# Riverside Polytechnic High School

Riverside Polytechnic High School is a four-year public high school in Riverside, California, United States, and part of the Riverside Unified School District. The current facility, located on Victoria Avenue, was opened in September 1965; the traditions of the school go back to 1887, then known as the Riverside High School, making Riverside Polytechnic the oldest high school in the city.

## History

Riverside Polytechnic High School traces its heritage from 1887, when the newly formed city of Riverside needed higher education for the community. The first joint elementary and high school's first graduating class in 1890 comprised seven students—four girls and three boys. Eugenie Fuller was its principal. When classes grew too large in 1902, a new co-educational high school building was constructed on Ninth Street between Lemon and Lime Streets, and the original 14th Street building became the Grant School, serving grades 3–8.
In 1910, Riverside High School's enrollment was approximately 500 students, and new facilities were required. In 1911, the genders were separated, creating a Girls High School at the Ninth Street building, and the Polytechnic High School for boys at a newly constructed campus on Terracina Avenue. Fuller continued as principal of the Girls High School, and Mr. J.E. McKown was appointed principal of the Riverside Polytechnic High School.
In 1916, the Polytechnic High School began offering postgraduate classes. The Riverside Junior College District was formed in 1920, and the Riverside Junior College moved out of the high school to an adjacent property.
World War I brought changes to both high school campuses. The earlier enrollment explosion waned as young men joined the armed forces. In 1924, the school board created a junior high school level and consolidated the senior high schools into one co-educational school. A new Applied Arts Building provided Home Economics and "other facilities for the girls." The old Girls High School now served as a Girls Junior High School, while the Boys Junior High School was located at the old Grant School. 1924–25 saw the Junior College and the Senior High School with growing enrollments, and so provided separate administrations for each. There were 202 seniors in 1924.
During World War II, many Poly girls worked with a federal government–sponsored group called the High School Victory Corps. The girls helped make bandages and other needed items, or worked in essential industries after school. All who took part in these activities were volunteers. In 1944, the Victory Corps was discontinued at Poly.
In the 1940s, there was a tradition that each incoming class at the school would be given an unflattering nickname that would remain with the class until their graduation. For example, the class of 1951 was dubbed the "Geeks" and the class of 1953 was the "Orts".
In 1956, double sessions at Poly were needed until a second high school, Ramona High, could be built. As high school enrollment continued to grow, it was evident that a third high school would be needed in Riverside. In 1960, a new high school, Rubidoux, shared the Poly campus until its campus could be completed in 1961. In 1965, Poly separated from the junior college campus and a site on the corner of Central and Victoria Avenues was built, along with a high school on Third Street and Chicago Avenue, named North High. Both high schools opened their doors in September 1965, with the Victoria site keeping the traditional name of Riverside Polytechnic High School. Since that time, Poly High School classes have taken place on the present site.
Riverside Polytechnic High School is home to one of the original, still active Army Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) units, established in 1917 and was originally called the Poly High Cadet Corps. It is the oldest JROTC program west of the Mississippi River, and second oldest in the United States. In 1970 it was among the first JROTC units to offer a girls program.
There were 51 young men making up the Class of 1916, known as the "Stags of 1916". There were 18 faculty members. This class was the first to complete the four-year course offered in the new building.

## Notable alumni

| Alumnus | Class | Field | Notability |
| Members of The Misunderstood (George Phelps, Rick Moe, Greg Treadway, Rick Brown, Steve Whiting, Glenn Ross Campbell) | 1964 (est) | Music | One of the earliest bands on the psychedelic rock scene of the 1960s. Moved to London very early in career, forced to disband due to Brown's draft notice. |
| Neil Levang | 1945 (est) | Music | Guitarist most well known for song "Ghost Riders in the Sky" performed on The Lawrence Welk Show, along with 42 other titles featured in Hollywood films. |
| Hakim Akbar | 1998 | Sports | Football linebacker drafted by the New England Patriots |
| Austin Barnes | 2008 | Sports | Major League Baseball (MLB) player, Los Angeles Dodgers, 2020 World Series Champion |
| Bobby Bonds | 1964 | Sports | Major League Baseball (MLB) player, 3-time All-Star |
| Lamont Butler | 2020 | Sports | Basketball player |
| Larry Christiansen | 1974 | Sports | Chess Grandmaster, US chess champion 1980, 1983, 2002 First junior high school student to win the National High School Championship. |
| Tyler Clary | 2007 | Sports | Swimmer who won silver medal at 2009 World Aquatics Championships, three silvers at 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships and gold medal in 2012 London Olympics. |
| Marcella Craft | 1893 | Music | International operatic soprano |
| Coby Dietrick | 1967 | Sports | Professional basketball |
| John Gabbert | 1927 | Law | Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeals |
| Walter A. Gordon | 1914 (est) | Government | First All-American at UC Berkeley, first African American graduate of Boalt Hall, Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Federal District Judge |
| John Ham | 1996 | Entrepreneur | West Point Class of 2000, Ustream Founder, CEO & Chairman |
| Joshua Holz | 2019 (est) | Social media | Co-creator of the "Damn Daniel" internet meme with Daniel Lara. |
| Sharon Jordan | 1978 | Film and TV | Actress, recurring role on Disney's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody |
| Daniel Lara | 2019 (est) | Social media | Co-creator of the "Damn Daniel" internet meme with Joshua Holz. |
| Lorenz Larkin | 2004 | Sports | Wrestler and MMA fighter |
| Ben H. Lewis | 1921 (est) | Government | Mayor of Riverside from 1965 to 1978 |
| Jake Marisnick | 2009 | Sports | Major League Baseball (MLB) player, Houston Astros, 2017 World Series Champion |
| Cloyd Marvin | 1908 (est) | Education | president of George Washington University |
| Rex Mays | 1931 (est) | Sports | Auto racer, 1940 and 1941 national champion, four-time pole winner at Indianapolis 500, member Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, Riverside Sports Hall of Fame |
| Cheryl Miller | 1982 | Sports | USC basketball player, College Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, WNBA coach, and commentator |
| Reggie Miller | 1983 | Sports | UCLA and NBA player, Olympic gold medalist, Basketball Hall of Famer, commentator |
| Donnie Murphy | 2001 | Sports | MLB player |
| Greg Myers | 1984 | Sports | MLB player |
| Paul Oglesby | | Sports | Football player |
| Bill Parsons | 1966 | Sports | Former Major League Baseball pitcher for Milwaukee Brewers and Oakland Athletics |
| Miné Okubo | 1930 (est) | Arts | Artist and writer |
| Lauren Potter | 2010 | TV and government | Actress, played Becky Johnson, a cheerleader with Down syndrome, on TV series Glee. In 2011, she was appointed by President Obama to the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. |
| Jo-Jo Reyes | 2003 | Sports | MLB pitcher |
| Bob Rule | 1962 (est) | Sports | NBA All-Star center |
| Herman O. Ruhnau | 1928 | Architecture | Postmodern architect |
| William F. Sharpe | 1951 | Economics | Winner of 1990 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, helped develop Capital asset pricing model, part of Modern portfolio theory. Also known for Sharpe ratio. |
| Mel Streeter | 1950 | Sports | College basketball player and Seattle architect. |
| Morgan Stuart | 2007 | Sports | Softball player for Washington Huskies, 2009 Women's College World Series champions |
| Jacob Webb | 2012 | Sports | Professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, and Baltimore Orioles |
| Ray Lyman Wilbur | 1892 | Government | Medical doctor, Stanford University president, 31st United States Secretary of the Interior |
| Bert Williams | 1892 | Vaudeville | "Foremost Colored Comedian" |
| Cynthia Woodhead | 1982 | Sports | 1978 world champion swimmer; 1984 Olympic silver medalist in 200m freestyle |
| Alan Yang | 1999 | Film and TV | Screenwriter, producer, director known for Parks and Recreation, Master of None |

## Notable instructors

* Edmund Jaeger – noted naturalist, his first zoology class in 1921 had 3 students