Adrian C. Wilcox High School

Adrian C. Wilcox High School is a comprehensive, coeducational public high school in Santa Clara, California, United States that serves students in grades nine through twelve. It is one of five high schools in the Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD). Wilcox was first accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in 1966 and has since been accredited through 2022. In April 2005, Wilcox officially became a California Distinguished School.

History


In 1959, the Santa Clara Union High School District purchased a plot of land to build a new high school, which would be named for thirty-year board member and University of California graduate Adrian Clyde Wilcox. Construction of Wilcox High School began in 1960 and wrapped up in 1962.

Wilcox High School opened to freshmen and sophomores in September 1961. Much of the student body, as well as most of the administrative staff, was pulled from Emil R. Buchser High School. The first graduating class was the Class of 1964, and the first class to attend Wilcox for all four years was the Class of 1965. The first Wilcox homecoming was in 1963, although the homecoming parade was canceled that year due to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

In 1981, the neighboring Peterson High School closed due to dwindling enrollment and was repurposed as Peterson Middle School. The former Peterson students joined the Wilcox student body. In an effort to be more welcoming to all students, the school voted to change its colors, mascot, and newspaper and yearbook names.



In 2001, head custodian Joe Miller rediscovered several senior-year panoramic photos while cleaning out a filing cabinet. After successfully finding photographs for every graduating class, a senior panorama wall was dedicated in November 2003. It has since been updated and is on display in the B Building as of the 2023–2024 school year.

In February 2005, the Mission City Center for Performing Arts (MCCPA), a 360-seat theater with assorted backstage areas, opened on campus for use by both the Santa Clara Unified School District and the city of Santa Clara.

From 2010 until 2018, Wilcox competed against rival Santa Clara High School in the Black and Blue Olympics (BBO). Held annually in the spring, the BBO involved various friendly competitions and games between students. The tradition promoted unity between the schools before ultimately ending in 2018.

Class colors
Each class is designated a class color. The colors for the 2023–2024 school year were:

The colors are on a four-year rotation, with the senior class color being handed off to the freshman class the following year. For example, after the class of 2024's graduation, the incoming freshmen of the 2024–2025 school year, or the class of 2028, will receive their class color of green. The colors are primarily used during the week of Fantastics.

Fantastics


Fantastics is an annual spring semester school spirit week. During Fantastics week, all of the classes compete against each other in various contests and activities, such as competitive dance and banner painting. The competitors wear clothing that matches the color of their class. Alternating years are known as Sister Classes and often compete together during Fantastics.

Campus
Wilcox High School's campus has an area of roughly 33 acres and spans across the Calabazas Creek. The majority of campus lies to the east of the creek, with only the N building, M building, and Mission City Center for Performing Arts situated to the west. Two bridges cross the creek.

The campus' quad has over a dozen tables with umbrellas, as well as a couple of grassy hills and a concrete platform. The quad serves as the center of activity throughout the school day and is sandwiched between the cafeteria, the library, and the B building, R building, and math portables.

The science wing and various playing fields are to the south of the math portables. The primary football field is situated on the eastern edge of campus and has a running track around it.

AP and Honors classes
As of the 2024–2025 school year, Wilcox High School offers 24 Advanced Placement (AP) courses and 8 honors-level courses. Over 40% of students enroll in at least one AP course, and an average of 68% of students passed their AP Exams during the 2021, 2022, and 2023 testing seasons.

CTE Program
Wilcox has a Career Technical Education (CTE) Program that covers subjects including business, fashion, and culinary skills. The program aims to fully prepare students for the careers and industries of the twenty-first century. Many CTE students receive college credit through Mission College.

Extracurriculars
Extracurricular groups include the Wilcox Robotics Team, the Wilcox Orchestra, the Chargerette Drill Team, the Song Pom Dance Team, the Sideline Cheer Team, Wilcox Stage Company, Wilcox Speech and Debate, Wilcox Business Experience, and the Wilcox High School Choir.

Wilcox's school newspaper is The Scribe, which maintains an online website and publishes several printed issues every school year. The school yearbook is known as The Phoenix.

Associated Student Body
Wilcox's Associated Student Body (ASB) is composed of 17 students, including 13 officers and 4 class presidents. They are in charge of school dances, pep rallies, and other school-wide events like homecoming and Fantastics. At the beginning of the fourth quarter of every school year, students with a grade point average of 2.5 or higher are eligible to run for ASB.

Class councils
Each year has its own class council, consisting of nine members. The class president is also part of ASB. Much like ASB, students run for election to class councils. Class councils are in charge of class funding, fundraisers, activities, and execution of homecoming and Fantastics.

Music
The Wilcox High School Music Department has a concert choir, an orchestra, and concert and jazz bands. The department puts on a few concerts every school year, including the Winter Concert and the Spring Concert, which are held in the Mission City Center for Performing Arts.

Wilcox's marching band, the "Black and Gold Regime", has a competitive after-school program and plays at sports games and the annual homecoming parade.

Theatre
As of the 2023–2024 school year, Wilcox offers two theatre courses, Theatre 1 and Theatre Productions Honors. Theatre 1 provides an introduction to many theatrical techniques, including voice projection, pantomime, and improvisation. Theatre Productions Honors focuses on the theory and design of various aspects of technical theatre, including the sets, lights, and costumes. The class also covers and expands on the techniques learned in Theatre 1. Theatre Productions Honors is a UC-approved honors-level course.

The school's drama club is Wilcox Stage Company, which performs twice each school year at the Mission City Center for Performing Arts. Past performances include Grease (2018), Chicago (2019), and The Great Gatsby (2022).

Robotics
Wilcox High School has a Robotics Club consisting of two teams, each with hardware, software, and business departments. Team 8872 is the more advanced team and competes in the international FIRST Tech Challenge. Team 13190 was created in 2017 for freshmen and sophomores to gain experience before joining Team 8872.

Athletics
Wilcox High School has an extensive athletics program, with over twenty teams in sports ranging from football to lacrosse to badminton. Wilcox competes in the De Anza League of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL).



Baseball
Wilcox's baseball program has won five CIF Central Coast Section titles (2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2014) since the turn of the century. The program has had numerous athletes compete at the collegiate and professional levels.

Track and Field
From 2009 to 2015, the Wilcox varsity track and field teams had a combined win-loss record of 84–4, with the boys' team going undefeated.

Controversies

 * Slave Day
 * Prior to the 1989–90 school year, Wilcox held an annual "Slave Day" where students advertised and sold themselves to each other. In 1990, the Black Student Union convinced Wilcox administration to end the tradition.


 * Forgery incident and forfeited football games
 * In fall 2003, it was discovered that a senior member of the Wilcox football team had forged evidence of his academic eligibility in order to compete on the team. Following the discovery of the forgery, the Central Coast Section ruled that Wilcox was to forfeit six football games.


 * Head custodian replaced
 * During the 2009–10 school year, the Santa Clara Unified School District transferred the Wilcox head custodian, Joe Miller, to the district office following investigations revealing that he had violated sexual harassment policies.


 * Illicit relationship between teacher and student
 * In early 2010, former Wilcox teacher Edward Slate pleaded guilty to six felony counts relating to sexual relations with a student, which had lasted for roughly nine months beginning in 2008.


 * Environmental activists blocking homecoming parade
 * During the 2017 annual homecoming parade, roughly twenty AP Environmental Science students and other activists temporarily blocked parade floats in a protest against the wasting of resources at Wilcox.


 * Football players chanting homophobic slurs at male cheerleader
 * At a 2019 football game, some members of the Wilcox team began chanting homophobic slurs at a male cheerleader, culminating in physical threats against two cheerleaders. After investigations from the Santa Clara Unified School District and the Santa Clara Police Department, no criminal charges were filed and some students were disciplined individually.

Notable alumni

 * Carney Lansford, Class of 1975, former third baseman for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball and namesake of Wilcox's baseball field


 * Carlos Noriega, Class of 1977, former NASA astronaut and retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel


 * John Hendy, Class of 1981, former cornerback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League


 * Juju Chang, Class of 1983, broadcast journalist and anchor of ABC News Nightline


 * Robert Royston, Class of 1988, choreographer of the Broadway musical Swing! and the music video for Taylor Swift's "Love Story"


 * Amin Nikfar, Class of 1999, 2004 Asian Indoor shot put champion and former Olympic shot putter for Iran


 * Kyle Barraclough, Class of 2008, pitcher for the Round Rock Express of the Pacific Coast League of Minor League Baseball