The Bishop's School
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The Bishop's School is an independent college preparatory Episcopal day school in La Jolla, a community in San Diego, California. The school offers courses for students in the sixth through twelfth grades and has an 8:1 student-teacher ratio.
History
The Bishop's School was founded in 1909 by Ellen Browning Scripps and her half-sister (Eliza) Virginia Scripps, with gifts of land and funding, at the request of the Right Reverend Joseph Horsfall Johnson, at that time Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Originally, it was a boarding school for girls only<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Anna Frances O'Hare Bentham was appointed the inaugural headmistress.
The earliest parts of the campus were designed by architect Irving Gill, responsible for a multitude of buildings in La Jolla. The current tower building was designed by Carleton Winslow as a replacement for the original Gill tower.
Bishop's became co-educational after merging with the nearby San Miguel School in 1971 under the leadership of headmaster Philip Perkins, who served until retirement in 1974 when Dorothy Anne Williams was appointed headmistress. The boarding department was closed after the 1982–1983 school year,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and later that year Michael Teitelman was appointed headmaster.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref>
The school expanded to include sixth grade in the fall of 2009,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with the first cohort graduating in 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> That same year, headmaster Michael Teitelman retired<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Aimeclaire Lambert Roche was appointed head of school.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During her time as head of school, Roche served as the President of the Association of Independent Schools.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2018, longtime Bishops’ administrator Carol Barry was appointed interim head of school when Aimeclaire Lambert Roche retired.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2019, Ron Kim was appointed the permanent headmaster.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Campus

The Bishop's School's 11-acre campus<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is located in the heart of La Jolla.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the center of the campus is a grassy quadrangle, where tradition prohibits anyone from setting foot on "the quad" before noon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The original campus surrounds the quad and includes buildings dating back to the turn of the twentieth century with many original buildings designed by famed architect Irving Gill, one of the pioneers of the modern movement in architecture.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The school has been acquisitive of the surrounding real-estate, expanding the initial campus significantly over more than a century.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Additions have included a science center,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a football and field athletics center, and an aquatic center.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The school has further plans to expand the campus.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The campus in its entirety was designated a historical landmark in 1998,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with several buildings gaining individual historical standing of significance over the years starting in 1994: Bentham Hall (Irving Gill, 1909), Scripps Hall (Irving Gill, 1910–11), Gilman Hall (Irving Gill and Louis Gill, 1916), St. Mary's Chapel (Carleton Winslow, 1916), The Tower (Carleton Winslow, 1930), Wheeler J. Bailey Library (Carleton Winslow, 1935), and gardens.
Rankings
The Bishop's School has consistently been named a top private school both nationally and in California.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Wall Street Journal recognized Bishop's in 2007 for its high matriculation rate to eight selective American colleges,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and CBS recognized the school in 2011 noting Bishop's had higher matriculation rates to east-coast selective colleges than Deerfield Academy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The College Board's Advanced Placement program ranked the AP Biology program the strongest in the nation for two consecutive years (2004 and 2005), as Bishop's achieved the highest rate of achievement for medium-sized schools (300–799 students).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of 2023, Bishop’s remained ranked as the top Christian high school in California.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Student life
Arts
The school offers physical arts programs in drawing and pottery as well as performance arts in theater, musical instruments, and choir. One of school's Choirs, known as The Bishop’s Singers, have performed in New York's Carnegie Hall<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in Chicago's Symphony Hall.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Athletics
The school (known in competition as the "Knights") has 36 upper school and 31 middle school teams, with 80% of upper school students play on at least one sports team.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Bishop's is known for its athletics prowess, holding more than 118 California Interscholastic Federation titles.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> The school has won numerous state titles in men's water polo (2002-2006, 2008, 2010, 2019–2021), women's water polo (2000-2002, 2004–2007, 2011–2018, 2020–2022), men's football (1997, 2010).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
After graduation, 20% of students continue to play sports in college.<ref name=":1" />
Spirit
The Bishop's School does not have a cheerleading squad but has a spirit team called "The Dungeon." The Dungeon is a co-educational spirit team that cheers at various "Knights" athletic events.Template:Citation needed
Academic League
The Bishop's Academic League team participates in the Northern division of the City League. The Bishop's Academic League team has placed first in San Diego County for several years including in 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Mock Trial
The Bishop's Mock Trial team won the San Diego County championship in 2010–2012, 2014, and 2015.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Not in source</ref>
Speech and debate team
The Bishop's School Speech and Debate team competes in Congressional debate, Parliamentary debate, Lincoln-Douglas debate, and various individual speech events.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Advanced Topics in Economics
The Bishop's School began offering advanced economics classes in 2015. The work product of the class relating to the consumer price index across income levels was presented to the Dallas Federal Reserve. In 2017, members of the class won first place in the country at both the Stanford and Harvard Pre-collegiate Economics Competitions.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Deadlink</ref>
Model UN Team
The Bishop's Model United Nations (MUN) team has participated in regional and national MUN conferences for over two decades. The team has won numerous awards, most recently at the Columbia Model United Nations Conference and Exposition, the UCSD Triton MUN conference and the USD MUN conference. The Secretariat of the Bishop's MUN team also hosts an annual conference for other high schoolers, dubbed KnightsMUN, every December. In 2019, over 150 participants from 20 schools across Southern California attended the conference.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19, the 2020 KnightsMUN conference was virtually hosted on Zoom.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Publications
School Publications
The School publishes its magazine, Bishop's, twice a year. The school also publishes several monthly, daily, and quarterly publications.Template:Cn
Student Publications
Bishop's has several student publications. Noteworthy publications include:Template:Citation needed
- The Tower – Bishop's official student newspaper and magazine, published monthly. It covers a variety of topics, but all of them are designed to have some link to Bishop's.
- The Daily Urinal – an independent daily newspaper which was founded in 2004 and received its moniker after being posted in campus restrooms. Although originally intended to be a humorous publication, the "DU" has tackled both important and controversial issues at Bishop's. It is distributed daily via email.
- Globe – a student-led magazine, is an annual publication with the purpose of sharing the global and cultural experiences of students and faculty through word and art.
- Faultlines – the Upper School Literary Magazine, is an annual publication that accepts prose, poetry, and art of all kinds.
- Dragonwings – the Middle School literary magazine.
- Quanta – a science publication, was established at Bishop's in 2010.
- Spectrum – a student diversity newsletter, distributed monthly via email, was established at Bishop's in 2016.
- Eye on Visual Arts – an art publication established at Bishop's in 2019.
- Two-Knights Show – Bishop's official student broadcast established at Bishop's in 2022. Published biweekly, it covers campus news in sports, arts, academics, and clubs.
- Animal Spirits – a social science publication established at Bishop's in 2023; allows students to submit research-based articles about economics, politics, and global affairs.Template:Citation needed
Notable alumni

Template:Category see alsoThe school is known to have educated the children of famous executives and athletes, such as Steve Kerr (Coach of the Golden State Warriors),<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Joseph Tsai (co-founder of Alibaba and owner of NBA’s Brooklyn Nets),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ralph Whitworth (Chairman of Hewlett Packard),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Doug Manchester (American financier and former owner of The San Diego Union-Tribune),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Junior Seau (American football player).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Famous alumni include:
- Pancho Barnes — 1919, pioneering female aviator
- Tyler Buchner - 2021, college football and lacrosse player<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
- Andrew Campbell — 2002, yachtsman, four-time All-American and 2008 Summer Olympics competitor
- Andrew Cunanan — 1987, American spree killer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Gretel Ehrlich — 1963, travel writer, poet, and essayist
- M.F.K. Fisher — 1927, epicurean, culinary historian, and memoirist
- Alyse Galvin — Alaskan politician (born 1965)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Marjory Gengler — 1969, tennis player
- Jean Guerrero — 2006, investigative journalist, author, and former foreign correspondent
- Jennifer Holt — 1930s, American actress
- J. J. Isler — 1981, yachtswoman, 1992 Summer Olympics medalist and America's Cup competitor
- Dmitri M. Johnson — 1999, Film & television producer, and co-founder of Story Kitchen
- Gary Jules — 1987, singer-songwriter
- Eric Lax — 1962, editor, writer, and author
- Elliott Liu — 2008, chess player
- Chris McKenna — 1988, television writer, producer, and film writer
- Inga Orekhova — 2009, professional basketball player
- Roy Perkins — 2008, Paralympic swimmer, two-time Paralympic gold medalist
- Ankur Rathee — 2009, actor and dancer
- Marc Rosen — 1994, film and television producer, including Sense8 on Netflix
- Honoré Desmond Sharrer — 1938, painter in the style of Magical Realism
- Kevin Stadler — 1998, professional golfer
- Bonnie St. John — 1982, the first African American woman to win a silver medal at the Paralympics
- Elise Trouw — 2017, pop/alternative/rock singer and multi-instrumentalist
- Colin Walsh — 2007, Major League Baseball player
- Shane Walton — 1998, NFL defensive back
- Melissa Winter — 1985, Deputy Chief of Staff for First Lady Michelle Obama
Notable faculty
- Judith Keep – United States district judge
- Edith Head – Academy Award winning costume designer
- Kirk McCaskill – former Major League Baseball pitcher and former professional ice hockey player
- Akili Smith – former American football quarterback
- Shane Walton — 1998, NFL defensive back
Appearances in popular culture
In 2011, the school and its campus appeared in Every 15 Minutes.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref>
In 2018, the school appeared in Twentieth Century-Fox’s American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
References
External links
- Preparatory schools in California
- Private high schools in California
- Private middle schools in California
- La Jolla, San Diego
- Irving Gill buildings
- Landmarks in San Diego
- Educational institutions established in 1909
- 1909 establishments in California
- Episcopal schools in the United States
- Public high schools in California
- Schools in San Diego County, California
- Schools in San Diego
- High schools in San Diego
- High schools in San Diego County, California
- Education in San Diego County, California
- Education in San Diego