Saratoga High School (California)

Saratoga High School is a grade 9–12, public high school located in Saratoga, California. In 2021 it was ranked No. 1 Best College Prep Public High School in California according to Niche.^[2]

Saratoga High School
Address
20300 Herriman Avenue Saratoga , California 95070 United States
Coordinates	37°15′58″N 122°1′44″W
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1959
School district	Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District
Superintendent	Heath Rocha
Principal	Greg Louie
Teaching staff	64.75 (on an FTE basis)[1]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1,198 (2023–2024)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	18.50[1]
Color(s)	Scarlet, navy blue, and grey
Athletics conference	Santa Clara Valley Athletic League
Nickname	The Nest
Teams	Football, Basketball(M&W), Water Polo(M&W), History Bowl
Team name	Falcons
Accreditation	WASC
Newspaper	http://www.saratogafalcon.org/
Yearbook	The Talisman
Communities served	Saratoga, Monte Sereno, Los Gatos
Feeder schools	Redwood Middle School
Feeder to	West Valley CC, NYU, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCR, CSU San Jose, CSU Cal Poly, Davenport College
Website	http://www.saratogahigh.org/

Academics

Saratoga High School is consistently designated a top academic high school.^[2][3] It is one of two schools in the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District, which is ranked the Best School District in California.^[3]

Saratoga High School has a four-year Project Lead the Way engineering program,^[4] and is ranked No. 23 in the U.S. for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).^[5] The school offers 35 honors and Advanced Placement courses.^[6]

The graduation rate is 99%, and 97% of students attend college.^[4] It is jointly accredited by the California Department of Education and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.^[6]

Student enrollment averages around 1200, with a student-teacher ratio of approximately 20:1.^[7] It is a diverse high school, with total minority enrollment of 75%.^[5] The school community includes families that speak 39 languages.^{[6][citation not found]}

In 2017, Saratoga High School was named a California Gold Ribbon School for the strength of its Student Support Programs and its focus on Social Emotional Learning.^[4][8]

Activities

Athletics

Saratoga Falcons

The Saratoga Falcons compete in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) of the CIF Central Coast Section (CCS).

More than 60% of students participate in Saratoga High School athletics.^[4] From 2015 to 2020, every varsity team competed in the CCS playoffs; titles and runners up were earned in Boys and Girls Tennis, Boys and Girls Basketball, Boys Cross Country, Boys Volleyball, and Badminton. In addition, individual medals were won in Wrestling and Boys and Girls Track and Field.^[4] In 2019, the Boys Golf Team finished No. 4 in California. Boys Volleyball won two Northern California championships in 2016 and 2017.^[4]

Saratoga Football has won five CIF Central Coast Section championships: 1973, 1976, 1980, 1987, 1996.^[9] The team formerly played night games at Los Gatos High School; in April 2006, the Trustees of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District approved permanent lights for the football field.^[10]

SHS Baseball won a Division II CCS championship in 1999.^[11]

In 2009, the girls' varsity tennis team defeated rival Monta Vista High School 5-2 for their first CCS championship in the history of the program and went on to win the title again in 2010.^[12]

Theater Arts and Music

Performing Arts is a strong area of achievement at Saratoga High School. Almost 40% of students perform onstage through theater arts, vocal ensembles and instrumental music.^[4] The Saratoga Strings orchestra performed in the prestigious Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference in Chicago, Illinois in 2018 and 2023.^[13] The Marching Band and Color Guard marched in the 2016 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.^[14] The Marching Band participated in the 2012 Macy's Parade in New York City.^[15]

Chess team

At the 2005 National Grade Level Chess Championships in Houston, the 9th graders were national champions.^[16] The team won the NorCal State Championship for a record six consecutive years (2004–2010).^{[17][18][citation needed]}

Science Bowl team

The Science Bowl team qualified for the 2023 National Science Bowl competition in Washington DC.^[19]

Robotics Teams

The FRC and VEX robotics teams at the high school advanced to the 2024 FIRST and VEX World Championships. The FRC robotics team has consistently qualified to the World Championship numerous times in the decade going into 2024. The VEX robotics team won the 2024 National Championship.^[20]

Campus

McAfee Performing Arts and Lecture Center

The school has 8 tennis courts, an all weather track, an artificial turf football field, an artificial turf soccer field, an artificial turf softball field, aptly named Rector Field after alumnus and 12th grade English teacher Erick Rector, a quad, and an Olympic-size swimming pool.^[21] The McAfee Performing Arts and Lecture Center, a community facility, opened in 2006.^[22][23]

Notable alumni

• Mark Ames (1983) – journalist^[24]
• Zach Gill (1993) – musician^[25]
• Lance Guest (1978) – actor^[26]
• Lee Hancock (1985) – MLB player^[27]
• Bill Haselman (1984) – MLB player and coach^[28]
• Andrew Hong (2023) – Chess grandmaster^[29]
• Dan Janjigian (1991) – actor and bobsledder^[30]
• Alex Lagemann (2007) – musician^[31]
• Beth Lisick (1987) – author^[32]
• Patricia Miranda (1997) – bronze medalist in wrestling at 2004 Summer Olympics^[33]
• Richa Moorjani
• Cyndy Poor (1971) – 1976 Olympian and American record holder
• Anil Raj (2002) – human rights activist, Amnesty International board member, killed in Kabul while working on United Nations Development Programme.^[34][35]
• Kyle Shanahan (1993) – head coach of NFL's San Francisco 49ers^[36]
• Varun Sivaram (2007) – Rhodes Scholar, CTO of ReNew Power, and author^[37][38]
• Ed Solomon (1978) – actor, director, writer and producer^[26][39]
• Steven Spielberg (1965) – Academy Award-winning film director^[24][26]
• Carrie Steinseifer (1986) – 1984 Olympic swimmer^[40]
• Mark Suciu (2010) – professional skateboarder^[41][42]
• Vienna Teng (1996) – singer-songwriter^[43]
• David Warshofsky (1979) – actor^[39]

See also

• San Francisco Bay Area portal
• Schools portal

• Suicide of Audrie Pott

Notes

1. "Saratoga High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
2. "2022 Best Public High Schools in California". Niche. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
3. Niedzwiecki, Stephen (May 18, 2021). "This Is the Best School District in Every State". Newsweek. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
4. "Western Association of Schools and Colleges Self-Study Report 2019-20" (PDF). Saratoga High School. March 23–25, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
5. "Best High Schools, Saratoga High". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
6. "Saratoga High School, School Profile 2020–2021" (PDF). Saratoga High School. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
7. "School Profile: Saratoga High (CA Dept of Education)". www.cde.ca.gov. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
8. "Saratoga High Named Blue Ribbon School". The Mercury News. April 28, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
9. "Historical Record of CCS Football Champions Year-by-Year". CIF/Central Coast Section. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2011.
10. Michele Leung (April 26, 2006). "Friday night football will be under the lights at Saratoga". Saratoga News. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
11. "Historical Record of CCS Baseball Championship Results". California Interscholastic Federation, Central Coast Section. Archived from the original on April 10, 2001.
12. "CCS Girls Tennis History". Archived from the original on October 14, 2002.
13. Jones, Sofia; Liang, Connie (December 11, 2018). "Orchestra will travel to Chicago to perform at The MidWest Clinic during finals week". Saratoga Falcon. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
14. "Saratoga High School Marching Band to perform in Rose Parade". ABC News. December 28, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
15. Brian Babcock (May 16, 2011). "Saratoga band in 2012 Macy's Parade". The Mercury News. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
16. Michael Aigner (December 8, 2005). "Naroditsky and 9th graders win in Houston!". The Northern California Chess Association. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
17. "Chess team breaks six-year win streak at state tournament". Saratoga Falcon. April 26, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
18. "Little known chess team aims for sixth straight state championship". Saratoga Falcon. March 23, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
19. "Science Bowl team places first at regionals, heads to nationals". saratogafalcon.org. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
20. "VEX Robotics team wins U.S. Open". saratogafalcon.org. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
21. Burleigh, Nina. "Sexting, Shame and Suicide." Rolling Stone. September 17, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
22. Kaustuv Basu (September 7, 2005). "Saratoga High's new PAL is McAfee after a $1 million gift to the center". Saratoga News. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
23. Connie Liang (October 29, 2018). "A theater for all: McAfee rentals encourage community enrichment". Saratoga Falcon. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
24. Mark Ames (February 18, 2004). "Capturing the Saratogans". Metro Silicon Valley. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
25. Marianne L. Hamilton (August 29, 2011). "Local band with Saratoga ties has a fanatic following". Mercury News. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
26. Khalida Sarwari (September 2, 2015). "Saratoga Historical Museum exhibit showcases the history of local theater". Mercury News. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
27. "Lee Hancock Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
28. Dennis Schlossman (January 17, 2017). "Dodgers Management: A Quick Look at Oklahoma City's Bill Haselman". Think Blue Planning Committee. Los Angeles Dodgers. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
29. Lin, Andrew (May 25, 2024). "Senior Mag 2024: On board: Yashom Kapoor seeks to broaden appeal of chess". Saratoga Falcon. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
30. "Old Friends – Class of 1991 – Saratoga High School". Retrieved July 29, 2021.
31. "Player Profiles: Football: Alex Lagemann". ESPN College Sports. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
32. Raj, Sudeep (October 29, 2012). "First debate tournament lacking in participation, but still fruitful". Saratoga Falcon. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
33. Pam Lambert (July 26, 2004). "Patricia Miranda". People. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
34. Archived November 28, 2019, at the Wayback Machine The Washington Post, "US Citizen from California Killed in Afghanistan attack, Nov 26, 2019
35. India West News, "Indian American UNDP Aid Worker Anil Raj Killed in Afghanistan" November 26, 2019
36. "Shanahan makes fine 49ers first impression but no guarantees". Mercury News. February 9, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
37. "Columbia | SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy | Dr. Varun Sivaram". energypolicy.columbia.edu. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
38. Rodriguez, Joe (November 22, 2010). "Student from Monte Sereno one of three from Stanford named Rhodes Scholars". The Mercury News.
39. Marianne L. Hamilton (April 25, 2011). "Grads share success stories with Saratoga students". Mercury News. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
40. "Olympic Sports: Carrie Steinseifer". Sports-Reference. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
41. "Senior Suciu skates to success". The Saratoga Falcon. February 2, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
42. "Saratoga High School 2010 graduates". The Mercury News. June 14, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
43. Todd Inoue (May 26, 2004). "Vienna Calling". Metro Silicon Valley. Retrieved January 19, 2018.

External links

• Saratoga High School official web site
• Saratoga High School principals