Acalanes High School

Last updated

Acalanes High School
Address
Acalanes High School
1200 Pleasant Hill Road

Lafayette
,
California
94549

United States
Coordinates 37°54′17″N122°05′54″W / 37.90481°N 122.09842°W / 37.90481; -122.09842
Information
School type Public high school
Established1940
School district Acalanes Union High School District
NCES School ID060165000032 [1]
PrincipalEric Shawn
Teaching staff63.19 (FTE) [2]
Grades9-12
Enrollment1,250 (2023–2024) [2]
Student to teacher ratio19.78 [2]
Color(s)   Royal blue and white
Athletics conferenceCalifornia Interscholastic Federation, North Coast Section; Diablo Foothill Athletic League
Nickname Dons
NewspaperBlueprint [3]
YearbookAKLAN
Website School website
[4]

Acalanes High School is a public secondary school located in Lafayette, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, within Contra Costa County. Acalanes was the first of four high schools established in the Acalanes Union High School District. It was built in 1940 on what was then a tomato field, using federal government funds with labor provided by the Works Project Administration, the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency introduced by the Roosevelt administration. Lafayette businessman M.H. Stanley suggested the name "Acalanes", the name of Rancho Acalanes, the Mexican grant from which all land title within the City of Lafayette derives. Rancho Acalanes itself seems to have been named by its Hispanic settlers after the local Native American Bay Miwok tribe called Saklan (Saclan), referred to by Spanish missionaries as Saclanes. [5] [6] The first graduating class of 1941 selected the school colors of blue and white. For the school sports mascot, they chose the Don (a Spanish honorary title).

Contents

Academics

Acalanes offers a diverse course selection and a number of AP and honors courses. Among the electives offered are sports medicine, digital design, auto mechanics, studio arts from beginning to AP, video production, journalism, drama, photography, Mandarin (Chinese), Spanish, French, chorus, band (four groups), and orchestra.

Acalanes High won the regional competition of the National Science Bowl at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. [7] However, the school has consistently lagged behind local high schools Campolindo and Miramonte in more comprehensive rankings based on AP scores and overall academic quality. For 2013, Campolindo High School was ranked 131st in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, [8] Miramonte was ranked 173rd, [9] while Acalanes was ranked 275th. [10]

Athletics

The front quad Acalanes Quad.jpg
The front quad

California Interscholastic Federation

Football - 2023 Division 3-AA Champions [11]

Girls basketball - 1999 Division 3 Champions [12]

Girls volleyball - 2016 Division 3 Champions [13]

North Coast Section

Football - 2023 NCS IV Champions, 2024 NCS III Champions

Boys basketball - 2007 NCS III Champions

Baseball- 1997, 1998, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016 NCS Champions

Diablo Foothill Athletic League


Facilities

In 1939, Acalanes was the first school designed by Ernest Kump and became the prototype for what came to be called the "California School", consisting of a complex of rectangular single-story modern buildings in parallel rows separated by gardens, with no hallways. Its openness to the outdoors and ease of expansion were revolutionary at the time, and the format was widely copied. [14]

The campus includes a track, several fields (an astroturf field, a grass field, and a baseball field), a pool, tennis courts, two gyms, weight room, two quads, and a performing arts center. Measure E bonds passed in 2008 provided for the complete renovation of the aquatic facilities, which was completed in the summer of 2011.

Notable alumni


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References

  1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics. "School Detail for Acalanes High" . Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "Acalanes High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  3. ↑ "ACALANES BLUEPRINT". ACALANES BLUEPRINT. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Search for Public Schools - School Detail for Acalanes High". ed.gov. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  5. ↑ Beeler, Madison S. 1955. Saclan.International Journal of American Linguistics 21:201-209.
  6. ↑ Beeler, Madison S. 1959. Saclan Once More.International Journal of American Linguistics 25:67-68.
  7. ↑ "Office of Science". Energy.gov. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  8. ↑ "National High School Rankings". U.S. News.
  9. ↑ "National High School Rankings". U.S. News.
  10. ↑ "National High School Rankings". U.S. News.
  11. ↑ "State champs! Acalanes storms back to beat Birmingham for 3-AA title". December 9, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Acalanes Girls Win State Hoops Title". April 2, 1999. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  13. ↑ "CIF girls volleyball: Acalanes claims state title in 5-set thriller". December 3, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  14. ↑ Bernard, Lance V. (2007). Architecture and Regional Identity in the San Francisco Bay Area: 1870–1970. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen. pp. 116–18. ISBN   9780773453401.
  15. ↑ "FIA Hall of Fame - Nelson Piquet profile" . Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Jewel Roemer - Women's Senior National Team - USA Water Polo" . Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  17. ↑ Thomas, Owen (November 30, 2022). "Salesforce's Marc Benioff is betting $28 billion on Bret Taylor. So who is he?". San Francisco Chronicle.
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