Palos Verdes Peninsula High School

Palos Verdes Peninsula High School (also known as Peninsula High, Pen High, or PVPHS) is one of three public high schools on the Palos Verdes Peninsula (the others being the recently re-opened Palos Verdes High School and Rancho Del Mar High School). Located at the corner of Hawthorne Boulevard and Silver Spur Road, Peninsula High serves the communities of Rolling Hills Estates, Rolling Hills, Rancho Palos Verdes and Palos Verdes Estates. The school was formed in 1991 when Miraleste High School, Palos Verdes High School and Rolling Hills High School were merged into a single high school. The former Rolling Hills High School campus (opened 1964) had the highest capacity and was used for the combined school. When overcrowding became a problem after 1999, the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District elected to re-open Palos Verdes High School in 2002. As of 2004, the PVPHS student body numbers 3500 students. Now as of 2006, the PVPHS student body is approximately 2500 students. Students compete in baseball, basketball, crew, cross country, equestrian, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, roller hockey, soccer, softball, surfing, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling. The school yearbook, "La Pantera," has won state and national awards and is the largest high school publication in the nation with 663 pages. PVPHS has been designated within the state a California Distinguished School, and nationally a New American High School. It has a blue ribbon from the United States Department of Education. Awards: • Ranked 89 by US News and World report out of (18,500) • Distinguished California School (four times) • National Blue Ribbon School (35 schools named of 18,500) • New American High School (one of ten named out of 18,500 schools) • Siemens Foundation Science Winner (one of four schools of over 27,000) • Newsweek recognition (#15 of 18,500 schools) • Wall Street Journal (top ten of 27,000 schools)

Notable Alumni

• Clark Haggans Class of 1995
• Petros Papadakis Class of 1995
• John Welbourn Class of 1994
• Kevin Hartman Class of 1992
• Tracy Austin Class of 1980
• Vicki Peterson Rolling Hills High School Class of 1976
• Don Slaught Rolling Hills High School Class of 1976
• Christopher Boyce Rolling Hills High School
• Debbi Peterson Rolling Hills High School
• Jay Bilas Rolling Hills High School Class of 1982
• Kevin Moen Rolling Hills High School Class of 1979 ("The Play", Cal vs Stanford)
• Vince DiFiore Rolling Hills High School Class of 1982