- Arcadia High School is a part of the Arcadia Unified School District and is a four-year comprehensive secondary school located on a site in Arcadia, California.
- The school was first opened in 1952, and incorporated the ninth grade into the school in 1994. The incoming freshman class largely consists of students who graduated from Arcadia’s three middle schools (Richard Henry Dana Middle School, Foothills Middle School and First Avenue Middle School.)
- Arcadia High School has a teaching staff of 155. Six hold doctorate degrees and 82 have masters degrees. The administrative staff consists of the principal, four assistant principals, and two deans of students. A staff of seven counselors hold masters degrees and Pupil Personnel Service Credentials, with three of the counselors licensed Marriage/Family/Child Counselors. Arcadia High School is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and received a six-year accreditation in June 2004.
- Highlights
- Newsweek ranks Arcadia High School 521 on its 2008 list of the United States' 1300 best public high schools [1]
- Two Nationally acclaimed Show Choirs, Chanteurs and New Spirit
- 250 students compete on 8 award-winning academic teams
- One of the state's most dominant Cross-Country Teams
- 48-member Pep Squad
- 900 students participate in the athletics program
- Arcadian Yearbook and Apache Pow Wow Newspaper Staff of over 115 students
- Video Production and Apache News Team
- 250-student Choral Department Program
- Nationally recognized 386-member Apache Marching Band and Colorguard
- 350-student Symphony Orchestra program
- Approximately 90 students involved in the three Percussion Ensembles
- Dance and theater production groups
- An award winning speech and debate team
- Demographics
-
As of 2006, the racial makeup of the school is approximately 67% Asian, 23% White American (not of Hispanic origin), 1% African American, 0% Native American, 0% Pacific Islander, and 8% Hispanic or Latino of any race.
- Academics
-
Arcadia High students must complete 225 credits and pass math, reading, writing and swimming proficiency tests to graduate. Arcadia High School offers a broad range of Advanced Placement, Honors level and college preparatory courses. Arcadia High has a total of 35 Advanced Placement/Honors courses.
- Arcadia High has 19 Advanced Placement courses including: English Language, English Literature, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Statistics, Computer Science A, US History, US Government, Comparative Government, Chemistry, Biology, Environmental Science, Physics B, Physics C, Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, Chinese Language, French Language, Japanese Language, Music Theory, and Art History.
- Nearly all honors and AP classes require admissions criteria, which may include entrance exams, teacher recommendations, and past performance history or audition. Arcadia High does not weigh GPA or rank its students. Arcadia students have a high pass rate in the Advanced Placement exams and have around 30 National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists a year.
- The current senior class is represented by 34 National Merit Scholarship Finalists and 50 Commended students.
- Athletics
-
Arcadia High School is governed by the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section as a member of the Pacific League. Its athletic mascot is the Apache and its colors are cardinal and gold. The Apache boys compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, water polo. The Apache girls compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and water polo. There is also a pep squad with Song, Cheer, and Pep flags. Arcadia’s main rival is Crescenta Valley High School. Both teams often contend for the League Championship.
- Arcadia teams are very competitive and often qualify for the CIF playoffs. In 2005, boys' soccer was a finalist in the Division III CIF playoffs. The girls track team is also one of the best teams in Southern California. They have only lost two dual meets in the last four years and regularly send athletes to CIF Finals.
- The boys' cross country program is one of the most dominant teams in the state. Placing 3rd, 7th and 8th in the 2005, 2006 and 2007 CIF-State Cross Country Championships in Division I, respectively.In 2008, the team placed 4th in division one at the state championships and came in 2nd in the open race behind Kenya at Nike Team Nationals.
- The Boys track team has also been very competitive within the past few years, from 2005, winning over 90% of its meets and 3 league championships in a row, (2005-07).In 2009, Arcadia track became the first team in the pacific league to be undefeated on every level. The boys and girls frosh and boys and girls varsity were unbeaten. 44-0. 2009 was the 4th league championship for Arcadia varsity boys track in five years. The girls varsity has repeated as league champion for a third straight year (07-09).
- Arcadia is known for its Arcadia Invitational, the largest and most prestigious high school track meet in the nation. The meet has witnessed many high school records being broken and featured Olympians Quincy Watts, Steve Lewis, Danny Everett, Valerie Brisco-Hooks, Gail Devers, Mike Powell, Michael Marsh, Marion Jones, Allyson Felix, Monique Henderson, Deena Kastor, Michelle Perry, Alan Webb, and even Cathy Freeman from Australia.
[ Arcadia Invitational] - Extracurricular Activities
-
Arcadia High School offers many extracurricular activities including clubs, video production, journalism, yearbook, robotics, ROP, academic teams and performing arts groups. Its performing arts groups and academic teams consistently rank at the top of California and, in some instances, the world.
- Performing Arts
-
Arcadia maintains a large and diverse performing arts program. It has a drama program, a dance/prop production program (Colorguard) who has placed third in the nation twice, a dance program (Orchesis), four choirs and a large instrumental music program.
- Instrumental Music
-
The instrumental music department is very competitive at Arcadia, with a strong music program from the middle schools. The music department consists of groups such as the Marching Band, Orchestra, Color Guard and JV and Varsity Percussion.
- The Marching Band is led by Tom Landes and is one of the largest bands in California with over 400 members. The Arcadia Apache Marching Band consists of the band, the color guard and the percussion led by Kevin Sherrill. The band has marched in the * Rose Parade in nearby Pasadena fourteen times, most recently in 2008. They have also marched in such diverse venues as the Gator Bowl parade and the 55th Presidential Inaugural Parade. Arcadia has held the annual Arcadia Festival of Bands since 1954.
- Concert Band is led by Tom Landes and is divided into three levels: Band I, Band II, and Band III. Band I consists of the freshman class. Band II is divided into two classes due to its size: Brass and Woodwinds, and consists of all players who are not freshmen. Band III is a selective Concert Band, with an audition requirement to enter.
- The orchestra is led by Rick England and Tom Forbes and has competed in the Heritage Festivals in numerous places, including Orlando, San Francisco and San Diego and even winning first places in all three divisions for their three orchestras. The orchestra, like the Concert Band, is divided into three levels: Orchestra I, Orchestra II, and Orchestra III.
- Choir
-
Arcadia High School has two show choirs: New Spirit, an all-girls' show choir, and Chanteurs, a mixed show choir. Chanteurs has been around for 51 years and New Spirit is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2006. Both groups have continuously earned the highest honors in competitions throughout southern California, maintaining its rank as two of the top show choirs in its years running.
- The choral program also includes a Concert Choir, which consists of male and female choral singers performing more classical pieces, and a Treble Choir, which consists of lower classmen female singers learning to sing in a choir setting.
- The Arcadia Choral Department is directed by Mr. Rolland Maxson.Chanteurs and New Spirit are choreographed by Jessica Young and Doug Lau, respectively.
- Academic Teams
-
Arcadia is also home to several powerhouse academic teams, including Physics Team, Math Team, National Ocean Sciences Bowl, National Science Bowl, Quiz Bowl,Science Olympiad, Academic Decathlon, Destination Imagination, We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution Team, Speech and Debate.
- The Speech and Debate team, the largest academic team on campus with over 90 active members, consistently ranks high at the State Qualifying Tournament in one of the most competitive districts in California, sending approximately a dozen or so individual members each year to compete at the State Championship Tournament. The Constitution team has been one of the most consistent teams on campus and qualified for the State finals for the 20 consecutive years as of 2008 and winning multiple national titles. The Science Bowl and Quiz Bowl teams have become dominant teams in their respective regions. The Science Bowl team won the JPL regional in 1996, 1997, 1998, and 2003 and thus qualified for the national tournament in each of those years.
- The Quiz Bowl team qualified for the NAQT HS national championship tournament in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Two Arcadia teams made the playoffs in 2007, placing 33rd and 49th, respectively, in the nation; and one Arcadia team placed 17th in the nation the following year.
- Clubs
-
Arcadia High has many clubs governed by the associated student body, including Physics Club, movie club, Philosophy Club, Film Club, Gay Straight Alliance, A.L.L.I.E.S. Christian Club, Chinese Club, Korean Culture Club, Future Business Leaders of America, Junior State of America, Young Democrats of America, Key Club, National Honor Society, California Scholarship Federation, Interact Club, Leo Club, Students Promoting Literacy Club, French Club, chemistry Club, Magic Tricks Club, S.I.G.N. (speaking in gestures naturally) club, and Astronomy Club.
- Future Business Leaders of America Chapter (FBLA) has been one of the most successful clubs at Arcadia High School. In the 2006-2007 school year, FBLA had more than 150 paid members. The 2006-2007 school year they placed 2nd in sweepstakes during Gold Coast Section Conference and 7th in sweepstakes at the California State Leadership Conference. In 2008-2009, they reinvented their club and once again placed 2nd at Section Conference and had many state ranking competitors. Also, many of Arcadia FBLA's members and officers attended the National Leadership Conference this summer in Chicago.
- Key Club is another very successful club at Arcadia High School. Like FBLA it is part of a national organization which involves interacting with other schools and large community service projects around the county.
- Interact Club is sponsored by Rotary International Arcadia. In 2007, the club was involved in helping third world countries by sponsoring money to build water wells. Interact has helped a village in Belur, India raising over $1200 to build a well. In 2007, Interact and the Arcadia High School Student Body donated over $1700 to an orphanage in Ensenada, Mexico to fund for a solar panel heater for the orphanage. In 2008, the club raised over $1700 again to donate to the HIS Foundation to eradicate polio.
- Journalism
- Yearbook: "The Arcadian"
- Newspaper: "The Apache Pow Wow" [2]
- Video: "Apache News"
- Recent Awards and Achievements
- 2006-2007 School Year
- Arcadia had 29 National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists.
- Boys' cross country placed 7th in the 2006 CIF-State Cross Country Championships in Division I.
- The Band attended the Logan Field Tournament for the first time, representing the Southern California bands in a Northern California competition. The band won second place overall, earning the highest Percussion and Auxiliary scores of the night.
- The Colorguard placed 3rd at WGI World Championships and 1st at WGASC Championships.
- The Academic Decathlon placed 3rd overall at state level for both A and B teams.
- The Quiz Bowl team won the TWAIN Tournament at UCLA, took 1st and 2nd place at the 2007 Baby Anteater Tournament at UC Irvine and qualified two teams for the NAQT HS National Championship Tournament. Both teams make the playoffs in the 2007 NAQT HS NCT and place 33rd and 49th respectively in the nation.
- The Constitution Team placed 4th in the state competition, continuing the tradition of competing in finals 19 years in a row.
- The Ocean Science Bowl Team placed 3rd at the regional competition.
- The Destination Imagination improvisation team placed 2nd at regional competition and has qualified for state competition.
- The Speech and Debate Team placed 3rd overall at the State Qualifier tournament, sending 15 members to state (as of March 11, 2007), and won sweepstakes in their division of the California state championships.
- The Arcadia Future Business Leaders of America chapter placed 2nd at Gold Coast Section Conference and has qualified 20 members for state competition.
- The World Percussion Ensemble placed 4th in SC-PA Championships, and 9th overall in WGI World Championships.
- The Arcadia Orchestra and choral groups competed at the Heritage Music Festival in Orlando, Florida during spring break and brought back seven plaques and eight trophies, a new record.
- The Science Olympiad team placed 2nd at regional competition and 4th at state competition.
- The Arcadia Future Business Leaders of America chapter placed 7th at California State Conference and qualified 6 members for the 2007 National Leadership Conference held in Chicago.
- The Arcadia Girls Track and Field Team won its first league championship since 1976
- 2007-2008 School Year
- Boys cross country placed 8th in the 2007 CIF-State Cross Country Championships in Division I.
- Student Shadman Chowdhury placed 1st at the Los Angeles County Science Fair for his projected entitled "The Effects of Elevated CO2 Levels on the Transpiration Rates of Zonal Geraniums", after which he went on to become a finalist at the California State Science Fair.
- The Arcadia Marching Band marched in the Tournament of Roses Parade for the fourteenth time on January 1, 2008.
- The Boys Water Polo team made school history winning the first ever league championship in school history and advancing to CIF semi finals. The team won 25-3, 9-0 in league.
- The girls track team went undefeated in league to claim another league championship. They also sent three athletes to the Southern Section Masters Meet.
- The Quiz Bowl team won the 2008 Winter Invitational Tournament at UCLA and qualified for the 2008 NAQT HS National Championship Tournament.
- Both Destination Imagination improvisation teams qualified for state.
- The World Percussion Ensemble placed 5th in SC-PA Championships, and 12th overall in WGI World Championships.
- The winter guard won 13th place at nationals.
- JV A Percussion made it into Percussion Finals for the SC-PA Championships.
- JV A and O Percussion accomplished First Place in their trip to Arizona.
- The Math Team won first place at the Bay Math League for the first time.
- The Physics Bowl Team won first place in division two and second place in division one for all of California in the annual Physics Bowl Competition.
- The Science Olympiad team placed 2nd at regional competition and 5th at state competition.
- The Robotics Team placed 1st at the regional division of JPL's annual Invention Challenge.
- Rose Parade Achievements
-
Arcadia High School has been known to have several alumni join the ranks of the Rose Court, seven of which have been Queens.
- Pamela Tedesco was chosen Rose Queen in 1970. She graduated from Arcadia High School in 1968.
- In 1986, April Lake reigned as a rose princess for Pasadena.
- Sandra Waltrip and Diane Welch reigned as two of the seven Tournament of Roses Royal Court princesses in 1987.
- Kristin Leigh Harris & Julie Jeanne Myers were chosen as back-to-back Rose Queens for the 1987 and 1988 Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, California.
- Marisa Stephenson became one of the Rose Court Princesses in 1989.
- Erica Brynes was named the 76th Tournament of Roses Queen in 1994.
- Christina Farrell '99 was named the 81st Rose Queen in 1999. Chaitali Gala and Olivia Wilson were also selected to the Rose Court the same year.
- Alyssa Jones '05 was named to the 2006 Rose Court.
- Shannon Stockdale became one of the seven Rose Court princesses in 2001.
- Erinne LaBrie was a Rose Court princess in 2003.
- Dusty Gibbs was named the 90th Rose Queen and reigned over the 119th Rose Parade and 94th Rose Bowl Game in 2008.
- Courtney Chou Lee was named the 91st Rose Queen, giving Arcadia back to back Rose Queens in '08 and '09
- Lauren Valenzuela was crowned a rose princess for the rose court of '09.
- The Arcadia High School Marching Band has marched in the Rose Parade 14 times.
- June Ko was crowned a rose princess for the rose court of '10.
- Notable alumni and current students
- Stevie Nicks, member of the pop-rock band Fleetwood Mac
- David Tao, Taiwanese singer
- Richard Randall Fessenden, was the first Navy pilot to fly the F/A-18 aircraft through TOP GUN, the Navy's elite Fighter Weapons School. Additionally, he was the first Navy pilot to fly the F/A-18 as a demonstration pilot in U.S. Navy airshows. He graduated Arcadia High in 1965. He died in an airshow in the first experimental Berkut.
- Clay Matthews and Bruce Matthews both played football at Arcadia High and at USC. After college, Clay played for the Cleveland Browns and the Atlanta Falcons while Bruce played for the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Oilers/Tennessee Titans. Clay Matthews is a 4-time Pro Bowler, while Bruce Matthews is a first-year (inducted in the first year of eligibility) Hall-of-Famer.
- Bruce Bochte, professional baseball player (MLB)
[ Bruce Bochte Statistics - The Baseball Cube]
- Mark Smith, professional baseball player (MLB)
[ Mark Smith Statistics - The Baseball Cube]
- Steve Kemp, professional baseball player (MLB)
[ Steve Kemp Statistics - The Baseball Cube]
- Debbie Turner, played the role of Marta Von Trapp in “The Sound of Music.”
- Michael Anthony Sobolewski, former bassist and founding member of the hard rock band Van Halen.
- Jeff Dandurand, comedian and radio personality.
- Patricia Turner, played Linda Dennison in Leave It To Beaver.
- Travis Rodgers, Producer of The Jim Rome Show
- John S. Lee, CPA, Creator of the "Johnny Lee" beverage, Husband to pianist Kyungah Song.
- Jia Huang, is one-sixth of the Irvine-based dance crew, Kaba Modern, who placed 3rd during the first season of America's Best Dance Crew on MTV. She is currently dancing for Britney Spears on her 2009 world tour, Britney Spears.
- Stacie Chan, was the voice of Jade in the animated television series, Jackie Chan Adventures.
- Brian Ralston, Film Score Composer
- Mirai Nagasu, renowned world figure skater currently enrolled as a junior.
- Johns Wu, dot-com company millionaire at age of 22
[ Interview with the $15 Million Blogger]
- Renee Chen, Taiwanese singer and songwriter signed by Warner Music
- External links
- Arcadia High School website
- greatschools.net profile
- Arcadia High School WASC Document
- Arcadia’s API report
- Arcadia High School Fact Sheet
- Arcadia High School Profile 2005-2006
- Arcadia High School Profile 2006-2007
- Arcadia Class of 2005 Achievements
- ArcadiaApaches.com website
- Arcadia Music Club website
- Arcadia Athletics website
- [3]
- Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.
-
Add/edit information about this school (e.g., awards, news stories, notable alumni, fun facts)
|
Visit school website
View current housing listings in this area
Find your graduating class at Classmates.com
Review school: 
