William S. Hart High School is a four-year public high school in the Newhall neighborhood in the city of Santa Clarita, California, United States. Founded in 1945, it is the oldest high school in the Santa Clarita Valley. Named for local Western actor William S. Hart, it is part of the William S. Hart Union High School District.
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Student demographics
As of the 2021-22 academic year, 2,146 students were enrolled at Hart High School. 57.3% of students were Hispanic, 32.0% were non-Hispanic white, 5.6% were Asian American, and 1.3% were African American. As of 2020-21, 844 students (39.2%) were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
Activities
Hart High School was formerly the host of the Hart Invitational Quiz Bowl, a quiz bowl competition for teams from Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. Lori Huenink coached the quiz bowl team for 21 years from 1974 to 1995.
The school was also the scene of filming of the 1982 made for television anti-drug abuse movie Desperate Lives starring
Diana Scarwid and guest starring Dr. Joyce Brothers using its then current students and administration.
Mascot controversy
Hart High School's mascot had been an Indian since the school's foundation in 1945, until June 2020, when students urged principal Jason d'Autremont to discontinue the mascot, which they characterized as outdated and offensive. An online petition to change the mascot gathered thousands of signatures. D'Autremont, with help from the Santa Clarita City Council, acted on these complaints.
In a student survey conducted on March 12, 2021, 49% of students favored keeping the mascot, 26% favored changing it, and 25% had no preference. On July 14, 2021, the board of the William S. Hart Union High School District voted 4-1 to retire the mascot by 2025. On March 19, 2024, after an election amongst staff and students, it was decided that the new mascot would be the Hawks, starting with the 2024-25 school year.
Notable alumni
Trevor Bauer, MLB Cy Young Award winning pitcher
Kyle Boller, NFL quarterback, Baltimore Ravens 2003–2007, St. Louis Rams 2009, Oakland Raiders 2010–11, signed by San Diego Chargers in 2012, retired; married to former Miss California Carrie Prejean
Steve Borden, professional wrestler Sting
Trevor Brown, MLB catcher, San Francisco Giants
Laura Diaz, KTTV journalist
Anthony Ervin, 4-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer and 2-time world champion
Tyler Glasnow, MLB pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers
Mark-Paul Gosselaar, actor on Saved by the Bell and NYPD Blue
Delano Howell, NFL strong safety, Buffalo Bills 2012, Indianapolis Colts 2013–14
Darryl Ingram, NFL tight end for Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, and Green Bay Packers
Trenton Irwin, NFL wide receiver, Miami Dolphins 2019, Cincinnati Bengals 2019–24
Joe Kapp, NFL and CFL quarterback, led Minnesota Vikings to Super Bowl IV
Gary Lockwood, actor, played astronaut Frank Poole in 2001: A Space Odyssey
Andrew Lorraine, MLB pitcher
Kevin Millar, professional baseball first baseman, analyst for MLB Network and New England Sports Network
Notable faculty
Film composer Paul Hertzog formerly worked at Hart as the AP Music Theory teacher. Hertzog also taught 10th-grade Honors English.