Pioneer High School (San Jose, California)

Last updated

Pioneer High School
Pioneer High.jpg
Address
Pioneer High School (San Jose, California)
1290 Blossom Hill Road

,
California 95118

United States
Coordinates 37°14′51″N121°52′58″W / 37.2474°N 121.88289°W / 37.2474; -121.88289
Information
TypePublic secondary
Established1960
Locale San Jose Unified School District
PrincipalBradley Craycroft
Mission StatementOpening minds

Serving the community.

Enriching lives.
School Colors  Blue
  White
  Black (secondary)
Teaching staff66.75 (FTE) [1]
Grades9-12
Number of students1,469 (2023–2024) [1]
Student to teacher ratio22.01 [1]
Color(s)Blue, White & Black    
MascotMustangs
Rival Leland High School
Feeder schools Castillero Middle School
John Muir Middle School
Website pioneer.sjusd.org

Pioneer High School is a highly rated public high school located in the Almaden Valley neighborhood of San Jose, California. It is one of six high schools in the San Jose Unified School District, and is a science magnet school with an interdisciplinary focus on community service and service learning. It was nominated for California Distinguished School awards in 2008, 2006, 2000, and 1996. [2]

Contents

In 2021, U.S. News & World Report ranked Pioneer as the number 2 high school in San Jose Unified School District and number 228 in the state of California, [3] and the education ranking and review website Niche ranked the school as the number 2 high school in the district and number 343 in the state. [4]

Academics

Pioneer High School has received 4 California Distinguished School awards (1996, 2000, 2006, and 2008), has been awarded the Santa Clara County Top Ten High School award, and has been listed in The Mercury News as a National Service Learning Leader School from 1998 to 2006. The school's Academic Performance index in 2007 was 801/1000, putting it in the top 20% of schools and classifying it under the "Very High Performing School" category. Pioneer has never failed to achieve the growth goals expected of them under the No Child Left Behind Act.

At Pioneer High, each student has a certain amount of unit requirements under different categories that they must complete in order to graduate. There are a number of accelerated and Advanced Placement classes students can choose from, as well as mock trial and radio broadcasting extra-curricular activities that they can choose to be involved in. The yearbook was a semi-finalist in the year 2006, and in the 2006–2007 school year the yearbook was chosen as the national sample.

Service Learning Focus

Pioneer High School focuses on community service and service learning as part of its mission statement. To support this focus, the school requires all sophomore students to participate in a "Sophomore Project", a venture that demands a minimum of 30 hours of community service related to a world problem, in addition to many class assignments relating to it such as a poem and a poster board, in the span of a school year. 15 hours are required per semester of the sophomore year. [5] In most cases, students exceed this amount, sometimes even exceeding one hundred hours, in which case they are presented the President's Volunteer Service Award. [6]

During their Senior year, students are again given the opportunity to participate in a service learning project when they are introduced to the "Senior Exhibition" assignment. Students may complete multiple hours of personal or community work in order to obtain extra credits. The Senior Exhibition project is not mandatory, but students that complete it are rewarded a graduation cord. [6]

Athletics

A Pioneer football player running the ball (Steven Lopes). Pioneer football.jpg
A Pioneer football player running the ball (Steven Lopes).

Pioneer Mustangs Athletics are generally known for being a strong force within the BVAL league of the Central Coast Section. The Athletic Department, headed by Joe Berticevich, has experienced much success over the past decade. Perhaps the sports Pioneer is most known for are its football and basketball teams. Pioneer football has achieved multiple winning seasons in the Mount Hamilton division of BVAL over the past decade, and continually competes with private schools of a much higher caliber. [7] The Mustangs biggest rivals are the Leland Chargers.

FALL SPORTSWINTER SPORTSSPRING SPORTS
Varsity FootballBoys Varsity BasketballVarsity Baseball
JV FootballBoys JV BasketballFrosh/Soph Baseball
Frosh/Soph FootballGirls Varsity BasketballVarsity Softball
Girls VolleyballGirls JV BasketballJV Softball
JV VolleyballBoys Varsity SoccerBoys/Girls Badminton
Girls TennisFrosh/Soph Boys SoccerTrack and Field
Cross CountryGirls Varsity SoccerBoys Tennis
Boys Varsity Water PoloGirls JV SoccerBoys/Girls Golf
Boys JV Water PoloWrestlingBoys/Girls Swimming
Girls Varsity Water PoloVarsity Ice HockeyDiving
Girls JV Water PoloJV Ice HockeyBoys Volleyball
Boys/Girls La Crosse

Demographics

Pioneer's racial demographics are [2]

Pioneer's gender demographics are [2]

Notable alumni


References

  1. 1 2 3 "Pioneer High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "School profile 2006-2007" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 5, 2008. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
  3. "High Schools in San Jose Unified School District". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  4. "Explore San Jose Unified School District". Niche. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  5. "Sophomore Project Overview 2017-2018" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 16, 2018. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
  6. 1 2 "PHS Service-Learning: Home". Archived from the original on March 17, 2005. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
  7. "Pioneer Mustangs". Archived from the original on December 10, 2005. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  8. "Rob Becker". Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
  9. 1 2 "Rob Becker: Once an all-star, always a caveman". July 9, 2007.
  10. "Finn takes helm as LAH mayor, offers to 'celebrate all we have in common'". June 21, 2000.
  11. "Mt. View music, arts school gets $1M challenge grant - Silicon Valley Business Journal". Archived from the original on November 11, 2013.
  12. "Welcome countfive.com - Hostmonster.com". countfive.com. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  13. "Count V - San Jose Rocks". February 23, 2021.
  14. "Dave Hoffmann". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
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  20. Goodgame, Dan (December 14, 1992). "David Osborne: A Prophet of Innovation". Time.
  21. "2018 Spur Award Winners". March 10, 2018.
  22. "This Guy Must Be Serious | PEOPLE.com". People.
  23. "Former Bronco Coach and AD Selected to Hall of Fame". August 9, 2001.
  24. "Michael Bublé's conductor got his start in San Jose". August 22, 2007.
  25. "Stanford soccer captain Naomi Girma is a product of her Ethiopian roots". myScience. May 29, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  26. Woitalla, Mike (May 29, 2020). "Rising U.S. star Naomi Girma on prepping for postponed U-20 World Cup, virtual team-building, and falling in love with soccer with a free-play start". Soccer America . Retrieved August 4, 2022.