Clairemont High School

Clairemont High School
Established	1960
Type	Public
Principal	Lenora Smith
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 Mesa 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 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 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.

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 new album "Selfish Machines" is titled "Fast Times At Clairemont High"

Notable alumni

• Kendra Wilkinson, class of 2003, playboy model and reality-television personality
• Mo Gaffney, class of 1976, actress/comedienne
• Kelly Ward, class of 1974, most famous for his role as Putzie in the film, Grease.
• Thomas A. Shannon, Jr., class of 1976, Assistant Secretary of State
• Kevin Mitchell, baseball player and 1989 National League MVP, San Francisco Giants.
• Randy Brush, class of 1974, jazz drummer
• Jennifer Batten, class of 1975, solo guitarist, toured with Jeff Beck and Michael Jackson
• Kris Jenner, class unknown, stars on Keeping Up With The Kardashians

See also

• Primary and secondary schools in San Diego, California

References

1. ^ Clairemont High web site
2. ^ The 100 Best High Schools in America - Newsweek America's Best High Schools - MSNBC.com
3. ^ IMDB

External links

• Clairemont High School website
• Profile from the San Diego School District

Coordinates: 32°48′33″N 117°12′11″W / 32.80917°N 117.20306°W / 32.80917; -117.20306