Palos Verdes Peninsula High School
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox 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. The attendance area includes highly affluent cities of Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates, Rolling Hills, as well as Palos Verdes Estates.
It is considered to be a top-ranked school in the Los Angeles, CA Metro Area (#11) and California (#34), according to US News & World Report.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
History
The Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District (PVPUSD) consolidated its three high schools Palos Verdes High School, Miraleste High School and Rolling Hills High School, into one campus in 1991 when enrollment had declined.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The former Rolling Hills High School campus, which originally opened in 1964, was selected as the site for the consolidated high school following the 1991 unification of the district’s three high schools. Among the available campuses — Palos Verdes High, Miraleste High, and Rolling Hills High — it offered the largest facilities, most modern infrastructure, and highest student capacity, making it the most practical choice to accommodate all students under one roof.
As a result, it became home to the newly formed Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, serving the entire peninsula’s secondary student population. When overcrowding became a problem after 1999, the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District elected to re-open Palos Verdes High School.
Demographics
In the 2023–24 year, there were 2,175 students enrolled in Palos Verdes Peninsula High School.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Enrollment by race/ethnicity was 39.40% Asian, 32.55% White, 15.26% Hispanic, 2.21% Black, and 10.30% other.<ref name=":0" /> Enrollment by gender was 50.71% male and 49.01% female.<ref name=":0" />
| 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students | 466 | 571 | 577 | 561 |
Education
The high school is consistently recognized as one of the highest-performing public high schools in the state. In 2022, U.S. News & World Report ranked PVPHS 42nd in California and among the top 500 high schools nationally, with a 99% graduation rate and strong college readiness scores.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> More recently, in 2024, U.S. News ranked PVPHS 37th statewide.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> For the 2025–2026 school year, PVPHS was ranked #285 nationally, #34 in California, #11 in the Los Angeles Metro Area, and #259 among STEM High Schools, based on state test performance, graduation rates, and college readiness.<ref name=":1" />
On the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) — the state’s Common Core-based testing system — PVPHS students consistently outperform statewide averages. In the most recent 2024 testing cycle, 85.53% of 11th-grade students met or exceeded standards in English Language Arts, while 58.58% met or exceeded standards in Mathematics.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- Tom Martin, TV writer
- Petros Papadakis, radio/television personality<ref>Los Angeles Times articles.latimes.com. Retrieved October 26, 2014.</ref>
- 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<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- 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
- Ena Shibahara, professional tennis player
- Shawn Weinstein (born 1985), Filipino-American professional basketball player
- John Welbourn, NFL football player
References
External links
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