Mission Viejo High School

Mission Viejo High School
Location
25025 Chrisanta Drive Mission Viejo, California 92691 United States
Coordinates	33°35′49″N117°40′12″W / 33.59694°N 117.67000°W / 33.59694; -117.67000
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1966 (1966)
School district	Saddleback Valley Unified School District
Principal	Tricia Osborne
Teaching staff	71.76 (FTE) [1]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1,628 (2023–2024) [1]
Student to teacher ratio	22.69 [1]
Color(s)	Scarlet   Gold
Athletics conference	CIF-SS; South Coast League
Mascot	Pablo the Diablo
Team name	Diablos
Website	www.svusd.org/schools/high-schools/mission-viejo

Welcome screen to Mission Viejo High School

Mission Viejo High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Mission Viejo, California, United States, as part of the Saddleback Valley Unified School District. The school has served the area since 1966. Students within its attendance boundaries live in western Mission Viejo, southwest Lake Forest, Trabuco Canyon, Rancho Santa Margarita, and Laguna Hills. Its mascot is Pablo the Diablo and its colors are scarlet and gold. 230 credits are required to graduate. It is the home to one of the only agricultural farms on a high school campus in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District.

Mission Viejo High School, an International Baccalaureate (IB) school since 1985, offers an IB program for academically focused students, awarding approximately 80 IB diplomas in the 2015–2016 school year. The school has been recognized with three Blue Ribbon School Awards and six California Distinguished School honors, most recently in 2024. Its performing arts programs include a marching band that won the WBA 4A division championship in 2016, a drumline that earned multiple High Percussion titles between 1997 and 2003, and four choir ensembles. Notable alumni include golfer Mark O’Meara, Olympic swimmer Brian Goodell, astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, soccer player Julie Foudy, NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez, journalist Brianna Keilar, and MLB pitcher Patrick Sandoval.

In the 2022–2023 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,646 students and 75.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 21.8. 40.9% of students were eligible for free or discounted lunch. ^{[1] [2]}

Academics

International Baccalaureate

Mission Viejo has been an International Baccalaureate (IB) school since July 1985. This program, taught to 80 students, is for academically talented and highly motivated students sponsored and administered by the IB Organization. The students who meet the IB requirements are eligible for the International Baccalaureate Diploma. This school received approximately 80 diplomas in the 2015–2016 school year. ^[3]

Awards and recognition

Mission Viejo High School has been awarded the Blue Ribbon School and Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education on three separate occasions, in 1988–89, 1994–96 ^[4] and 2001–02, ^{[5] [6]} the highest award an American school can receive. ^{[7] [8]}

Mission Viejo High School has been recognized six times as a California Distinguished School, in 1988, 1994, 2001, 2009, 2013, and 2024. ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Performing arts

Marching band

The Mission Viejo High School Marching Band and Color Guard at the 2008 Calgary Stampede Parade in Alberta, Canada

The school's marching band is part of the Western Band Association. They have competed in the 5A division every year until 2016, in which they began competing in 4A and won their division at the WBA Class Championships. ^[12]

• The drumline won High Percussion at WBA State Championships each year from 1997 to 2003, excluding 2000. ^[13]

Choir

The school offers four different choir classes: Concert Choir, Diablo Chorus, Treble Choir and the Chamber Singers. ^[14]

Notable alumni

Name	Class	Description
Rudy Holmes	1970	National Football League defensive back for the Atlanta Falcons.
Mark O'Meara	1975	Golfer, winner of the Masters Tournament and the British Open in 1998. Member of World Golf Hall of Fame. [15]
Joe DeRenzo	1976	Musician and bandleader. [16]
Michael Lopez-Alegria	1976	Astronaut, veteran of three Space Shuttle missions and one International Space Station mission. [17]
Matt Sorum	1976	Drummer for The Cult, Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver.
Brian Goodell	1977	Olympic champion and former world record-holding freestyle swimmer. At the 1976 Olympic Games, he won gold medals in 400m and 1500m frees. [18]
Joel L Widzer	1980	Author, television journalist, [19] speaker.
Ralph Saenz	1983	Lead singer for glam metal band Steel Panther (as Michael Starr).
Rob Adams	1988	Actor, acting coach, owner of The Actors Workshop, football coach.
Julie Foudy	1989	Midfielder for U.S. women's national soccer team from 1987 through 2004. Won two Olympic gold medals and two World Cup championships. [20]
Troy Kopp	1989	Former Canadian Football League and Arena Football League quarterback.
Joe-Max Moore	1989	Professional soccer player. [21]
Preston Burpo	1990	Major League Soccer goalkeeper.
Megan McClung	1990	First female United States Marine Corps officer killed in combat during Iraq War. [22]
Scott Von der Ahe	1993	National Football League linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts.
Matt Keneley	1995	National Football League defensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers.
Brianna Keilar	1998	CNN correspondent. [23]
Andreas Gustafsson	1999	Swedish race walker.
Collin Ashton	2001	National Football League linebacker who played for the San Diego Chargers.
Jordan Palmer	2002	National Football League quarterback who played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Co-founder of RockLive. [24]
Jed Collins	2004	National Football League fullback who played for the Detroit Lions.
Drew Radovich	2005	National Football League offensive tackle who played for the Minnesota Vikings.
Nick Reed	2005	National Football League defensive end who played for the Minnesota Vikings.
Mark Sanchez	2005	Former National Football League quarterback.
Konrad Reuland	2006	Former National Football League tight end for the Jets and Ravens
Jeff Baca	2008	Former National Football League offensive tackle.
Donothan Bailey	2010	Former gymnast and member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team.
Tre Madden	2011	National Football League running back for the Seattle Seahawks.
Nick Dzubnar	2011	National Football League linebacker for the Chargers and Titans
Garrett Marino	2013	Canadian Football League defensive tackle for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Chandler Hutchison	2014	NBA guard for the Chicago Bulls.
Noah Munck	2014	American actor, Gibby Gibson in Nickelodeon's iCarly
Patrick Sandoval	2015	MLB pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels.
Brenden Schooler	2016	National Football League safety for the New England Patriots
Tanner Bibee	2017	MLB pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians.
David Morgan	2018	MLB pitcher for the San Diego Padres. [25]
Jarrett Patterson	2018	National Football League center for the Houston Texans [26]
Joey Yellen	2019	College football quarterback for the Arizona State Sun Devils, Pittsburgh Panthers, Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Chapman Panthers [27]
Kadin Semonza	2023	College football quarterback for the Ball State Cardinals and the Tulane Green Wave [28]
Dijon Lee	2025	College football cornerback for the Alabama Crimson Tide [29]

References

1. School data for Mission Viejo High, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 10, 2024.
2. "Mission Viejo High". SchoolDigger. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
3. International Baccalaureate Organization: Mission Viejo High School, accessed December 2, 2006.
4. It's a Blue Ribbon day for six Orange County schools – EDUCATION: Two have won the nation's top honor before., The Orange County Register , February 9, 1996.
5. Mission Viejo, Trabuco Hills highs BLUE, The Orange County Register , May 31, 2002, "The Blue Ribbon award is the third that Mission Viejo High School has received in its 35-year history. Mission Viejo received Blue Ribbons in 1988 and 1996."
6. Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982–1983 through 1999–2002 (PDF) Archived 2009-03-26 at the Wayback Machine , accessed May 11, 2006.
7. CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department, Journal Inquirer , November 16, 20–06. Archived August 19, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
8. Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test; The Washington Post . September 29, 2005
9. Schools take state honors, The Orange County Register , April 13, 2001, "Two Mission Viejo high schools were named California Distinguished Schools this week. It was the first recognition for 15-year-old Trabuco Hills High School and third time around for Mission Viejo High School."
10. Distinguished School Awards: Award Winners for Orange County, accessed December 2, 2006. Archived December 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
11. "2024 California Distinguished Schools Announced - Year 2024 (CA Dept of Education)". www.cde.ca.gov. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
12. WBA Class Championships 4/5A 11/19/2016 - Buchanan HS Fresno CA, Western Band Association. Accessed October 3, 2017.
13. Mission Viejo High band wins state title, The Orange County Register , November 28, 2003, "Mission Viejo High School Marching Band and Color Guard competed with 25 bands to win the Western Band Association State Championship in Fresno on Saturday. It is the first time in six years that the school band, which practices 14 hours a week, won the title."
14. "Mission Viejo HS Choir - Home". Archived from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
15. "Mark O'Meara profile". pga.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2014. As a freshman at Mission Viejo High School he made the golf team and in his junior year the team won the state championship.
16. • Walter Kolosky, Power, Passion and Beauty: The Story of the Legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra , page 280, Abstract Logix Books 2006
17. Robbins, Gary. "O. C. Native to lead Space Station: Lopez-Alegria, among the most experienced of NASA's astronauts, will spend six months aboard.", Orange County Register , May 23, 2006. Accessed July 10, 2007. "Lopez-Alegria was born in Spain, but later moved to Orange County. He graduated from Mission Viejo High School in 1976 and went on to a distinguished career as a Navy aviator."
18. "1976 Olympics – Montreal, Canada – Swimming" Archived 2010-12-25 at the Wayback Machine – databaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on May 2, 2008)
19. "Joel Widzer". NBC News . February 13, 2006.
20. "Julie Foudy profile". Women's United Soccer Association. Archived from the original on January 3, 2007. Attended Mission Viejo High School where she was a two-time First-Team All-American...
21. "U.S. women get cheers from afar", CNN Sports Illustrated, July 4, 1999. Accessed July 10, 2007. "New England and U.S. international forward Joe-Max Moore said he graduated from Mission Viejo High School in California with U.S. women's star Julie Foudy."
22. Ritchie, Erika I. "O.C. native dies in Iraq; The Mission Viejo graduate is the first female Marine officer killed in the war.", The Orange County Register , December 12, 2006. Accessed October 20, 2007. "McClung grew up in Mission Viejo, graduated from Mission Viejo High School, and received her officer's commission from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1995."
23. "`Diablo Heat' grad pursuing TV career", The Orange County Register , January 24, 2003. "Brianna Keilar had it figured out. She was working as a reporter and fill-in anchor at KIMA TV, a CBS affiliate in Yakima, Wash., and looked at bigger media markets such as Tucson, Ariz., to eventually work her way up to a job in Los Angeles or New York. But the Mission Viejo High School alumna will not be reporting from Tucson anytime soon."
24. Hamilton, Ian (June 14, 2011). "Tips for pee-breaks during movie and Mike Tyson". Orange County Register.
25. "Padres notes: David Morgan's unlikely path back to San Diego, Ryan Bergert figuring out role". San Diego Union-Tribune. April 27, 2025. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
26. "Jarrett Patterson, Notre Dame, Offensive Tackle". 247Sports. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
27. Haller, Doug (June 10, 2018). "ASU football recruiting: California QB Joey Yellen commits to 2019 class". The Arizona Republic . Retrieved May 23, 2024.
28. "Kadin Semonza leads Mission Viejo football to big victory over Servite". Orange County Register. August 27, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
29. Smoot, Brody (April 6, 2025). "Why Dijon Lee Jr. needs to play a key role in Alabama's defense next season". TD Alabama.

External links

• Official website