# Palos Verdes Peninsula High School

Palos Verdes Peninsula High School is a public high school in Rolling Hills Estates, Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of 2023, it is a top-ranked school in the Los Angeles, CA Metro Area (#16) and California (#42), according to US News & World Report.

## History

The school was formed in 1991 when Miraleste High School, Palos Verdes High School, and Rolling Hills High School were merged into a single high school. The former Rolling Hills High School campus (opened 1964) had the highest capacity and was used for the combined school. When overcrowding became a problem after 1999, the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District elected to re-open Palos Verdes High School in 2002.

## Demographics

In the 2023–24 year, there were 2,175 students enrolled in Palos Verdes Peninsula High School. Enrollment by race/ethnicity was 39.40% Asian, 32.55% White, 15.26% Hispanic, 2.21% Black, and 10.30% other. Enrollment by gender was 50.71% male and 49.01% female.
Enrollment By Grade :
| | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th |
| Students | 466 | 571 | 577 | 561 |

## Athletics

In 2014, as a senior, future major leaguer Eli Morgan had a 10–2 win–loss record with a 1.23 earned run average. He was named Bay League Co-Pitcher of the Year and All-California Interscholastic Federation First Team.

## Extracurricular Activities and Programs

Palos Verdes Peninsula High School offers a large variety of extracurricular activities including, but not limited to, Model United Nations, Speech & Debate, Mock Trial, CyberPatriots, FRC Robotics, Science Research, and Academic Decathlon. Its Speech & Debate and Model United Nations programs are nationally ranked.
In October 2022, the school's Model United Nations program, together with Rotary Club of Palos Verdes Sunset and Rotary E-Club of District 2750 Tokyo Yoneyama, hosted the 1st Rotary Peace Conference with speakers such as Best Delegate CEO, Kevin Chan, and Ihor Kukhlevsky, a Ukrainian refugee. It was dedicated to bringing awareness to the atomic bombings in 1945 and nuclear weapons. A tree from Heiwa (Hiroshima Survivor Trees) was planted by California Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi afterwards.

## Notable alumni
### Academics and writers

* Julie Otsuka, author
* Julie Reuben, historian
* Peter Salovey, psychologist & 23rd president of Yale
* Lauren Williams, mathematician

### Business

* Geoffrey Woo, entrepreneur and venture capitalist

### Entertainment and media

* Steven Appleton, visual artist and ecological activist
* Duane Chase, actor
* Duane Davis, actor
* Denzel Whitaker, actor
* Vince DiFiore, jazz trumpeter
* Liz Gateley, TV producer
* Stephanie Hsu, actress
* Joe Inoue, singer-songwriter, music producer, YouTuber
* Lauren Iungerich, TV producer
* Jon Jafari, YouTuber
* Jirard Khalil, YouTuber
* Kellen Goff, voice actor
* Araksya Karapetyan, Television News Anchor
* Van Ling, special effects coordinator for motion pictures
* Tom Martin, TV writer
* Petros Papadakis, radio/television personality
* Debbi Peterson, member of The Bangles
* Vicki Peterson, member of The Bangles
* Lee Ritenour, jazz guitarist
* Yoko Yazawa, Japanese singer-songwriter

### Sportspeople

* Bill Auberlen, professional race car driver
* Tracy Austin, professional tennis player
* Jay Bilas, ESPN commentator
* Dave Butler, NBA basketball player
* Greg Butler, NBA basketball player
* Whitney Engen, professional soccer player
* Nick Frasso, professional baseball player
* Clark Haggans, NFL football player
* Kevin Hartman, professional soccer player
* John Hennigan, WWE professional wrestler
* Scott Jackson, NFL football player
* Robin Leamy, 1984 Olympic gold medalist in swimming
* Erik Lorig (born 1986), NFL football player
* Kevin Moen, University California Berkeley, football player famous for "The Play"
* Eli Morgan (born 1996), MLB pitcher (Cleveland Indians)
* Merrill Moses (born 1977), Olympic water polo player
* Don Slaught (born 1958), MLB catcher
* Craig Stevens, NFL player
* Eric Stevens, NFL player
* Steve Sharp, professional soccer player
* Shawn Weinstein (born 1985), Filipino-American professional basketball player
* John Welbourn, NFL football player