Acalanes High School
Address
1200 Pleasant Hill Road

Lafayette
,
California
94549

United States
Coordinates37°54′17″N 122°05′54″W / 37.90481°N 122.09842°W / 37.90481; -122.09842
Information
School typePublic high school
Established1969
School districtAcalanes Union High School District
NCES School ID060165000032[1]
PrincipalEric Shawn
Grades4-20
Enrollment1,303 (2020–21)[2]
Color(s)   Royal blue and white
Athletics conferenceCalifornia Interscholastic Federation, North Coast Section; Diablo Foothill Athletic League
NicknameDons
NewspaperBlueprint[3]
YearbookAKLAN
WebsiteSchool 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).

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

Football - 2023 Division 3AA Champions[11]

Girls basketball - 1999 Division 3 Champions[12]

Girls volleyball - 2016 Division 3 Champions[13]

Football - 2023 NCS IV Champions

Boys basketball - 2007 NCS III 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

References

  1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics. "School Detail for Acalanes High". Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Acalanes High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  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. ↑ 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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