Palo Alto High School

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Palo Alto High School
Address
50 Embarcadero Road Palo Alto, California, 94301 United States
Coordinates	37°26′13″N 122°09′25″W / 37.437°N 122.157°W / 37.437; -122.157Coordinates: 37°26′13″N 122°09′25″W / 37.437°N 122.157°W / 37.437; -122.157
Information
School type	Public, comprehensive high school
Founded	1898
School district	Palo Alto Unified School District
Oversight	Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Schools
Superintendent	Kevin Skelly
Principal	Phil Winston
Assistant Principals	Jerry Berkson, Kimberly Diorio, Kathie Laurence
Faculty	169[1]
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1950
Language	English
Campus	Suburban
Area	Northern Santa Clara County
Color(s)	Green & White
Mascot	Vikings
Team name	Vikings
Feeder schools	Jordan Middle School JLS Middle School Terman Middle School
Website	http://www.paly.net

Palo Alto Senior High School, known locally as "Paly," was founded in 1898 and is one of the oldest high schools in the region. Located in Palo Alto, California, United States, Paly is nestled in the heart of Silicon Valley, and is adjacent to Stanford University. Paly is known for its academically rigorous environment. Paly carries on a distinguished athletic tradition, marked by a rivalry with crosstown foe Gunn. Titles won by teams from Paly range from CIF State Championships in Boys Varsity Basketball in 1993 and 2006,^[2] a football Division I state championship in 2010,^[3][4] a volleyball Division I state championship in 2010,^[5] to CCS Championships in Football in 1995, 2006, 2007, and 2010,^[6] and countless CCS titles in other sports. In 2010, both the Boys and Girls Lacrosse teams won the inaugural Santa Clara Valley Athletic League Championships. Paly is situated on the older, northern side of Palo Alto, a location it has occupied since 1919. The western boundary of campus is El Camino Real, opposite which stands Stanford Stadium and the campus of Stanford University. The northern end of Paly runs along Embarcadero Road (from which the main parking lot is accessible).

The school can be reached by the VTA bus line 22 along El Camino Real, the Dumbarton Express bus, the SamTrans bus line KX, Stanford's free Marguerite shuttle, Caltrain's Palo Alto station, as well as by the Palo Alto city shuttle, which runs along Embarcadero Road.

Academic Achievements

2010

• In 2010 US News & World Report magazine ranked it #83.^[7]
• Palo Alto High School student named Intel Finalist out of 40 nationwide, winning fourth place.^[8]
• Palo Alto High School student places second at the national 2009 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology.^[9]
• Palo Alto High School students qualify for the National Science Bowl, tying for seventh among 68 teams.^[10]
• Palo Alto High School students win first place at the Bay Area Regional Science Olympiad and third place at the Northern California Science Olympiad^[11]
• Palo Alto High School places second at the 2010 week-long school-wide Collaborative Problem-Solving Contest^[12]
• Palo Alto High School has 7 U.S. Physics Olympiad Semi-Final qualifiers out of approximately 350 nationwide.^[13]
• Palo Alto High School student wins a gold medal at the 2010 China Girls Math Olympiad.^[14]
• Palo Alto High School student wins a gold medal in the International Linguistics Olympiad in Stockholm in 2010.^[15]

2009

• Palo Alto High School places third at the 2009 week-long school-wide Collaborative Problem-Solving Contest^[16]
• Palo Alto High School student qualifies for the U.S. Physics Team^[17]
• Palo Alto High School student places second at the first Annual Math Prize for Girls in New York City.^[18]

2008

• Palo Alto High School has 7 USAMO qualifiers out of 486 nationwide.^[19] Of all public high schools in the country, only Saratoga had more (with 8).
• Two of the eight members of the team representing the United States at the 2008 China Girls Math Olympiad are from Palo Alto High School. The highest individual score from the US team comes from a Paly student.^[14]
• Palo Alto High School places second at the 2008 week-long school-wide Collaborative Problem-Solving Contest^[20]
• Palo Alto High places third overall at the 2008 Fall Startup Contest.^[21] One student places first for his grade nationally.

2007

• In 2007 US News & World Report magazine ranked it #85 out of over 18,000 public high schools.^[22]
• Palo Alto High School student named Presidential Scholar, out of 141 nation-wide.^[23]
• Palo Alto High School places second at the 2007 week-long school-wide Collaborative Problem-Solving Contest^[24]

2002

• In 2002 Newsweek magazine ranked it among the top 200 public high schools based on Advanced Placement test scores.^[25]

Student organizations

Student Government

Paly ASB leadership includes the ASB President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Spirit Commissioners, Class Presidents and VP's, and Web Design/Communications Officer. The purpose of the ASB, as defined by its constitution, is the representation on behalf of the student body, the conduct of activities on behalf of the students of Palo Alto High School as approved by the principal and the governing board of the Palo Alto Unified School District. Activities include Spirit Week, school dances, and other ceremonies usually during lunch so the students can have more fun.

Publications

• The Campanile is Paly's school print publication. It claims one of the largest circulations of any high school newspaper in the Bay Area and is one of the longest running student journalism programs on the west coast. It prints 26 broadsheet pages once every three weeks. It has won four Pacemaker awards and also a West regional award for editorial excellence from Time. The current teacher and advisor of the Campanile is Esther Wojcicki.

• Verde is Paly's school magazine publication, published five times each year and available online at voice.paly.net/verde. Verde is the widest distributed student-run magazine in the nation, and has won numerous Pacemaker and Gold Crown awards for scholastic journalism, including the 2005 Gold Crown award in the Newspaper category. In 2006 Verde won the Best in Show at National Journalism Convention held in San Francisco. In 2008 Verde was one of four newsmagazines awarded the Pacemaker award from the National Scholastic Press Association, considered to be the "Pulitzer Prizes of student journalism."^[26]

• The Paly Voice, launched in the 2002-3 school year, is Paly's online news source. It features searchable archives of all other Paly publications as well as exclusive online content. In the spring of 2005 the site won both the People's Voice and Overall Webby Award in the "Student" category, a rare accomplishment for a high school level Internet site. The Voice was also one of the national Online Pacemaker award recipients in 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2004, and was a finalist for the same award in 2003. The Voice can be accessed at www.palyvoice.com.

• InFocus is Paly's television news channel. It is broadcast five days a week during fourth period, and available only on Paly campus and online at www.palyvoice.com. It came under fire from Campanile for its unreliability, an issue highlighted by the occasional missed broadcasts due to technical difficulties. The conflict manifested in a cartoon in the Campanile in October 2007 and a subsequent InFocus segment.

• Calliope is Paly's literary magazine, published once or twice a year. Its first publication was in 1981-82. It is also available online at calliope.paly.net.

• The Viking is Paly's campus sports magazine. It was first published first semester of the 2007-2008 year. The magazine received "Best in Show" at the National Scholastic Press Association in Anaheim in 2008. The Viking is the first sports magazine in the nation at the high school level.^{[citation needed]}

• [Proof] is Paly's arts and entertainment magazine. It was first published second semester of the 2009-2010 school year. The magazine is a Columbia Scholastic Press Association Silver Crown Medalist, a rare accomplishment for a high school publication after only it's first printing. Since then [Proof] Magazine has placed again in the CSPA for its 2010-2011 issues.

• [ASB Post] is a new publication run by the Paly ASB. It was first published first semester of the 2011-2012 school year.

Mock Trial

Palo Alto's mock trial team competes in the Santa Clara County division of the Constitutional Rights Foundation's mock trial competition. Palo Alto competed in the 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2004,^[27] 2005,^[27] 2006, 2007 and 2008 county finals, beating Lincoln High School in 1995 and 1996 and Lynbrook High School in 2005 and 2007^[28] to represent Santa Clara County in the California Mock Trial Competition. In 2008, Palo Alto placed 9th in the state.^[29]

Speech and Debate

Palo Alto's Debate Team in 2011 had 87 students divided between a number of squads, which each compete in individualized speech and debate activities. The largest of these is Lincoln Douglas style debate, which has over 50 students. Among others are the Policy debate (CX) team, and the recently founded Public Forum team. After gaining notoriety in the early 1990s by winning the Tournament of Champions in LD debate in 1994, the team was recreated in 2003 by debate experienced parents and Stanford University students, regaining prominence in the following year in state and national competition and growing to its current size.

Palo Alto has a very competitive Lincoln-Douglas Debate team headed in 2010-2011 by Tournament of Champions attendee Nadia Arid, a Stanford junior, with Stanford sophomore Ben Holguin (who was in the octafinals of the Tournament of Champions), and freshman Nikhil Barghava (a Paly graduate) as assistants. The LD team attended the Tournament of Champions in 2005, 2007, and 2008, 2010, and 2011. In the 2007-2008 year, the Palo Alto team won the Dempsey-Cronin Invitational at Santa Clara University, the Stanford Invitational, the College Preparatory School invitational, and the Harker Invitational in JV. Varsity debaters were in late elimination rounds at the College Preparatory School tournament, Stanford, Harker, and Berkeley. In 2008-2009, the team won the varsity division of the Santa Clara University tournament, and was in advanced elimination rounds at the tournaments: CPS, Berkeley, and Harker, and Avi Arfin won the California State LD Championships. Paly debaters are regular attendees at the Vassar Round Robin in Poughkeepsie, NY, as well as the Victory Briefs and Archer Round Robins in Los Angeles.

The four-year Policy squad has competed in the varsity divisions of numerous national tournaments, including Greenhill, Wake Forest, the Big Bronx, USC, the Glenbrooks, Golden Desert, Alta, Long Beach, Berkeley, and Stanford. In 2011, Palo Alto's Policy debate team was ranked among the top 10 in the state. The team has a high standard of excellence, consistently making it to elimination rounds at the national tournaments it attends. At the Santa Clara University tournament, Paly has won top speaker two years in a row.

In August, the Paly debate team hosts a popular debate and speech institute at Palo Alto High School for Bay Area middle schoolers that began in 2005. This program fills up quickly and is taught in small classes by the debate team members. All proceeds from the camp go towards the debate team.

Theatre

Past productions include: The Fantasticks, A Chorus Line, Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage, Big Love, Metamorphoses, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Learned Ladies, Romeo and Juliet, Anything Goes, The Laramie Project and 43 Plays For 43 Presidents. Every other year, Paly holds a Spring showcase of student-written and directed one-act plays called "Speed Limit 25".

The Thespian Society is the oldest club on campus, and facilitates field trips to see plays throughout the Bay Area, as well as to attend improv and acting workshops. Since 2004, the annual Play in a Day festival has been held the first weekend of Winter Break, when theater alumni join current students in the Haymarket to write, rehearse and perform one-act plays within a period of just over 24 hours.

In 2008, Kristen Lo left the theatre department and was subsequently replaced by Kathleen Woods.

Robotics

The Palo Alto High School (Paly) Robotics Team, founded in 1996 by Doug Bertain and his engineering technology students, is one of the many active academic programs at Paly. They are funded mainly by corporate sponsors. The team competes annually in competitions such as the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Competition, the Electric Vehicle Rally, Botball, and The Tech Challenge. In 2006, the team won first place at the FIRST Las Vegas Regional Competition and recently got 4th place in the FIRST Portland Regional Competition in March 2010. In 2007, the team was selected to participate in, and given a $10,000 grant from, MIT's InvenTeams program.

Music Program

Palo Alto High offers a variety of music programs encompassing both vocal and instrumental groups:

• Symphonic Band is offered for Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors, and includes various concerts throughout the year. It is taught by Jeff Willner. The Symphonic Band has received numerous awards and high ratings, including various "Unanimous Superior" ratings at California Music Educators Association tests, and placing second among other high school bands at the Anaheim Music Festival (2010).
• Concert Band is offered for Freshman, and performs in various concerts throughout the year together with the Symphonic Band. This class is taught by David Brigham and Jeff Willner.
• Pep Band is a combination of the Symphonic and Concert bands for the purpose of performing during the Winter Football season, and marching in the May Fete Parade.
• Orchestra is taught by Jeff Willner, and is offered for all grades includes various concerts throughout the year in similarity to the band, and placing first among other high school orchestras at the Anaheim Music Festival (2010).
• Jazz Band is taught by Jeff Willner and David Brigham.
• Jazz Ensemble is taught by Jeff Willner and David Brigham.
• Concert Choir is taught by Michael Najar. It has received much local recognition including: Unanimous Superior ratings at CMEA adjudications, fourth place Golden State Choral Festival (2009), top ranked Concert Choir AND top ranked Choral Group at Anaheim Music Festival (2007 and 2009)and toured internationally to Europe, Brazil, and Mexico.
• Beginning Choir is a group for freshmen and beginning singers, taught by Michael Najar. It is a preparatory experience for Concert Choir and is also highly ranked regionally.
• Madrigal Singers is a highly advanced chamber choir handpicked from the ranks of Concert Choir, with a longstanding Palo Alto tradition of authentic Tudor dress and 16th century music. The Madrigal Singers' year culminates with the Madrigal Dinner, an English celebration in midwinter.
• Spectrum Singers is a female chamber choir, also holding high recognition from both Anaheim Music Festival and CMEA adjudication events.
• Heartbeats is a student run female a cappella quartet.
• Heartbreakers is a student run male a cappella quartet, formed in 2009. The current members are Elias Berezin (Student Leader, T2), Thomas Wade (Bari), Henry Wilen (Bass), and Aaron Slipper (T1).

College Readiness

UC/CSU Eligibility

The Palo Alto High School staff is committed to reaching the District's strategic plan goal that 85% of graduates will meet the A-G course requirements, necessary for admission into the UC/CSU system. The staff is also committing to the district's other strategic plan goal of increasing the percentage of underrepresented minority graduates who complete A-G by 50%. Detailed reports regarding progress on these strategic plan goals can be found at http://pausd.org/community/ResearchEvaluation/student_achieve.shtml#Research&Evaluation.^[30]

Standardized testing statistics

SAT

Aerial shot of Palo Alto High School

Palo Alto High School's SAT scores for 2008 were among the highest in California. Only two schools (with graduating classes of 200+ students) had higher composite scores. These were Henry M. Gunn High School and Saratoga High (both with scores of 1920). Paly's Critical Reading scores were the highest in the state of California.^[32]

ACT

2011 School Average score: 27.2 | National Average score: 21.1

2010 School Average score: 27.3 | National Average score: 21.0

2009 School Average score: 26.5 | National Average score: 21.1

2008 School Average score: 26.8 | National Average score: 21.1

2007 School Average score: 25.7 | National Average score: 21.2

PSAT

2012 Palo Alto High School's graduating class had 31 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists and 83 Commended Scholars.

2011 Palo Alto High School's graduating class had 28 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists and 48 Commended Scholars.

2010 Palo Alto High School's graduating class had an unprecedented 46 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists and 52 Commended Scholars.

2009 Palo Alto High School's graduating class had 27 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists and 55 Commended Scholars.

2008 Palo Alto High School's graduating class had 34 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists and 47 Commended Scholars.

Source:^[32]

General Testing Information

Palo Alto High School is also one of the approved testing centers in the area and numerous students from Palo Alto as well as other local schools can select the campus as the location for their standardized tests through the College Board website.

Athletics

Palo Alto High School encompasses 23 varsity teams, including a football team, a swimming team, as well as badminton, softball, basketball, track and field/cross country running, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling teams.^[31] In addition, Palo Alto High School also fields boy's and girl's junior varsity teams as well as "frosh soph" (freshman and sophomore only) teams in water polo, track and field, basketball. soccer, baseball, and football.^[33] The school is also home to several athletic clubs, including an Ultimate Frisbee Club.^[34] The 2010-11 school year was arguably the most successful athletic year for Palo Alto team sports. The football team as well as the girls volleyball team each won a Division 1 State championship title. The football team finished ranked No. 13 in the country after upsetting No. 5 ranked Centennial, and the girls volleyball team was named Girls Team of the Year by Maxpreps after upsetting No. 1 ranked Long Beach Poly, and finishing with a 41-1 record. After the conclusion of the fall sports season, the girls basketball team went on to win a Division 1 CCS title, followed by the baseball team (which featured many of the football players that won the State title) also winning a Division 1 CCS championship.

Football

The 2010 Palo Alto High School football team went undefeated, compiling a record of 14-0. The season culminated with a 15-13 upset victory for Paly over the nation's 5th-ranked team, Centennial High of Corona, to claim the first Division I State Championship in school history.^[3][4] Palo Alto finished the season at #13 in the nation in Maxpreps's final rankings. Paly has won four recent CCS Championships in football (1995, 2006, 2007, and 2010).^[6] In 2006, the Palo Alto football team (12-2) played in the California Division II State Championship game, losing to Orange Lutheran of Orange, California by a score of 42-28.^[35]

Volleyball

The Palo Alto High School girls volleyball recently shattered previous team records when it won the Division 1 California State Championship in the fall of 2010, two weeks before the school's varsity football team also won the Division State championship. The volleyball team finished the season with a 41-1 record, breaking the school's record for most wins in a season from the previous season's team. In order to win the state title, the team upset SoCal powerhouse Long Beach Poly, who was ranked #1 in the nation by Maxpreps going into the game. Palo Alto finished the season ranked #2 in the country. The team won another Division 1 California State Championship the following year to become back-to-back Volleyball State Champions, finishing ranked #1 in the nation by Maxpreps.^[5]

Baseball

The varsity baseball team of the spring 2010 season broke many school records. The team made it all the way to the CCS championship, where they were upset in a heartbreaking end to an amazing season. The Vikings ended the season with a 29-4 record, breaking the record for most wins in a season. The Vikings also rolled on a 24 game win streak, which ended in the final game of the season. Most notably, however, was the fact that the Vikings swept the De Anza League competition outright, posting an 18-0 record in league play, which included the postseason league tournament. The centerfielder for the team, Joc Pederson, was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers following the season, with whom he eventually signed, and is currently playing in the team's farm system.^[36][37] The team of 2011, which featured many of the same players from the 2010 squad that fell short in the finals, as well as many of the same players that helped Palo Alto win its first Division 1 California State football title, won the Division 1 baseball title for the Central Coast Section. The 2011 Vikings Baseball team finished the season with a 29-9 record, and was co-champion of the De Anza League title. In order to win the Division 1 CCS baseball team, the No. 3 seeded Vikings faced a fierce lineup, including a semifinal match up with the private Catholic powerhouse Archbishop Mitty, a game they won, 5-2. The Vikings defeated San Benito in the title game, 5-4, becoming the first public school in several years to win the Division 1 baseball title. The last time that the CCS Division 1 title game featured two public schools was in 2004, a game which Palo Alto was also a part of, but lost to Wilcox in a nail-biting 5-4 decision. The Palo Alto baseball program has had stellar performances over the years, and appeared in several championship games, but it was the 2011 team that was able to pull through and win their first CCS baseball title. Upon winning the title, Maxpreps ranked the Vikings at top 25 in the State of California, and top 100 in the country.

Basketball

Paly basketball won the CA state championship in 1993.

In addition, the 2006 boys basketball team won the Division II state title after defeating Mater Dei of Southern California in a close 51-47 game. One member of that year's team, Jeremy Lin, is as of 2012 a member of the New York Knicks NBA team.

Swimming

The Palo Alto High School boys and girls swimming teams have accomplished team histories, with the girls team capturing a record of 8 league championships in a row.^[38] The boys and girls teams hold many CCS records, including a 55.91 second in the Boys 100 Yard Breastroke^[39] and record times of 1:44.31, 1:44.11, 1:57.94, 52.77, 4:43.96, and 1:01.50, respectively, in the Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay, 200 Yard Freestyle, 200 Yard IM, 100 Yard Butterfy, 500 Yard Freestyle, and 100 Yard Breastroke.^[40] Palo Alto High School alumna and former swimming team member Liv Jensen is currently the 18-and-under national record holder for the 50 yard freestyle, clocking in at 21.94 seconds, and the Women's 2010 NCAA Champion in that event.^[41]

Campus traditions

Since Palo Alto High school was built at its current location in 1919, it has acquired a host of campus traditions.

Spirit Week

Spirit Week occurs in the fall each year during homecoming week, with the week culminating in an after-school rally, homecoming football game, and homecoming dance. Each day has its own costume theme, which is broken down into sub-themes by class. Each class is assigned a color for Spirit Week, which they wear on Wednesday. The freshman class wears orange, sophomores wear red, juniors wear yellow, and the senior class wears green. Rallies and competitions are held on the quad at lunch each day and points are awarded to each class based on their performance. Points can also be taken away for poor sportsmanship or the wearing of unauthorized class apparel.

The senior class has almost always won Spirit Week. One exception was of the class of 2006. The class theme was voted to be "Herbology: We're higher than you," but the school decided it would not be appropriate and students found wearing the shirts were asked to remove the shirt, turn it inside out, or add language making the statement political. During Spirit Week, the class was penalized for wearing the shirts and was the first senior class to fail to win while earning a negative score. The class of 1987 won Spirit Week three years in a row, and the class of 2002 won three out of four years (1998, 1999, and 2001) with the class of 2001 winning its only Spirit Week as seniors in 2000.

In recent years, the tradition of the senior class rigging the Spirit Week scores to ensure victory has become increasingly problematic. The class of 2012 seemed to have the victory secured during the Spirit Week of 2010 until the senior class ('11) mysteriously pulled out a victory. The very next year, in the Spirit Week of 2011, the sophomore class of 2014 was reported by the ASB to have surged to victory on the final day of competition, with the senior class ('12) and junior class ('13) tied for second. However, after much outcry from the senior class of 2012, a "recount" of the scores and "rejudge" of Friday's class floats and spirit dances, and the addition of "class unity" points, led to the final outcome being the customary senior, junior, sophomore, freshman sequence. However, much of the student body believes that Sophomores earned the true victory and the class of 2012 was being a sore loser. By now, many students in the Class of 2013 and 2014 want ASB to reverse the scores to put the Sophomores back in the lead.

Senior pranks

• A giant Rasta flag was painted on the library roof along with the numbers 2010; decorative penguins spelling "Seniors 2010" were placed on the roof and throughout campus; seniors staged a "No Pants Day" where many seniors wore only underwear to school (2010).

2007

• A car which was decorated by seniors for a prank was turned over on the senior deck and a painted ass was cemented into a seating area.^[42][43](2007)
• Giant inflatable water polo ball taken from Stanford was re-inflated on top of the library building (2003)^[44]
• A dozen hamsters let loose during an AP Biology final exam (1998)
• Six-foot F painted on Stanford's main quad (1992)^[45]
• Tops of buildings around quad decorated with hundreds of Michelob bottles (1977)
• Library broken into; library carrels moved to quad (1923)^[44]
• Cow in Tower Building (possibly apocryphal)^[44]
• Greased pigs numbered 6, 2, and 3 released in library (very possibly apocryphal)

Streakers

Every year, the second-to-last week of school is designated "Streak Week", and it is a tradition for seniors to streak across the quad during brunch and lunch. The senior class of 2010 had a record 52 streakers,^[46] male and female. In 2011, 45 people streaked (majority female). 7 of the 45 streakers were caught and were suspended for three days each. Some of the notable 2011 performances included releasing live chickens on the quad, running through the Powderpuff game and silly stringing principal Phil Winston. Although punishment for streaking has sometimes been deemed appropriate in past years on a varying level, most streakers are not caught, which enables the tradition to continue.

Notable alumni

Joan Baez, class of 1958

James Franco, class of 1996

Jeremy Lin, class of 2006

• Rink Babka (1954), Olympic discus thrower
• Joan Baez (1958), folk singer^[47]
• Ron "Money B" Brooks (1988), rapper (Digital Underground)
• Whitfield Crane (1986), lead singer (Ugly Kid Joe)
• Aarón Díaz (2001), Mexican telenovelas actor
• Tim Dickinson (1992), political journalist (Rolling Stone, Mother Jones)
• The Donnas (1997), rock band (Brett Anderson, Maya Ford, Allison Robertson, and Torry Castellano)
• Margot Early (1982), romance author
• Dave Feldman (1983), Sportscaster, WTTG-TV (FOX), Washington, DC
• Karen Joy Fowler (1968), author (The Jane Austen Book Club)
• Dave Franco (2003), actor (Scrubs, Do Not Disturb, Charlie St. Cloud,)
• James Franco (1996), actor (Spider-Man trilogy, Pineapple Express, Milk, 127 Hours)
• Erle Stanley Gardner (1909), detective fiction author and creator of Perry Mason^[48]
• Charles Haid (1961), actor/director, (played Andy Renko on the 1980s TV series Hill Street Blues)
• Jim Harbaugh (1982), football player and coach, current head coach of the San Francisco 49ers^[49][50]
• Peter Hansen (1997), football coach
• Jon Huntsman, Sr. (1955), billionaire founder of Huntsman Corporation
• Ollie Johnston (1930), Academy Award-winning Disney animator (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia)^[51]
• Morris Kirksey (1913), gold medal-winning sprinter and rugby player at the 1920 Summer Olympics^[52]
• Bill Kreutzmann (1965), drummer (Grateful Dead)^[53]
• Jeremy Lin (2006), basketball player currently with the New York Knicks^[54][55]
• Jim Loscutoff (1948), basketball player, won seven NBA championships with the Boston Celtics^[56][57]
• John Markoff (1967), New York Times journalist/author
• Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (1963), musician (Grateful Dead) (didn't graduate)^[53]
• Rob Minkoff (1980), film director/animator, (The Lion King, Stuart Little)
• Sean Nolan (1990), Olympic Water Polo Team, Sydney 2000
• Teresa Noyola (2008), soccer player^[58]
• Téa Obreht (2002), novelist, (The Tiger's Wife)^[59]
• Luke Paquin (1996), guitarist (Hot Hot Heat)
• Bill Pidto (1983), ESPN anchor, class of 1983
• Dave Schultz (1977), Olympic and World Champion wrestler^[60]
• Mark Schultz (1978), Olympic and World Champion wrestler^[60]
• Joe Sebok (1995), professional poker player
• Joe Simitian (1970), California State Senator (2004– ) & former California State Assemblyman (2000–2004)
• Grace Slick (1958), rock singer (Jefferson Airplane) (attended as an underclassman, but eventually graduated from Castilleja)
• Tom Stern (1964), Oscar-nominated cinematographer (Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River, Changeling)
• Dink Templeton (1915), multi-sport athlete, 1920 Olympic gold medalist and hall of fame Stanford track and field coach^[61]
• Christopher Tin (1994), Grammy Award winning composer
• Tad Williams (1975), author (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Otherland, and Shadowmarch science fiction/fantasy series)
• Kirk Wise (1981), film director/animator, (Beauty and the Beast, Atlantis: The Lost Empire)
• Timi Wusu (2001), football player for the Oakland Raiders
• Ron Wyden (1967), U.S. Senator for Oregon (1996– ) & former U.S. Representative of Oregon's 3rd congressional district (1981–1996)^[62]

See also

• Gunn High School, Palo Alto's other high school
• Cubberley High School, Palo Alto's now-defunct third high school

External links

• Palo Alto High School official website
• Paly Alumni Website
• Paly Key Club Website
• Paly Science Olympiad/Science Bowl Website

Notes