Palo Alto Senior High School is the older of the two high schools in Palo Alto, California. Founded in 1898, today its enrollment is near 1700 students. "Paly," as the school is known locally, has a long history of scholastic excellence; in 2002 Newsweek ranked it among the top 200 public high schools in the United States, based on test scores. [1]. The school also carries on a distinguished athletic tradition, marked in recent years by an intense rivalry with crosstown foe Gunn.

Paly is situated on the older, northern side of Palo Alto. The western boundary of the campus is El Camino Real, on the other side of which stands Stanford Stadium, and beyond it the campus of Stanford University. The north end of Paly runs along Embarcadero Road, from which the main parking lot is accessible; across the street lies the Town & Country Village shopping center. Students take full advantage of their proximity to “T&C,” as they call it, and non-summer lunch hours will generally find them giving brisk business to its eateries. In contrast, the eastern edge of the Paly campus abuts the Caltrain rail tracks, which separate the school from Alma Street. Commuter trains thunder by on their route between San Jose and San Francisco, their window-rattling passage routinely ignored by all but the newest students and teachers. The eastern side of the school grounds, with its expanses of athletic fields, reaches its end at Churchill Avenue and the leafy residential area beyond. What would be the extreme southern corner of the campus is occupied by the main offices of the Palo Alto Unified School District .

The school can reached by the VTA bus line 22 along El Camino Real, the VTA's DB71 Dumbarton Express bus, the SamTrans bus line KX, Stanford's free Marguerite shuttle, Caltrain's Palo Alto station, as well as by the Palo Alto city shuttle, which runs along Embarcadero Road.

The school mascot is the Viking.

Publications

Calliope is Paly's literary magazine, published once or twice a year.

The Campanile is Paly's most famous publication. It claims the largest circulation of any high school newspaper in the Bay Area.

InFocus is Paly's television news channel. It is broadcast five days a week during fourth period, and available only on Paly campus and online at [2]

Verde is Paly's school magazine, published five times each year.

Voice is Paly's online news source. It is available here [3]

Notable alumni

• Richard "Rink" Babka , Olympic discus thrower, Class of 1954
• Jon Huntsman, billionaire founder of Huntsman Corporation, Class of 1955
• Joan Baez, folk singer, Class of 1958
• Joe Simitian, California State Assemblyman 2000-2004; California State Senator 2004-present
• Dave Schultz, Olympic and World champion wrestler, Class of 1977
• Mark Schultz , Olympic and World champion wrestler, Class of 1978
• Jim Harbaugh, football player, Class of 1982
• James Franco, actor Class of 1996
• The Donnas, rock band (Brett Anderson, Maya Ford, Allison Robertson, and Torry Castellano), Class of 1997

Related Articles

Gunn High School, Palo Alto's other high school

Cubberley High School, Palo Alto’s now-defunct third high school

External Links

Official Site: Palo Alto High School

School News from the Paly Voice