Hilltop High School (Chula Vista, California)
| Hilltop High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
555 Claire Avenue Chula Vista, California 91910 United States | |
| Coordinates | 32°38′13″N 117°03′31″W / 32.636899°N 117.058725°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Motto | The Focus at Hilltop is Academics! |
| Established | 1959 |
| School district | Sweetwater Union High School District |
| Principal | Ernesto Zamudio |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Number of students | 2486 |
| Color(s) | Green and White |
| Mascot | Lancer |
| Newspaper | The Lance |
| Yearbook | The Idyll |
| Website | School Website |
Hilltop High School is a four-year public high school located in Chula Vista, California and is part of the Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD). The school colors are green and white. The school mascot is the "Lancer". Hilltop boasts the magnet program Foreign Language and Global Studies (FLAGS) as well as the Academies of Hospitality and Tourism (H&T), Information Technology (IT) programs, Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), Music Technology, Animation, Televideo, and Ballet Folklorico.
In December 2007, former Montgomery Middle School principal Ernesto Zamudio took over as principal for Hilltop High School and replaced the retiring Jerry Rindone(video biography) who had served Hilltop since 1997. Rindone is currently serving as the Deputy Mayor for the City of Chula Vista.[1]
Clubs and Associations
Hilltop has many clubs and associations which include: Best Buddies, Humanities, MEChA, Gay-Straight Alliance, Metal (Music), Marine Science, Step (Dancing), iCrew, Italian,German, Spanish, Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), Robotics, Interact etc.
Academics
Hilltop is one of the most recognizable public schools in the south bay for its Academic Decathlon and Academic League teams. The Decathlon team won 3 straight county championships from 2000-2002. The Academic League team also won the county championship in 2000.
Hilltop was named a California Distinguished School in 2005 [2] and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
In the 2006-2007 school year, the graduation rate was 93.3%.[3]
Hilltop also has the highest number of AP courses available to all students but in addition has the highest AP pass rate out of the entire SUHSD at 72.8%.[3] Since the 1999-2000 school year, there has been a 25% increase in exams taken [3], a 7% increase in the overall pass rate[3], and a 30% increase in the total number of students testing.[3]
Athletics
Hilltop High School competes in the following sports:
Fall: cross country, football, women's volleyball, water polo, women's tennis, women's golf
Winter: basketball, soccer, wrestling, cheerleading
Spring: track and field, men's volleyball, lacrosse, softball, baseball, swimming and diving, men's tennis, men's golf
Bonita Vista High School, Chula Vista High School and Castle Park High School are rival schools.
Demographics
In the 2005-2006 school year, the school's Academic Performance Index place it 698 (base) where 800 is the California state goal with a state rank 5 out of 10.[4]
Notable alumni
| Name | Grad Class | Category | Best Known For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joan D. Vinge | 1963 | Literature | Hugo Award-winning Science Fiction Author of The Snow Queen series [5] |
| Tom Waits | 1966 | Entertainment | musician [6] |
| Cheryl Cox | 1966 | Politics | Mayor of Chula Vista[7] |
| John Tschogl | 1968 | Sports | Basketball [8] |
| Tommy Hinzo | 1982 | Sports | Baseball [8] |
| Bob Natal | 1983 | Sports | Major League Baseball Catcher for the Montreal Expos[8] |
| Todd Pratt | 1985 | Sports | baseball [8][9] |
| Sgt. Alfredo Barrajas “Boy” Silva | 1988 | Military | died in Iraq war from improvised explosive device (IED) explosion[10][11] |
| Charles Adair | 1989 | Sports | Soccer [8] |
| Manny Vargas | 1990 | Sports | Professional Bodyboarder |
| José Silva | 1991 | Sports | baseball [8] |
| Mike Jacobs | 1998 | Sports | baseball [12] |
| Christy Carvalho | 1998 | Entertainment | featured as a Clovers cheerleader in the 2000 hit movie Bring It On |
| Charlotte Mayorkas | 2000 | Sports | LPGA Golfer, Three-time First Team All-American for UCLA[13][14] |
| Army Spc. Curtis R. Spivey | 2000 | Military | casualty due to injuries from Iraq War[15][16][17] |
| Robin Whitehouse | 2004 | Theatre | Professional Sound Designer and/or Musical Director for various theatres, including the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego.[18] |
| Jenna Presley | 2005 | Entertainment | Adult Film Star[verification needed] |
References
- ^ "City of Chula Vista - Jerry Rindone Bio". The City of Chule Vista. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
- ^ "Distinguished School Awards - California School Recognition Program". California Department of Education. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
- ^ a b c d e "Executive Summary School Accountability Report Card, 2005-06" (PDF). Hilltop High School. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
- ^ "School Profile FISCAL YEAR: 2005-06 (General)". Education Data Partnership. 2005–2006. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link) - ^ "Sweetwater Union High School District News Archive". Sweetwater Union High School District. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
- ^ "Tom Waits Timeline: 1949 - 1975". Tom Waits Library. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
- ^ "How much clout does Cox combo carry?". SignOnSanDiego.Com. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
- ^ a b c d e f "Hilltop High School - Alumni". Hilltop High School. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
- ^ "The Official Site of Major League Baseball: Players Information". Major League Baseball. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
- ^ White, Robert D. (2006-05-11). "FALLEN: Fernando Mendez-Aceves" (PDF). www.ci.chula-vista.ca.us. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
- ^ "DoD Identifies Army Casualty" (Press release). U.S. Department of Defense. 2005-09-16. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
- ^ "The Baseball Cube". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
- ^ "UCLA Golf". UCLA. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
- ^ "The LPGA". LPGA. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
- ^ "Honor the fallen: Army Spc. Curtis R. Spivey". MilitaryTimes. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
- ^ "Spc. Curtis R. Spivey" (PDF). www.chulavistaca.gov. City of Chula Vista. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
- ^ Liewer, Steve (2007-04-06). "More Military news A soldier's sad ending". www.signonsandiego.com. Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
- ^ "SDJT Directors". Retrieved 2008-04-15.