Mountain View High School (Mountain View, California)

Mountain View High School (MVHS) is located at 3535 Truman Avenue, Mountain View, California, 94040. It is one of two Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District public high schools - the other being Los Altos High School. The three main feeder schools are Graham Middle School, Crittenden Middle School, and Blach Intermediate School.

Awards and ranking
The school earned the distinction of California Distinguished High School in 1988, 1994, and 2003. In 2000, 2007, 2013, and 2019, MVHS received a full 6-year accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). The school sent 95% of its graduating class of 2019 to post-secondary schools. In addition, the California Department of Education recognized Mountain View High School as a California Gold Ribbon School, citing its "Equal Opportunities Schools" program that identifies and supports first generation students taking rigorous academic courses. Newsweek ranked Mountain View High School as the 293rd best public open enrollment high school in the nation in 2005 and the 280th best school in 2015.

Demographics
Mountain View High School serves a diverse student body of over 2000 students from the cities of Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. As of 2018–2019 school year, the enrollment at Mountain View High School was 2,062. During the 2019 school year, the students were 40% White, 23% Hispanic, 22% Asian, 3% Filipino, 2% Black, 1% Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander, <1% American Indian/Alaskan Native, and 10% two or more races.

History
Public education in Mountain View, California was established in 1858 with a small schoolhouse on El Camino Real without a high school. Students who continued their education commuted by rail to attend either Palo Alto or Santa Clara High schools. In August of 1902, the town of Mountain View opened its first high school at the corner of present-day El Camino Real and Calderon streets as Mountain View Union High School. The inception of the 1920s proved challenges in accommodating the larger enrollment of school children and, in 1922, the school district secured funding for a new campus on Castro Street. The original property was sold for the expansion of the neighboring grammar school. The new campus opened its doors in August of 1924. The opening of Moffat Field brought new growth to the town and additional facilities were constructed to accommodate military children.

The 1950s and 60s brought unprecedented growth to the city and the school district established two additional high schools: Los Altos High (1956); in the small agricultural community of Los Altos; and Chester F. Awalt High School (1961), named for the first superintendent of the school district. In the late 1970s, enrollment declined and Mountain View Union High School was shuttered. The property was transferred to the city and the campus was later demolished for new development.

In 1981, the high school name of Mountain View was adopted by Awalt High School and changed its name accordingly and Los Altos High School adopted the original colors and mascot in place of their original mascot, the Knights.

MVHS continues to be a distinguished school and is ranked as one of the best high schools in the United States.

In November of 2016, Mountain View High School made national news after social studies teacher Frank Navarro was dismissed for his lesson of comparing President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler.

Classes
The high school holds an open enrollment policy: any student may register for any class being offered at the school, regardless of a student's grade. Mountain View High, like most Bay Area schools, offers all 8 of the AP advanced STEM classes. Environmental Science AP and Psychology AP were added as class options for the academic year of 2013–2014.

Athletics
MVHS Athletics is part of Central Coast Section (CCS), which governs High School Athletics from San Francisco to King City, and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF). The school sponsors the following interscholastic teams for young men and women: basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, football, volleyball, badminton, lacrosse, wrestling, and water polo.

Notable alumni

 * Erik Davis, Major League Baseball pitcher, formerly with the Washington Nationals
 * Adam Krikorian, head coach of the UCLA water polo team and the US women's Olympic water polo team
 * Blake Krikorian, technology entrepreneur
 * Brendan Nyhan, political scientist
 * Kendal Smith, NFL player
 * Jose Antonio Vargas, Washington Post reporter and 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner