San Mateo High School
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San Mateo High School is a National Blue Ribbon comprehensive four-year
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
in San Mateo,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, United States. It serves grades 9–12 and is one of the seven San Mateo Union High School District public high schools.


History

In its first year, San Mateo High School was located in the Dixon Cottage on Ellsworth Avenue with an enrollment of just 14 students. The faculty was composed of A.G. Van Gorder, principal, and teacher; and Marie Borough and Florence Kimball, two assistant teachers. The school was opened on September 15, 1902, at 8:30 am, in the two-story Dixon Cottage at 54 North Ellsworth Street. Its courses included foreign languages, the arts, history, and varied courses in science and mathematics. In the beginning, only two years were required for graduation, but many students continued the full four years with intention of going to college. Textbooks were well preserved, as the students had to buy their own. Reimbursement could usually be had by selling the used books to the incoming freshmen.
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
, with the colors orange and black, was "King of Sports" in 1902. Following suit, San Mateo High chose orange and black as its colors, and set its own words to the music of Princeton's school song. Early in 1903, the high school on Ellsworth Street became too small to accommodate the increased enrollment, which was then 27. Following a bond election, the Board of Education appropriated $24,000 for the purchase of Brewer Tract, which housed Saint Margaret's School for Girls. This was a three-story structure situated on the corner of Baldwin Avenue and San Mateo Drive. During the summer, in addition to remodeling and refurnishing the building, a new chemistry laboratory was constructed and supplied at a cost of $270. SMHS also gained a set of reference books at $75 and three Remington typewriters at $70 each. Classes were conducted in this building from 1903 until 1911. Although the school building was considerably damaged in the earthquake of 1906, no class time was lost. The building was one of the first to be repaired after the earthquake. By 1907 there were 90 students enrolled. In 1906, all of the academic departments were accredited by the University of California, Berkeley. Since then, San Mateo High School has been recognized as a leading institution of learning in the San Mateo community. In 1991, the school was named a
National Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...
by the
United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a cabinet-level department of the United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and ...
. In 2005, it was recognized with a Gold Standard Award for Academic Excellence by California Business for Education Excellence (CBEE) in conjunction with the California State University system. This award recognizes only ten California high schools which have shown measurable gains and strong academic performance by preparing students for college and the workforce, while showing evidence of reducing achievement gaps between various subgroups of students over time. The first graduates of San Mateo High left their school days behind to take part in the leadership of the twentieth century on June 5, 1905. The students of the first class included Elizabeth Dingwell; Emily Donnelly; Kenneth Green,
salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in Armenia, the Philippines, Canada, Afghanistan and the United States to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. ...
; Freda Hagerup,
valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...
; Eva Leavy; Mabel Moore; and Lena Sullivan. On February 4, 1911, a notice appeared in the ''San Mateo Times'' stating that the new San Mateo High School building on the Baldwin Avenue campus was almost completed. On May 5, the new structure was formally opened. At the dedication ceremony, a copper box containing autographed signatures of the High School Board; the faculty and students; the grammar school teachers; the county, town, and grammar school district officials; copies of ''The Elm''; a directory of all the high schools in the state; and pictures of SMHS in all its stages of development from 1902–1911 was placed in the cornerstone to be preserved for all time. On December 3, a $50,000 school bond was passed by a vote of 394 "yes" and 124 "no", enabling the board, under President J. C. Robb, to award and make payment on bids to the tune of $92,268 covering the building, heating, plumbing, painting, and electrical wiring in the new school. In the years 1920–1921, approximately 500 students were enrolled in the daytime school, which had a capacity of 350. Women Right's activist Ella Lillian Wall Van Leer would also help create and manage various Art and Architecture departments at the time. Therefore, larger classes and fewer courses were offered, with less individual attention given by the teachers. A committee was formed to investigate keeping the present campus and getting land in the north for a school or obtaining land for one school for the entire district. To help with the problem of a crowded school, the board passed a motion to build a temporary building to house band, music, printing, and two recitation rooms. This was erected between the tennis courts and the retaining wall, shops and the rear of the main building. The following year, more than 500 students registered at SMHS during the first week of the fall semester. The Baldwin Avenue school was designed for only 400; the main building consisted 11 classrooms, and five classrooms in temporary buildings housed the music, print shop, and history departments. In some cases, it was necessary for 50 students to occupy a room built for 25. Yet the first bond issue for Burlingame High School was defeated because it lacked the necessary two-thirds majority. The school board immediately called for a new bond election for $360,000 to be held November 12, 1921; $60,000 was for land and the rest for the building and furnishings. After a vigorous campaign, highlighted by a mass meeting on November 9, called by Major W. H. Pearson of Burlingame, the issue passed 1710–280. On April 5, 1922, ground was broken for Burlingame High School. On December 20, 1923, about 1,000 people attended the formal dedication of Burlingame High School. It should be mentioned, however, that Burlingame and San Mateo High Schools remained as one student body under one set of student body officers. Early in the spring of 1927, the Board of Trustees ordered San Mateo High to split into two units, to establish separate student bodies: San Mateo and Burlingame High Schools, with their own activities and teams. In the fall of 1927, the present San Mateo High School Delaware campus was completed. The $600,000 school, designed by architects John E. and E. L. Norberg, consisted of a main and an art building and a boys' gym. The new facility followed the architectural model of Henry VIII's Hampton Court in England. On November 10, the first anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone, the new T-shaped main building was dedicated and featured the state's most complete science departments with experimental switchboards, fume cabinets, and a greenhouse over the biology rooms; a print shop that handled printing for both high schools and the junior college (now
College of San Mateo 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-a ...
); a Tudor design library; and a dumbwaiter for fast communication between the principal's office and the superintendent's office on the second floor. A clock tower looming above the main entrance boasted the only set of chimes in a high school in the state. The $115,000 chimes were presented by Mrs. Charles S. Howard in memory of her son. With San Mateo and Burlingame high schools officially separated, students in the two cities were committed to attend their respective schools. The school was structurally reinforced for earthquake safety measures in 1934–1935 and then was entirely torn down and renovated for earthquake safety from 2001 to 2005. After the 2005 rebuild of the school, it did not retain the original T-shaped form but rather a U-shaped design that houses the "A", "B", "C", "D" buildings along with isolated "E" and Music buildings. The A-building houses Administration, World Languages, Social Sciences, Photography, Digital Media, Directed Studies, Student Government, Renaissance Leadership, and some English and Mathematics. The B-building houses just English, with the library occupying the bottom floor; it has a dedicated Media Lab for Journalism and Yearbook. The C-building contains all Science classes (except Biotechnology), a few Mathematics classes, and also consists of one California Technical Education class, Food and Nutrition. The D-building is a state-of-the-art addition to the Biotechnology Training Facility wing that was completed in November 2010. The E-building houses the pool area, sports trainer offices, Small Gym, and Health courses. The Music Building, built in 1927, is still in its original location and houses Band, Choir, and Music courses. In addition, the campus has tennis courts; an all-weather football, soccer, and track and field stadium; baseball and softball fields; and a large Main Gym with dance studios built in 2003 that is used for Physical Education courses, dance instruction, after-school sports, and school rallies. The school earned a
Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
in 2005 for collecting 372,000 pounds (168,736 kg) of food from the local community for its annual canned food drive. The collected food was donated to
Second Harvest Food Bank The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...
and Samaritan House, which provides to all of the needy families all throughout San Mateo and Santa Clara counties during the holiday season.


Campus

The school moved twice in 1903, and then to Baldwin Avenue in 1911, before moving to its present location on Delaware Street in 1927. In 2001, the school demolished and entirely replaced the original building in an effort to meet modern earthquake safety requirements. Dedicated in August 2005, the new building strongly echoes the design and materials of the original in part due to strong public outcry about the decision to demolish the structure. On February 10, 2006, the campus quad was dedicated to alumnus
Merv Griffin Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. From 1962 to 1986, G ...
, who donated $250,000 to the school ($125,000 of which was intended for the performing arts department). The Merv Griffin Quad sits squarely in the center of the campus and student life at San Mateo High. It includes an amphitheater built in the Greek-style and the Thomas Mohr clock tower, named after a longtime district superintendent and reminiscent of the tower and chimes that were removed from the building during the 1934–1935 structural reinforcements. The courtyard is a popular gathering place for students during lunchtime and rallies. Efforts to improve the school's educational facilities, while preserving its unique heritage, are ongoing. The Performing Arts Center, which is shared with county-wide performing arts groups and seats 1,540 people, completed a $26.5 million renovation in 2013. The smaller Flex Theatre was built with District and Drama Booster funds in 1993. During the 2005 rebuilding process, the original library was recreated, maintaining its signature fireplace and mantel and high ceilings. It affords a panoramic view of the center courtyard of the school. Other improvements to the school have occurred since the 2002 Centennial including transformation of the main athletic stadium with all-weather surfaces for football and soccer and an eight-lane all-weather track, remodeling of the swimming pool in 2003–2005, an expanded weight room, and the building of a joint-use Community Gym housing the wrestling and dance rooms and a full-court basketball area.


Academic reputation

In 2017, San Mateo High School was ranked the 50th best high school in California by '' Niche'' In 2015 it was ranked the 216th best public high school in the country by ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
.'' In 2013 it was ranked 376th nationally by ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
''s ranking of "America's Most Challenging High Schools."


Statistics


Demographics

2017–2018 * 1,665 students: 832 male (50.0%), 833 female (50.0%) Approximately 36.5% of the students at San Mateo High are served by the free or reduced-price lunch program.


Standardized testing


Extracurricular activities


Biotechnology program

San Mateo High School has a recognized
biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...
program. The recently built $9.2 million biotechnology wing features of instructional space on the ground floor, an 18-station laboratory, a bio-manufacturing room and independent research laboratory, a plant tissue culture facility, a chemical stockroom and storage area, a bio-imaging room, computer research area, and a student conference area. The second floor boasts a conference room and distance learning facility to host guest speakers and facilitate video conferencing. Upstairs also has a spot for a greenhouse, long-term storage and staff offices.


Journalism program

The ''San Mateo Hi'' is San Mateo High School's school print publication. It is one of the longest-running student journalism programs on the West Coast and prints 16 broadsheet pages once every month. In its 2008–2009 run, the paper won numerous accolades at the Peninsula Press Club High School Newspaper Competition. In addition to the ''Hi'', Mateo Journalism also maintains an award-winning website, the "Bearcat".


Music

San Mateo High School has Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, Marching Band, Advanced Orchestra (Bella Sinfonia), and Choir courses available.


Sports

The school's traditional arch-rival is Burlingame High School, which originated as a branch of San Mateo High in 1923. Near the end of the football season, the two schools hold an annual "Little Big Game," patterned after the collegiate Big Game. In 2023 San Mateo won "The Paw" trophy back, reclaiming it after 14 years. As of November 2023, Burlingame leads the series record 59–33–4. After a move to the Bay Division, the varsity soccer team won its first Division II CCS title in history in 2012 as well as the league championship.


Notable alumni

* Walter Afanasieff,
Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
-winning music composer and producer *
George Archer George William Archer (October 1, 1939 – September 25, 2005) was an American professional golfer who won 13 events on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the Masters in 1969. Early life Archer was born in San Francisco, Cali ...
, Professional
Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
er winner of the 1969 Masters Tournament *
David Binn David Aaron Binn (born February 6, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a long snapper for 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears and was signed b ...
, 1990, 18-season NFL player * Keith Birlem, American football player * Jonah Blechman, 1993, actor, ''This Boy's Life'' *
Barry Bostwick Barry Knapp Bostwick (born February 24, 1945) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Brad Majors in '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975) and Mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom '' Spin City'' (1996–2002). Bostwick has also ...
, 1964, actor and singer, ''
Spin City ''Spin City'' is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996, to April 30, 2002, on ABC. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show is set in a fictionalized version of the New York City mayor's off ...
'' * Arvin Chin, 1996, film director *
Ted Dabney Samuel Frederick "Ted" Dabney Jr. (May 2, 1937 – May 26, 2018) was an American electrical engineer, and the co-founder, alongside Nolan Bushnell, of Atari, Inc. He is recognized as developing the basics of video circuitry principles that ...
, 1955, co-founder of
Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...
*
Eric Dane Eric William Dane (born November 9, 1972) is an American actor. After multiple television roles in the 1990s and 2000s, which included his recurring role as Jason Dean in ''Charmed'', Dane was cast as Mark Sloan (Grey's Anatomy), Mark Sloan on ' ...
, 1991, actor, ''
Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...
'' & ''
Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...
'' * Richard K. Diran, expatriate adventurer, photographer * Fred Dutton, 1941, Democratic Party political advisor, originator of the idea for
Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally through earthday.org (formerly Earth Day Network) includin ...
* Phil Goldman, 1982, WebTV founder *
Merv Griffin Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. From 1962 to 1986, G ...
, 1942. entertainment producer and former talk show host * Dennis Haysbert, 1972, actor of film and television, '' 24'' * Claire Giannini Hoffman, 1922, first woman to serve on the boards of
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...
and
Sears, Roebuck & Company Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwal ...
* Wagner Jorgensen,
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player * Andrea Kitahata, soccer player *
Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...
, 1954, writer, singer-songwriter, actor, and musician * Lee Mendelson, five-time
Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...
-winning producer of ''
Peanuts ''Peanuts'' (briefly subtitled ''featuring Good ol' Charlie Brown'') is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run ext ...
'' *
Bill Neukom William Horlick Neukom (born 1942) is an American former managing general partner of the San Francisco Giants baseball team ownership group. He held this position from May 2008 to December 31, 2011, and he was the managing partner when the Giants ...
, 1959. Managing General Partner of the San Francisco Giants * Arron Oberholser, professional
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
er * Amanda Perez, 2012, professional football player, Mexico * Bob Peterson,
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
player *
Alicia Silverstone Alicia Silverstone ( ; born October 4, 1976) is an American actress. She made her film debut in the thriller ''The Crush (1993 film), The Crush'' (1993), earning the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and gained further pro ...
, Actress, '' Clueless'' * Michael Allen, Professional
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
er, Winner 2009 Sr PGA Championship *
Peter Thiel Peter Andreas Thiel (; born 11 October 1967) is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. A co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, he was the first outside investor in Facebook. According ...
, (1985), tech startup entrepreneur, billionaire, co-founder of
PayPal PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support E-commerce payment system, online money transfers; it serves as an electronic alter ...
* James Swett, (1939), U.S. Marine Corps fighter pilot; awarded Medal of Honor, 1943 * Debi Thomas, (1985),
bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...
ist in
figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...
at the
1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Calgary 1988 were a multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the m ...
*
Cal Tjader Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. ( ; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) was an American Latin Jazz musician, often described as the most successful non-Latino Latin music (genre), Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, especially small group mod ...
, 1943,
Latin jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave (rhythm), clave, and Afro-Brazil ...
musician


See also

* San Mateo County high schools


References


External links


San Mateo High School official website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1902 High schools in San Mateo County, California San Mateo, California Public high schools in California 1902 establishments in California