# Claremont High School (California)

Claremont High School is a public high school in Claremont, California, United States. Part of the Claremont Unified School District, it is a California Distinguished School, a two-time national Blue Ribbon School of Excellence (1986–1987, 1999–2000), and a nationally recognized International Baccalaureate (IB) World School. The school serves Claremont and a small section of Pomona, with a sizable amount of inter-district transfer students.

## History

What is now Claremont High School was founded in 1890 as the Claremont Grammar School. Originally situated on the site of present-day Sycamore Elementary School, by 1891 the Grammar School had 61 pupils from Kindergarten to 8th Grade, with most high school–aged students attending Pomona College’s preparatory department. When the college shut down their preparatory department in 1911, principal Herbert Patten rallied the local community to expand the Claremont Grammar School by opening a new high school on the corner of Indian Hill and Mesa (later Foothill) Boulevards. The newly-christened Claremont High School opened its doors on September 2, 1911. There were separate schools for children of Mexican descent, with school segregation being popular until the mid 1940s.
As the city evolved, so did the high school. In the late 1950s, the school board started construction of a new, more modern campus a few blocks above the old one, as it hadn’t passed the updated earthquake safety codes for public schools. They began construction in 1962. During construction, students took classes at both campuses while they operated in tandem. This ceased in 1971, when the new campus was completed and the old campus was sold. It is now a shopping center called the Old School House.
The current campus has a student population of about 2,300 students. Dr. James Mitchell has been principal since the 2023-2024 school year. The Dr. Brett O’Connor Student Center, named for the then-principal, opened in 2021 and houses classrooms, a cafeteria grade kitchen, and a multi purpose room.

## Athletics

Claremont competes as part of the Palomares League and has 24 varsity athletic teams. Their sports programs include football, basketball, volleyball, golf, baseball, softball, water polo, swimming and diving, wrestling, tennis, soccer, track and field, and cross-country. The varsity football team has won 21 league championships, including 5 CIF titles. The cross-country team earned a fourth-place finish at the 2009 CIF State Meet and a third-place finish at the 2010 CIF State Meet. In recent years they have been dominant, with a 3rd place finish in 2011, 4th place finish in 2014, 4th place in 2015, 1st place State Champions in 2016, 4th place in 2017, 3rd place in 2018, and 3rd again in 2019 (All at the D2 State meets). The girls cross-country team won first-place in the 2016, 2017, and 2018 CIF State Meets, and made Nationals both in 2017 and 2018. In 2009 and 2010, the varsity tennis team won CIF titles. The soccer team won back to back league titles in 1993, 2001–2002 and 2011.

## Performing arts

Claremont High School is home to several performing arts programs. These include a prolific theater department, which holds their spring musical at Pomona College’s Bridges Auditorium, as well as a dance team, improv comedy troupe, and numerous award-winning choral groups.

### Claremont High School Instrumental Music

Claremont’s instrumental music programs include a marching band and wind ensemble, as well as string, chamber, and symphony orchestras and a jazz band. They are also home to a highly regarded color guard team, which competes as part of the band during the fall, and at winter guard competitions during the spring. The music program is known for its annual Battle of the Bands, where local bands compete for judges, with all proceeds benefiting the music program. The event also features student hosts performing stand-up comedy, along with comedy sketches between the competing bands.

## Student journalism

Claremont High School offers a variety of student journalism programs and clubs in both video and print media. The Wolfpacket, the school's newspaper for 93 years, publishes a monthly 12-page issue and runs a website covering school, community, and global events. While most contributors are enrolled in the journalism class, others participate outside of class. The Wolfcast, the student-run broadcast channel, focuses on school events and student interest stories, producing daily episodes. Contributors must be enrolled in the advanced video production class. Claremont’s Really Academic Paper, an online humor magazine founded in 2021, publishes monthly and is popular among students and staff.

## Notable alumni

* Jay Bhattacharya,Director of NIH nominee
* Jessica Alba, actress, and businesswoman
* Ady Barkan, political activist and author
* Tony Beltran, MLS defender for the Real Salt Lake
* Jacob Bertrand, actor
* Brittany Brown, sprinter, 2024 Olympic bronze medalist in the 200m
* Kori Carter, NCAA and 2017 world champion in 400 meter hurdles
* Craig Colclough, operatic bass-baritone
* John Darnielle, musician and singer-songwriter, founding member of The Mountain Goats
* Malu Dreyer, German politician, Minister-President of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, spent 1977 as an exchange student at Claremont
* Aundrea Fimbres, singer and dancer
* Justin Germano, baseball player in the U.S, Japan and Korea
* Rod Gilfry, leading American operatic baritone
* Elliot Graham, film editor
* Ben Harper, musician and singer-songwriter
* Conner Henry, former basketball player and current coach
* Martin Hewitt, actor
* Alex Hinshaw, MLB baseball player for the San Francisco Giants
* Hughes brothers, film directors, producers and screenwriters
* Todd Hughes, film director, producer and screenwriter
* Matt Jones, actor
* Dan McGwire, former NFL quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks
* Cameron Morrah, NFL tight end for the Seattle Seahawks
* Cameron Munter, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan
* Locke Olson, gold medal-winning USA Basketball player at the 1955 Pan American Games
* Sam Quinones, journalist and former reporter for Los Angeles Times (2004-2014)
* Dileep Rao, actor
* Dave Rice, college basketball coach, UNLV
* Noah Song, professional baseball player
* Dillon Tate, baseball player
* Peter Thum, co-founder of Ethos Water
* Rozz Williams, founder of American gothic rock band Christian Death and pioneer of the American gothic rock scene
* Frank Zappa, Grammy-winning musician, composer, and guitarist
* Svetha Rao aka Raja Kumari, singer, songwriter, and rapper
* Vic Fuentes, lead singer and guitarist for Pierce The Veil.