Walnut High School

Infobox School

name=Walnut High School
established=1968
schooltype=Public
principal=Russell Lee-Sung
streetaddress=400 N. Pierre Rd
city=Walnut, California
zipcode=91789
enrollment=2,575
conference=San Antonio League
newspaper=The Hoofprint
free_label = Athletic facility
free_text = Ken Gunn Stadium
school_color=Blue and Gold
mascot=Mustangs
fightsong = Sons Of Westwood
rival = Diamond Bar High School
homepage = http://www.walnuths.org/

Walnut High School is located in Walnut, California, among the San Jose Hills of the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California. It is a public school in the Walnut Valley Unified School District. The school is a two-time National Blue Ribbon school [cite web|title=Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002|publisher=United States Department of Education|accessdate=2006-12-22|url=http://www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/list-1982.pdf|format=PDF] and five-time California Distinguished school (1990, 1992, 1994, 1999 and 2005) [cite web|title=Distinguished School Awards|publisher=California Department of Education|accessdate=2006-12-22|url=http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/sr/cs/ap/distingcounty.asp?county=19&submit1=Submit] . It has also offered the International Baccalaureate program since 1999.

History

Ernest Carrey, son of Pierre Carrey, found employment on a Walnut ranch and used the money he earned to purchase the site of present day Walnut High School. His son, Robert Carrey, was one of the first Walnut City Council members, and held meetings in his garage. He helped to build the first City Hall in Walnut. Carrey and Pierre Roads honor this family’s contributions to the City of Walnut.Fact|date=February 2007

Walnut High School was established in 1968.

Information

Walnut High School is an academically concentrated school, with more than 1,000 students actively participating in programs such as AP (Advanced Placement) and IB (International Baccalaureate.) Also, Walnut High School has over 1,000 students in their Pre-IB program which prepares them for IB in 11th and 12th grade. Ms. Donna Crisci is the current IB coordinator.

The Administrative Structure: Walnut High School's administrative structure includes one Principal, one Assistant Principal, four Instructional Deans, eight Grade Level Coordinators, an Athletic Director, an Operations Manager, and the Associated Student Body Director. There are no department heads, but the four Instructional Deans each have an aspect of the curriculum they are responsible for supervising. The duties of each dean include selection of textbooks, instructional media, supervision and evaluation of teachers, and planning the improvement of instruction.

The Grade Level Coordinator (GLC) program replaced the traditional counselor system at Walnut in 1984 with a holistic approach to counseling. The GLCs are supervised by the Assistant Principal and each has approximately 350 students they interact with on a regular basis. This includes 8th grade orientation, summer registration, college counseling, personal counseling, student discipline, and attendance. GLCs are also responsible for campus supervision and often act as community liaisons. Walnut High credits the GLC program and each GLC with accomplishments such as a drop out rate of less than one percent, a graduation rate of over 98% and an average daily attendance rate over 95%.Fact|date=February 2007

The Operations Manager is responsible for the overall operation of the school facilities. His duties include supervision of custodial services, and classified staff. The position also includes coordination of all school events, as well as budgetary and payroll issues.

Athletics

The Walnut High football team contends in Division I of CIF [cite web|title=CIF Enrollment|url=http://www.cifstate.org/Football/football%20pdf/FB%20Schools%20-%20SoCal%20082906.pdf] . Although they have not won any CIF football championships, it was a high ranking regular season team in the 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2003, 2004 seasons. They also made the CIF Division VII finals in 2002, and although they lost the final game, the team was brought to another level.Fact|date=February 2007

The aquatics program offered is one of the best in the area with the water polo team winning multiple CIF championships and both the water polo and swim teams winning league titles.Verify source|date=July 2007 The swim team is in Division II CIF with many swimmers going to the Masters championships as well as CIF finals.Fact|date=February 2007

The soccer program has been strong since its inception and is a strong contributor to the schools athletic program. Though Boys Soccer has gone through many coaches in recent seasons, they have triumphed over some of the major teams in their division. The Lady Mustangs have had several winning seasons. They have been Undefeated San Antonio League Champions in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005, and have been the Division III CIF Champions in 2002, 2003, and 2004. They are currently ranked number one in Division III by CIF. In 1971 the Boys Varsity Cross Country Team was the Undefeated San Antonio League Champions.In 2006 the Boys Varsity Track and Field Team was Undefeated San Antonio League Champions.

The Walnut High School Blue Thunder Marching Band is currently directed by Dr. Buddy Clements and Mr. Corey Wicks and they have additional marching instructors who come by to help the band, as well. The band has performed in many places including Hawaii and Florida and they have even been in the Hollywood Santa Parade. They have also won first place and sweepstakes awards numerous times in their parade and field show competitions. The Blue Thunder Band has done many shows including Moulin Rouge, A Tribute to The Beatles, Mulan, A Tribute to Earth Wind and Fire, etc. Currently in the band, there is one head drum major, three assistant drum majors and a group of band captains who help the band function well although there is no set number of drum majors and band captains.

Notable alumni

*Gary Zimmerman, Former NFL Offensive Lineman [cite web|title=Gary Zimmerman|publisher=Denver Broncos|accessdate=2006-12-22|url=http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=831]
*Tod McBride, Former NFL CB [cite web|title=L.A. Avengers Sign DB Tod McBride|publisher=ArenaFan.com|accessdate=2007-09-28|url=http://www.arenafan.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=113270&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=&sid=9851b767a047e28df41412d1d2891cc8]
*Anissa Ayala, Bone marrow recipient from sibling conceived solely to save her life [cite web|title=Baby is Conceived to Save Daughter|publisher=New York Times|accessdate=2007-11-12|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE6D71630F934A25751C0A966958260&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink]

References

*Recognized in 1999 by CNN as a model of diversity. ^{[http://archives.cnn.com/1999/US/12/17/diverse.town/index.html]}

External links

* [http://www.walnuths.org Walnut High School Official Website]
* [http://www.highschoolsports.net/defaultcal_160.cfm?ct=w&school=CA9178916512&spt=4&lvl=-1&division=-1&timezone=420 Walnut High School Athletics]