Tustin High School is a public high school in Tustin, California, United States. It is part of the Tustin Unified School District. It was established in 1921 as the Tustin Union High School.
Contents
History
Founded in 1921, Tustin High School was originally meant to serve five elementary districts: Tustin, Laguna Beach, El Toro, Trabuco Canyon, and San Joaquin. Their mascot, the "Tiller", was inspired by the agribusinesses that originally surrounded the school.
In 1972, the Tustin Union High School District merged with Tustin Elementary School District to create the Tustin Unified School District.
In 2015, Tustin was recognized as a California Gold Ribbon School for its academics, school environment, and learning center.
Curriculum
Tustin High School's academic programs include many AP courses, honors courses, and STEM courses, alongside high school college-prep courses.
STEM
The Tustin High School Technology & Engineering Academy ("T-Tech"), is a four-year program focused on STEM fields, as guided by PLTW (Project Lead the Way). Tustin started the academy in 2010. The class of 2015 was its first "complete" class.
Athletics
The Tillers currently compete in the Golden West League of the CIF Southern Section (CIF-SS), a part of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF).
Seasons
Tustin High School fields 26 teams in 16 different sports.
Fall:
Cheer
Cross country (men's/women's)
Football
Golf (women's)
Tennis (women's)
Volleyball (women's)
Water polo (men's)
Winter:
Basketball (men's/women's)
Soccer (men's/women's)
Water polo (women's)
Wrestling (men's/women's)
Spring:
Baseball
Golf (men's)
Lacrosse (men's/women's)
Softball
Swimming (men's/women's)
Tennis (men's)
Track and field (men's/women's)
Volleyball (men's)
In 2008, Tustin High School and Dillard high school had six players in the NFL, which was the most in the United States at the time. These players were Sam Baker (Atlanta), Beau Bell (American football) (Cleveland), Chris Chester (Baltimore), DeShaun Foster (San Francisco), Matt McCoy (Tampa Bay), and Frostee Rucker (Cincinnati). The totals were based on the 1,693-man 2008 NFL Kickoff Weekend rosters (September 4, 7–8).
School championships
**No longer a sport offered
*Finalist / runner-up
Campus
Tustin High School is located on 29 acres (12 ha) of land in central Tustin.
It is the oldest school in the district. The original layout of the school included a neoclassical building with a 1,000-seat auditorium, an outdoor Greek theatre, a domestic science department, a mechanical and manual training department, an athletic field, and a gymnasium (opened in 1924). In 1927, the school added a new wing containing a large gymnasium and swimming pool.
The football stadium was constructed in the mid-1940s. The stadium and field were later named Northrup Field after Orville Northrup, who taught woodshop and physical education, and served as Principal of Tustin Union High School from 1941 to 1962.
The original building was judged unsafe in case of an earthquake and demolished in June 1966. The old building was replaced with a new building.
In June 2008, the Tustin School Board approved a master plan that would guide the possible renovations of Tustin High School or the construction of a new campus. The plan would include a new administration building, a 2-story science centre, a sports pavilion, and a two-story performing arts theatre and classroom building. The estimated cost of the renovation was approximately $150 million.
The sports pavilion was finished in 2012, costing $22 million. It seats 2,500 students and faculty within 29,000 square feet of space. Amenities include ticket windows, concession stands, foyer, dance room, trophy cases, men's and women's team rooms equipped with smart boards, two professionally sized scoreboards, and a drop-down display screen. The new facility houses four-sided bleachers and can be formatted as three basketball or volleyball practice courts (width-wise), a college-sized basketball court, or a main volleyball court (length-wise).
In December 2012, reconstruction at Northrup Stadium and the swimming complex began. The updated stadium includes a synthetic field, nine-lane synthetic track, concessions building, a 1,000-seat visitor bleacher, and a 1,000-seat home bleacher. The new $1.7 million swimming complex includes an Olympic-sized pool, new scoreboard, bleachers, and renovated locker rooms.
January 21 Incident
On January 21, 2023, two students engaged in a fight, one of the students injuring a student with a knife. The school implemented a temporary shelter-in-place protocol. The injured student was sent to a local hospital for additional medical attention.
Notable alumni
Athletics
Sam Baker (1985–), NFL offensive tackle for Atlanta Falcons; selected in 2008 NFL draft, Round 1, Pick 21
Beau Bell (1986–), linebacker for Cleveland Browns; played in Canadian Football League and for arena football's Philadelphia Soul; selected in 2008 NFL draft, Round 4, Pick 104
Heath Bell (1977–), three-time MLB All-Star pitcher; last played for Tampa Bay Rays
Milorad Čavić (1984–), Serbian Olympic freestyle and butterfly swimmer; set eight school and four state records while winning seven CIF state titles; 2002 National High School Swimmer of the Year; 2008 Summer Olympics silver medalist, 100m butterfly, famously falling to Michael Phelps by 1/100 of a second
Chris Chester (1983–), NFL lineman for Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens; selected in 2006 NFL draft, Round 2, Pick 56
DeShaun Foster (1980–), running back for UCLA and NFL's Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers; selected in 2002 NFL draft, Round 2, Pick 34; currently head coach at UCLA
Evelyn Furtsch (1914–2015), Olympic gold medalist for 4x100 relay at 1932 Summer Olympics, time of 46.9 seconds; with her teammates, held world record for four years (until it was broken by Germany at 1936 Summer Olympics); first Olympic champion in athletics and first female American gold medalist to live to age 100; died on March 5, 2015, at age 100 years, 10 months
Doug Gottlieb (1976–), host of The Doug Gottlieb Show; NCAA collegiate basketball player
Mark Grace (1964–), MLB All-Star first baseman for Chicago Cubs; broadcaster and coach
Shawn Green (1972–), MLB 2x All-Star outfielder and designated hitter for Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and New York Mets
Film
Eva Angelina (1985–), adult film actress; attended Tustin but graduated from Foothill High School
Cuba Gooding, Jr. (1968–), actor, won Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for role as Rod Tidwell in Jerry Maguire; also appeared in The Butler, Selma and many other films; attended THS but graduated elsewhere
Robert David Hall (1947–), actor, best known for his work on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Dr. Al Robbins; where he acted for 326 episodes; also appeared in Starship Troopers and The Negotiator
Rachel Kimsey (1978–), actress, The Young and the Restless
Kim Krizan (1961–), writer, best known for her series Before Sunrise and Before Sunset
Musicians
Tony Scalzo, frontman of Fastball
Business
Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture
Miscellaneous
Dan Choi (1981–), US Army officer, activist against the US military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy
William Drenttel (1953–2013), designer, author, publisher, and social entrepreneur
David C. Leestma (1949–), astronaut and former director of flight crew operations at the Johnson Space Center