West Hills High School

32°50′53″N 117°00′52″W / 32.84806°N 117.01444°W / 32.84806; -117.01444

West Hills High School
West Hills High School in 2009
Location
8756 Mast Boulevard

,
92071

Information
TypePublic comprehensive secondary
MottoWe are one, we are the Pack
Established1987
School districtGrossmont Union High School District
PrincipalApril Baker
Teaching staff7.05 (FTE)[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment1,515 (2023-2024)[1]
Student to teacher ratio214.89[1]
CampusSuburban
Colors    Silver, royal blue, and black
RivalSantana High School
AccreditationWestern Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)
YearbookLa Manada
NicknameWolf Pack
WebsiteWest Hills High School

West Hills High School (WHHS) is a public, comprehensive high school in Santee, California, and serves students in grades nine through twelve. Opened in 1987, West Hills is the eleventh of thirteen high schools to be constructed in the Grossmont Union High School District which serves the East County area of San Diego County.

History

West Hills High School opened in 1985 as a satellite campus of Santana High School to address overcrowding, with freshmen attending morning classes before being bused back to Santana for afternoon instruction.[2] On September 7, 1987, the school opened as the district’s tenth high school with 14 teachers and 320 freshmen.[3][4] Construction of the 87-acre (350,000 m2) campus began in 1989 and was planned in two phases, with the first phase completed prior to the 1990–91 school year.[5][6] The first graduating class held its commencement in June 1991 at San Diego State University.[7]

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

West Hills High School’s athletic teams, known as the Wolf Pack, compete in the Hills League of the Grossmont Conference and in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) CIF San Diego Section. In 2013, the school introduced Wolfette as a secondary mascot, and in 2012 it completed and officially opened a new swimming pool.[8]

Fall sports Winter sports Spring sports
Cheerleading Basketball Baseball
Cross country Soccer Softball
Field hockey Wrestling Gymnastics
Football Water polo (women) Track and field
Water polo (men) Lacrosse
Volleyball (women) Volleyball (men)
Tennis (women) Swim and dive
Golf (women) Tennis (men)
Flag football Golf (men)
Beach volleyball
  • 2000 - Teammates Evan Fox and Ben Aragon place 1st and 4th in the mile at the California State Track and Field Championships.[9]

Notable alumni

Former principals

  • 1999 - Principal Marge Cole is reassigned after 74% of the faculty sign a letter of no confidence in her management style.[11]
  • 1999 - Jim Peabody becomes the new principal.
  • 2003 - Mike Lewis becomes the new principal.
  • 2005 - Brian Wilbur becomes the new principal.
  • 2008 - Patrick Keeley becomes the new principal.
  • 2011 - Paul Dautremont becomes the new principal.
  • 2015 - Robin Ballarin becomes the new principal.
  • 2022 - April Baker becomes the new principal.

References

  1. ^ a b c "West Hills High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  2. ^ Jones, Harry. The Tribune. San Diego, Calif.: Apr 16, 1987. pg. B.5
  3. ^ West Hills High School Student Handbook, p 2.
  4. ^ Jackson, Irene. The San Diego Union. San Diego, Calif.: Sep 10, 1987. pg. II.1
  5. ^ Cour, Paul. The Tribune. San Diego, Calif.: Dec 23, 1988. pg. B.14
  6. ^ Harpster, David. San Diego Tribune. San Diego, Calif.: Sep 7, 1990. pg. B.1
  7. ^ Ragan, Tom. San Diego Tribune. San Diego, Calif.: Jun 21, 1991. pg. B.6.4.5
  8. ^ "WEST HILLS HIGH SCHOOL UNVEILS SWIMMING POOL". U-T San Diego. April 14, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  9. ^ Shanahan, Tom. The San Diego Union - Tribune. San Diego, Calif.: Jun 4, 2000. pg. C.17
  10. ^ Kenney, Kirk (April 27, 2024). "Bills sign San Diego State punter Jack Browning as undrafted free agent". San Diego Union-Tribune.
  11. ^ Gembrowski, Susan. Controversial principal to be reassigned. The San Diego Union - Tribune. San Diego, Calif.: May 25, 1999. pg. B.3