Patrick Henry High School (California)

Patrick Henry High School opened in 1968, and had a grant from the Danforth Foundation as an "experimental" public school. Principal Donald W. Giddings had his pick of any teacher in the San Diego Public School system for his start up campus. The student body in 1968 consisted of juniors and sophomores only, and it became a 3 year high school the following year. Classes were scheduled around a twenty-minute modular system with some "classes" consisting of two "mods" and others were three "mods". In the beginning, most classes were "independent study", and the campus was open, so that students could make use of any community resources to enhance learning. But, most students were in summer school those first 2 years, having spent a lot of independent study time talking to friends in the "quad". The school modified the program, offering learning objectives, learning packs, and the ability to complete coursework at one's own pace (with teachers always available). Independent study was still available, but the motivated student needed to petition the independent study "teacher" who then worked with students on curriculum and community resource development. Over time, Patrick Henry became a more and more traditional school. Nonetheless, the early experiment was successful in bringing unusual (for the time) courses and great flexibility in learning. In 1972, a peer counseling class was instituted. Students accelerated their studies in languages, literature, the sciences, and other areas. Some graduated early as a result, while others chose to become even better prepared for college. By 1973, Patrick Henry had numerous advanced placement classes, including English and Art History, the latter being rather rare at that time.

On January 5, 1984, the San Diego Police Department executed one of the largest and most controversial narcotics raids in the department's history- arresting 63 Patrick Henry High students, who had allegedly sold drugs to an undercover officer posing as a student.[3]

On January 3, 2007 the San Diego Police department again executed a narcotics raid resulting in the arrest of 15 students from Patrick Henry and University High Schools. The students were taken into custody and booked on suspicion of narcotics offenses, including possession for sale. Undercover SDPD officers posed as students and bought narcotics, including marijuana, Ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms and prescription medications.[4]

In the school year of 2011 to 2012, Patrick Henry received local, national, and international media attention for four different occurrences. In October 2011, Patrick Henry elected the nation's first lesbian couple as homecoming king and queen. The story was covered internationally and led to both support and opposition.[5][6][7] In late February 2012, a teacher allegedly told a female student who asked to go to the bathroom that she would have to urinate in a bucket in a back room, and the student obliged; the teacher was consequently fired.[8] On March 17, Saint Patrick's Day of 2012, a campus cop who worked at Patrick Henry was arrested on charges of auto theft and driving under the influence, after taking the wheel of a shuttle-bus while intoxicated.[9] On March 22, 2012, three Patrick Henry students organized a protest to defend their teachers who had recently been issued pink slips by the San Diego Unified School District. Students signed a petition during lunch, wrote letters to the Superintendent of the district and other members of the school board. Additionally, over 200 students participated in a walk-out for an hour to show their support for their teachers.[10]

The mascot of Patrick Henry High School is the Patriot.

In 2017 the school's robotics club, the Patribots, won the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) San Diego Regional and competed at the international championships in Houston.[11]

In 2019 they won the Utah Regional and competed again in the international championships.

• Annette Bening, actress, (class of 1975)
• Ariana Berlin, UCLA Bruins gymnast[15]
• Melissa Berton, 2019 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) winner (Class of 1985)[16]
• Brandon Bogotay National Football League; Cleveland Browns (Class of 2007)
• Dante stand-up comedian, actor, writer, director
• Hayden Epstein (graduated elsewhere) NFL kicker, Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings
• Steve Fairchild former National Football League coach, Colorado State head coach (Class of 1975)
• Aaron Harang, Major League Baseball pitcher (Class of 1996)
• Tony Harnell 1977–78 grades 9-10 singer–songwriter for 1980s hard rock band TNT.
• Eric Helfand, Major League Baseball player
• Eric Karros former Major League Baseball player, commentator (Class of 1985)[17]
• Ken Kocher National Football League, Green Bay Packers; Arena Football League, Columbus Destroyers (Class of 1998)
• Joel Kramer (b. 1955), basketball player
• Russ Lorenson actor, singer, composer (Class of 1981)
• Ericka Lorenz US Olympic water polo player (Class of 1999)
• Brian Stokes Mitchell 1974, actor, singer, composer
• Lisa Morton, author and screenwriter (Class of 1976)
• Matt Nokes Major League Baseball catcher (Class of 1981)
• DeWayne Patmon, NY Giants safety, 2001–02
• Dezmon Patmon, Indianapolis Colts wide receiver 2020. NFL Draft 2020 6 Round Pick 212 (Class of 2016)
• John Rogers, San Diego Comic-Con executive, President of Comic-Con (1986–2018)[18]
• Rupaul (Rupaul Andre Charles) celebrity drag queen (Class of 1979)(note: RuPaul took his GED and did not graduate with his 1979 classmates.[19])
• Brenda Ann Spencer convicted American murderer (Class of 1980) (note: Brenda committed her crime in 11th grade and did not graduate with her 1980 classmates)
• Ricky Williams National Football League running back, Heisman Trophy winner (Class of 1995)
• Kellen Winslow Jr. (grades 9–10) tight end in the NFL and convicted rapist
• Joanna Zeiger (born 1970), Olympic and world champion triathlete, and author
• Sal Zizzo, soccer player (Class of 2005)

• Patrick Henry High School