland High football team managed a 9-2 record, winning a co-league championship. The team this year will be led by several seniors who are being recruited by division-1 programs: Damante Horton, Charles Cobbs, Kelly Mitchell, Dylon Mafi, Edward Davis, and Earl Harris.
In the spring of 2007 and 2009, the badminton team defeated Skyline (the seven year defending champions) to become the OAL champions. They won the league with a record of 6 wins and 0 losses. Along with athletic talent, the Badminton team also maintained a very high average GPA, and were named Oakland High's 2007 Outstanding Spring Sports Team.
The Oakland High Catfish Swim Team is another of the many strong teams at OHS. The Catfish have roughly 40 people on the Varsity and JV teams. At the 2008 OAL finals, the Catfish defeated Skyline in both men's Varsity and JV, becoming OAL champions.
In the fall of 2007, the bowling team became OAL champions without a single loss.
Notable alumni
- Anna Head (1874), Educator
- George Cooper Pardee (1875), Governor of California, 1903–1907
- Franklin Knight Lane (1880), U.S. Secretary of Interior, 1913–1920
- Henry A. Melvin (1884), California Supreme Court Justice, 1908 - 1920
- Julia Morgan (1890), architect
- Gertrude Stein (1892), Author
- Judah Leon Magnes (1894), Chancellor/President Hebrew University, Jerusalem 1925-1948
- Lillian Moller Gilbreth (1896), Industrial Engineer
- Jack London 1896, writer
- Yōsuke Matsuoka (1896), Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs during WW2
- Chick Gandil (1906), baseball player
- George J. Hatfield (1907), Lieutenant Governor of California, 1935-39
- Walter Plunkett (1919), 1951 Academy Award for Costume Design for "An American in Paris"
- Fay Lanphier (1924), Miss California, 1924 & 1925, Miss America, 1925
- Ralph Edwards (1930), television producer
- Carroll Borland (1931), Actress, Author, Professor of Education
- Dudley Manlove (1931), Vaudeville, Radio and b-Movie Actor
- Lee Gum Hong (1931), first Chinese-American to play organized baseball
- Bill Rigney (1936), NY Giants player and first manager of the San Francisco Giants, 1956
- Jackie Jensen 1945, Athlete, College Football Hall of Fame
- Armand Mauss (1946), sociologist
- Edwin Meese (1949), U.S. Attorney General, 1985–1988
- Zoe Ann Olsen-Jensen (1949), Olympic diver - Silver, 1948; Bronze, 1952
- Nellie Wong (1952), poet
- David Carradine (1954), actor
- Chris Burford (1955), NCAA Football Hall of Fame
- Clark Miller (1955), NFL Football
- Wayne Schneider (1955), CIF Football Coaches Hall of Fame
- Mel Wong (1956), Choreographer, Dancer, Visual Artist
- Stan Peters (1957), long-time Laney football coach
- William Wong (1958), Journalist
- Stanley Mazor (1959), engineer
- George Nicholson (1959), Jurist
- Ben Fong-Torres (1962), Journalist
- Shirley Fong-Torres (1964), Chef, tour operator, and popular travel and food writer
- Marsha Hunt (1964), singer and novelist
- Denny Dent (1966), painter
- Sherry Hu (1969), KPIX-5 (CBS) reporter
- Lloyd Moseby (1977), Major League baseball player
- James A. O'Donnell (2004), NCAA Wrestler
- Jabari Brown, Rivals Top 100 Basketball Player (2011)
External links
- OHS Memorial Pages
- Oakland High School
- Wildcats Alumni Association - the official alumni association
- Visual Arts Academy Magnet Program (VAAMP)
- ESA
Categories:- High schools in Oakland, California
- Educational institutions established in 1869
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