Westmoor High School | |
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Location | |
131 Westmoor Avenue, Daly City , United States | |
Information | |
Type | Public high school |
Established | 1956 |
School district | Jefferson Union High School District |
Principal | Brockton Ahrens |
Faculty | 67.61 (FTE) [1] |
Number of students | 1,526 (2018–19) [1] |
Student to teacher ratio | 22.57 [1] |
Campus | Suburban |
Color(s) | Green and white |
Mascot | Westmoor Ram |
Website | Official website |
Westmoor High School is a public high school in Daly City, California, United States. It serves grades 9 through 12 as part of the Jefferson Union High School District (JUHSD). It generally serves the residents of Daly City, Pacifica, and Colma. It was recently selected as a California Distinguished School.
Westmoor High School was established in 1956 as the primary high school to serve the new Westlake neighborhood on the west side of Daly City.
In the school years of 2004, 2005, and 2006, Westmoor became eligible for California Distinguished School status, but was not awarded the designation until 2009. In recent years, its California Standardized Test scores have risen to an 8/10.
Throughout the years, numerous individuals, such as participants in the Civil Rights Movement and numerous California politicians, have visited Westmoor. In 2004, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry made a campaign stop at Westmoor, speaking publicly in the main gymnasium. [2]
The original campus building, designed by architect Mario J. Ciampi, attracted national acclaim due to its modern design elements. [3] The building was sometimes called the "Glass Palace" due to the extensive use of architectural glass in its design. Ciampi received an honor award from the American Institute of Architects in 1959 for his work on Westmoor. [4] The campus is built on what was previously a pig farm and ranch. [5] [6]
Westmoor's main building was renovated and extended during the 2000–01 school year, and most of its original architectural and glass features were destroyed.
White | Latino | Asian | African American | Pacific Islander | American Indian | Two or more races |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6% | 21% | 67% | 1% | 0.4% | 0% | 5% |
According to U.S. News & World Report , 94% of Westmoor's student body is "of color", with 40% of the student body coming from economically disadvantaged households, determined by student eligibility for California's Reduced-price meal program. [7]
In addition to offering the standard English, science, social science and mathematics courses, Westmoor offers Advanced Placement courses: English Language, English Literature, U.S. History, Statistics, Calculus AB, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Studio Art, Spanish, American Government, Economics, Psychology, and European History. Westmoor's curriculum includes a variety of art and music programs such as fabric arts, ceramics, drawing and painting, general art, graphic design, as well as band, chorus, and theater arts. The foreign language department offers Spanish and French. In addition, Westmoor offers several elective courses in business, computer, and industrial art fields. The AVID program serves to assist students, where they prepare for college and learn fundamental skills that will guide them to academic success.
In the 2004–05 school year, Westmoor and other schools in the Jefferson Union High School District changed their grading periods from four quarters in two semesters per year to simply two semesters. Student progress reports are issued each third of a semester.
Westmoor began the Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) program in 2001. On a normal schedule, a twenty-minute period is designated for SSR on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Starting in the 2005–06 school year, this period recurs on a rotating basis at the beginning of the 1st through 6th periods. During SSR, students and teachers are excluded from classwork, reading textbooks, or writing. Westmoor believes that giving students 17 minutes a day to read instead of giving them a homeroom period or study hall will improve their productivity as a student. [8]
SAT scores for 2013–2014 [9] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Critical Reading average | Math average | Writing average | |
Westmoor High School | 502 | 553 | 507 |
Jefferson Union District | 503 | 536 | 500 |
San Mateo County | 546 | 576 | 548 |
Statewide | 492 | 506 | 489 |
Westmoor High School is home to more than 20 active clubs. All clubs are required to submit an updated Club Information Sheet to the Associated Student Body Executive Board at the beginning of the school year. The following list includes all clubs found on their website, although it is not current.
Anime Club, Anti-Bullying Club, Auto Safety Club, Bible Club, Bicycle Club, Broadcasting Club, buildOn, Burmese Club, California Scholarship Federation (CSF), Ceramics Guild, Chess Club, Dance Nation (Project A.C.E), Drama Club, Eco-Hero, Fashion Club, Future Business Leaders of America, Feminism Club, Filipino Barkada, Film Club, French Club, Key Club, Los Hermanos, Moving Mindfulness, Polynesian Club, Pride Club, Red Cross Club, Service Commission (Green Hats), Sonshine Club, SPCA Club, Speech and Debate Club, Swim Club, UNICEF Club, and Westmoor High Artistically Talented (W.H.A.T).
The Rampage is the official school-sponsored newspaper at Westmoor. It is written and published by the students of the Publications class, which also works on the school yearbook. It is generally regarded as a high-quality publication with engaging articles and interviews with Westmoor staff and students. Articles often include relevant topics, such as recent school events and world news, as well as pieces on pop culture and debate topics in which two writers with differing opinions on certain subject matters write side by side opinion pieces. It is published on the school website. The Rampage produced its first and only issue [10] of the 2004–05 school year in October 2004, although it had several more issues [11] planned that were never published before the end of the school year. In the 2013-2014 year, however, it published five issues, more than any years previous, due to a change in editing staff.
Westmoor is a member of the Central Coast Section (CCS) and competes in the Peninsula Athletic League (PAL). The school was a member of the North Coast Section from 1957 to 1965, when the Central Coast Section was created. They competed in the Peninsula League from 1957 to 1961, along with more established schools in San Mateo County such as Aragon, Burlingame, Capuchino, Hillsdale, Mills, Jefferson, San Mateo, and South San Francisco. From 1961 to 1995, Westmoor competed in the North Peninsula League (NPL), along with El Camino, Half Moon Bay, Jefferson, Oceana, Serramonte, South San Francisco, and Terra Nova. In 1996, the NPL and PAL merged, making the PAL a super-league. However, PAL is split into two divisions: Bay and Ocean.
The school once fielded boys football, girls softball, boys wrestling, girls gymnastics, and boys golf.
The football program at Westmoor was dropped in April 1996 by then Principal Gary Johnson due to financial hardships and low participation. At the end of the 1995 season, the team did not have a winning season in 10 years and had not beaten their rival, Jefferson High, in 13 years. The team made two CCS playoff appearances in 1972 and 1982, and won the league title in 1972.
The team played its last season in the 1995 and finished 2–7 overall, 1–5 in league play. Throughout the season, the team struggled, losing players due to injuries and grades, resulting in an average of 20 players suiting up each game.
Westmoor's football team had only four coaches in its history. Pete Matisi coached the team from its beginning from 1957 to 1981, when he retired. Ken Cook took over the program 1982–1988, coming over from the closure of Serramonte High School. Dan Ramirez coached the team in 1989 and Mike Williams coached the team in 1990 and 1991. Darryl Kennedy coached the last three years of the program from 1992 to 1995.
Westmoor's main football rival was Jefferson High School. Their game was dubbed by newspapers as the Daly City Bowl or the Greater Daly City–Colma Chamber of Commerce Trophy Game. Jefferson won the first meeting between the two teams in 1957, 32–12. Westmoor took the trophy from 1958 to 1967 and from 1969 to 1977. Jefferson won the annual game from 1978 to 1981, 1983 to 1986, and 1988 to 1995. There were two ties in the 39-year history: in 1968 and 1987. Westmoor still holds the overall lead in the rivalry with a record of 20–17–2.
The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Mountain View, in Santa Clara County, south of Palo Alto and north of Sunnyvale and Los Altos. Most of the Peninsula is occupied by San Mateo County, between San Francisco and Santa Clara counties, and including the cities and towns of Atherton, Belmont, Brisbane, Burlingame, Colma, Daly City, East Palo Alto, El Granada, Foster City, Hillsborough, Half Moon Bay, La Honda, Loma Mar, Los Altos, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Pacifica, Palo Alto, Pescadero, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Mateo, South San Francisco, and Woodside.
Colma is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 census. The town was founded as a necropolis in 1924.
Daly City is the second most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with a population of 104,901 according to the 2020 census. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco, it is named for businessman and landowner John Donald Daly.
College of San Mateo (CSM) is a public community college in San Mateo, California. It is part of the San Mateo County Community College District. College of San Mateo is located at the northern corridor of Silicon Valley and situated on a 153-acre site in the San Mateo hills. The college currently serves approximately 10,000 day, evening and weekend students. The college offers 79 A.A./A.S. degree majors, 75 certificate programs and approximately 100 transfer areas and majors.
The Jefferson Union High School District (JUHSD) is a high school district in northern San Mateo County, California, which serves the cities of Daly City, Brisbane and Pacifica, the town of Colma, the CDP of Broadmoor and a section of San Bruno. Its district office is located at the former site of Serramonte High School. It serves as a secondary education district for students coming from the Jefferson Elementary School District, Bayshore School District, Brisbane School District and the Pacifica School District.
Daly City station is an elevated Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station in Daly City, California, just south of the city limits of San Francisco. It is adjacent to Interstate 280 and California Route 1, which it serves as a park-and-ride station.
Colma station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station located in unincorporated northern San Mateo County, California adjacent to the incorporated town of Colma and city of Daly City.
San Bruno Mountain is a fault-block horst in northern San Mateo County, California; its northern slopes rise in San Francisco. It is surrounded by San Francisco Bay and the cities of Brisbane, Colma, Daly City, and South San Francisco.
Michael P. Guingona, also known as Mike Guingona, is an American politician of Filipino descent who served as a Councilmember for the city of Daly City, California from 1993 to 2018, including several terms as Mayor. He is an attorney in private practice. He was first elected as a Daly City Council member in 1993 and became the youngest mayor at age 33 in 1995. He was elected as a City Council member four times.
Terra Nova High School is an American public high school in Pacifica in San Mateo County, California, United States. It serves grades 9 through 12 as part of the Jefferson Union High School District.
Jefferson High School is an American public high school in Daly City, California, United States, and was the first school in the Jefferson Union High School District (JUHSD). Jefferson serves Daly City, Brisbane, Pacifica, and Colma.
Serramonte is a large 1960s residential neighborhood on the border of Daly City and Colma in the suburbs south of San Francisco, California, that is also home to numerous shopping malls, strip malls, and big box retailers.
Capuchino High School is a public high school in San Bruno, California, United States. It is one of seven high schools in the San Mateo Union High School District, a division of the San Mateo County Office of Education.
Mario Joseph Ciampi was an American architect and urban planner best known for his modern design influence on public spaces and buildings in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Jefferson Elementary School District is a K-8 school district headquartered in Daly City, San Mateo County, California, USA, serving the communities of Daly City, Colma, Broadmoor and part of Pacifica.
The Serra Fault is the northernmost fault in a zone of northwest-striking range front thrust faults adjacent to and northeast of the San Francisco Peninsula segment of the San Andreas Fault, in eastern San Mateo County, California.
Bayshore Elementary School District is a small school district located in the northeastern corner of San Mateo County, California, United States, consisting of one PreK-8 school, Bayshore Elementary. The school district is located in the former town of Bayshore, which disincorporated and was later annexed to the city of Daly City.
The Peninsula Library System (PLS) is a consortium of public and community college libraries in San Mateo County, California, United States, which serves the part of the San Francisco Bay Area known as "The Peninsula". The system has dozens of branches in local communities and at various area community colleges, a bookmobile, and automated book kiosks called Library-a-Go-Go.
Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) is a high school athletic conference in California, part of the CIF Central Coast Section of the California Interscholastic Federation. It comprises 17 high schools generally around San Mateo County, California. There are also nine smaller schools, designated supplemental members, of which four are located in Santa Clara County. The seventeen sports offered are divided into different divisions depending on the strength of the school's program.
Colma station was a railway station in Colma, California. The depot was served by the Southern Pacific Railroad for most of its functional existence.
Education: Westmoor High School
Bren Bataclan, author and artist. The Westmoor High School graduate will talk about his work and lead a drawing workshop.