Miramonte High School

Miramonte High School is a public high school located in Orinda, California, United States. It is part of the Acalanes Union High School District. The school has a college preparatory program, with 15 Advanced Placement courses offered. Over 98% of its graduates go on to college. 320 students graduated in 2005, with 75% attending a four-year college. 35% are attending out-of-state colleges. Miramonte High School ranks 89th of all high schools in the nation as of autumn 2009, according to U.S. News & World Report.[4] As of 2013, this ranking has dropped to 173rd.[5] On September 4, 2008, Miramonte High School was ranked first in the 2008 Academic Performance Index (API) released by the California Department of Education (CDE). However, the school no longer holds this ranking.

Miramonte High School
Matador Insignia
Address
750 Moraga Way

Orinda
,
California

United States
Information
TypePublic high school
Established1955
CEEB code052282
PrincipalJulie Parks
Teaching staff62.40 (FTE)[1]
Enrollment1,286 (2018–19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio20.61[1]
Color(s)Green, white, and black             
MascotMatador
NewspaperThe Mirador[2]
YearbookLa Mirada
WebsiteMiramonte High School

Miramonte High School once participated in the Virtual High School Consortium, a response to the problems of distance education which allowed courses to be taught over the internet. Students could participate in these virtual classes from on-site internet access, or from a home connection. No classes are currently being provided as virtual classes.

Miramonte High School offers its seniors the choice of a WISE project their senior year. WISE replaces the second semester of English with an independent inquiry into a topic of the student's choice. The choices of subject matter are varied; although photography and theatre work are consistently popular, project subjects have included astrophysics, choral conducting, and interning at Chez Panisse restaurant.

Miramonte is well known around the country for its water polo program, which has produced numerous all-Americans and Olympic athletes. The men's water polo team has been named North Coast Section Fall Team Champions 12 times in the last 17 years and has produced six Olympians as of its 50th season in 2016.[6]

In the 2018/19 season, the Miramonte's women's varsity soccer team compiled a 19-3-2 record, winning both the NCS title and the NorCal championship that year.

Miramonte has a rivalry with nearby high schools (most notably Campolindo High School). Miramonte's school mascot is a matador.

Demographics
  • Total students: 1283
  • Students by gender:
55% female
45% male
  • Students by ethnicity
2.2% Black/African American
7.5 % Hispanic
25% Asian
65% White/Caucasian
  • Student to teacher ratio: 21:1

History

Miramonte was founded in 1955.

Miramonte football recorded their first NCS CIF championship in 1981, defeating San Lorenzo 23-7 in the Oakland Coliseum.

In 1984, Kirsten Costas (A pretty popular cheerleader and swim team member) was killed in a stabbing by classmate Bernadette Protti. They were the basis for an article in Rolling Stone magazine entitled "Death of a Cheerleader" and the TV movie A Friend to Die For starring Tori Spelling. The television show Deadly Women aired an episode titled "Deadly Delinquents" which featured the Bernadette Protti and Kirsten Costas murder case.They were also featured in the 2019 lifetime movie, of “Death Of A Cheerleader”.Which was a remake to “A friend to die for”.

In 1983 the Miramonte Matadors, known as the Mats, were voted CIF State Champions in all divisions after defeating Cardinal Newman High School on December 3, 1983 at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum in the NCS 2A Championship game. The Mats were also NCS 2A South Champions and FAL Champions.

In 1997 the Mats again won the NCS 2A Championship after defeating Granada High School in the championship game at the Oakland Coliseum. The Mats also won NCS 2A titles in 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2003 in their victory over San Lorenzo in a rematch of their 1981 championship game.

In 2013, after finishing 2nd in the DFAL, the Mats defeated Tennyson, Northgate and number two-seeded Clayton Valley Charter to reach the championship at Rancho Cotate High School against 13-0 Casa Grande. In an exciting game, Miramonte scored two touchdowns in the last two minutes to win their 8th NCS football championship, 42-28 to finish 12-2 on the season.

In 2008-2009 Miramonte's water polo team was named "2008-09 ESPN RISE Magazine Boys' Team of the Year" (includes all sports). Since 1967 the team has won 15 NOR CAL championships and 26 League Championships. The so-called "Dream Team" were the California State Champions that year.

In 2012, U.S. News & World Report ranked Miramonte High School as #21 in California and #126 in the United States.[7]

As of March 2014, Miramonte ranks 11th on the Los Angeles Times California Schools Guide Top Average SAT Scores list.[8]

Miramonte is noted also for its public speaking program. Founded in 1979 By Sandra Maguire,[9] the class now has over 200 participants and is in the top 0.5% of debate teams in the country.

Additionally, the Miramonte chapter of the Junior Classical League has won the state convention of the California Junior Classical League 6 times in a row.

Notable alumni

References
  1. "Miramonte High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  2. The Mirador
  3. "GNIS Detail - Miramonte High School". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 19 January 1981. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  4. "America's Best High Schools: Gold Medal List". U.S. News & World Report. 9 December 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  5. "National High School Rankings". U.S. News. U.S. News.
  6. North Coast Section California Interscholastic Federation Archived 2011-07-25 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Best High Schools 2012 - California High Schools". U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  8. http://schools.latimes.com/sat-scores/ranking/page/1/
  9. http://www.acalanes.k12.ca.us/cms/lib01/CA01001364/Centricity/Domain/548/MiramontePubSpeakWelcomeLetter.pdf
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-04-30. Retrieved 2008-04-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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