Hilltop High School (Chula Vista, California)

{{short description|California high school}}

{{Hatnote|For other schools with the same name, see Hilltop High School (disambiguation)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2019}}

{{Use American English|date=June 2019}}

{{Infobox school

| former_name = Hilltop Senior High

| name = Hilltop High School

| image =

| motto = "The Focus at Hilltop is Academics"

| established = {{Start date and age|1959}}

| fundingtype = Public

| schooltype = high school

| affiliation =

| district = Sweetwater Union High School District

| superintendent = Moisés G. Aguirre

| grades = 912

| principal = Bill Walsh

| students =

| enrollment = 1,841 (2023-2024){{NCES School ID|063864006484|school_name=Hilltop Senior High|access_date=December 28, 2024|do_not_render=y}}

| teaching_staff =

| ratio =

| athletics_conference = Metropolitan - Mesa League

| student_union = ASB

| colors = {{color box|#4CBB17}} Kelly Green
{{color box|White}} White
{{Color box|black}} Black

| mascot = Lancer

| yearbook = The Idyll

| newspaper = The Lance

| campus = Suburban

| address = 555 Claire Avenue

| city = Chula Vista

| county = (San Diego County)

| state = California

| postalcode = 91910

| coordinates = {{coord|32.6372|-117.0596|display=inline,title}}

| country = USA

| homepage = {{Official website}}

| module = {{OSM Location map

| float = center

| width = 250

| coord = {{coord|32.6372|-117.0596}}

| mark-coord = {{coord|32.6372|-117.0596}}

| label = Hilltop High School

| label-pos = top

| zoom = 11}}

}}Hilltop High School (formerly Hilltop Senior High) is a four-year public high school in Chula Vista, California. It is part of Sweetwater Union High School District. As of 2023, Bill Walsh is the current principal of Hilltop High.{{Citation |title=Hilltop High School - Administration |url=https://hth.sweetwaterschools.org/administration/ |access-date=2023-08-06 |language=en}}

Academics

Hilltop was named a California Distinguished School in 2005{{cite web|url=http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/sr/cs/ap/distingcounty.asp?county=37 |title=Distinguished School Awards - California School Recognition Program |publisher=California Department of Education |accessdate=2008-02-22 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408113857/http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/sr/cs/ap/distingcounty.asp?county=37 |archivedate=2008-04-08 |url-status=dead }} and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

In the 2006–07 school year, the graduation rate was 93.3%.

Hilltop has the highest number of AP courses available to all students and the highest AP pass rate out of the entire SUHSD at 72.8%. Since the 1999–2000 school year, there has been a 25% increase in exams taken, a 7% increase in the overall pass rate, and a 30% increase in the total number of students testing.{{cite web|url=http://www.suhsd.k12.ca.us/SARC/2007/SARC2007_HTH_Short.pdf|title=Executive Summary School Accountability Report Card, 2005-06|publisher=Hilltop High School|accessdate=2008-02-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717035443/http://www.suhsd.k12.ca.us/SARC/2007/SARC2007_HTH_Short.pdf|archive-date=July 17, 2011|url-status=dead}}

Athletics

{{Cleanup school|date=February 2025|reason=Some sections are overly detailed and may contain schoolcruft}}

The school colors are kelly green, white, and black. Its mascot is the "Lancer".

Hilltop is a member of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) San Diego Section and the Mesa League of the Metro Conference. Hilltop competes in the following sports:{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}

CIF Champions

2016- Women’s Water Polo

Chula Vista Spartans are the Lancers longtime rival school, dating back to the '60s.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}}

Longtime Hilltop Coaches elected as San Diego Sports Hall of Champions Coaching Legends:{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}}

  • Don "Big Dawg" Rollins – JV Basketball (Don is currently third all-time in Southern California JV wins)
  • John Baumgartner – Baseball
  • Janet Balsley – Field Hockey
  • Chip Holmes – Track & Field
  • Tim Tyler – Wrestling (Tyler was also inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame)

Demographics

{{Update|date=February 2025|reason=Outdated demographics data, needs updating.|section=Demographics}}

In the 2005–06 school year, the school's Academic Performance Index placed it 698 (base) where 800 is the California state goal with a state rank of 5 out of 10.{{cite web|url=http://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us/Navigation/fsTwoPanel.asp?bottom=%2Fprofile%2Easp%3Flevel%3D07%26reportnumber%3D16%26fyr%3Dcurrent%26tab%3D0|title=School Profile FISCAL YEAR: 2005-06 (General)|publisher=Education Data Partnership|accessdate=2007-10-04|date=2005–2006}}

Notable alumni

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|+

scope="col" | Name

! scope="col" | Grad Class

! scope="col" | Category

! scope="col" | Best Known For

Joan D. Vinge1965LiteratureHugo Award-winning Science Fiction Author of The Snow Queen series{{cite web | url = http://www.suhsd.k12.ca.us/news_detail.asp?NewsID=320 | title = Sweetwater District Hall of Fame Welcomes a Dozen More | access-date = 2008-02-21 | website = Sweetwater Union High School District :: News :: New Archive | via = www.suhsd.k12.ca.us | publisher = Sweetwater Union High School District | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120207033650/http://www.suhsd.k12.ca.us/news_detail.asp?NewsID=320 | archive-date = February 7, 2012 | url-status = dead}}
Cheryl Cox1966PoliticsMayor of Chula Vista{{cite web | url= http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070101-9999-1n1coxes.html | archive-url= https://archive.today/20130202150313/http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070101-9999-1n1coxes.html | url-status= dead | archive-date= 2013-02-02 | title= How much clout does Cox combo carry? | access-date= 2008-02-21 | publisher= SignOnSanDiego.Com }}
John Tschogl1968SportsNBA player for the Atlanta Hawks and the Philadelphia 76ers{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/135754356/?clipping_id=127524796|title=Tschogl makes S D pro debut, then released the next day|work=Chula Vista Star-News|first=Bob|last=Carney|date=October 12, 1972|access-date=July 3, 2023|page=12|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}
Tom Waits1968EntertainmentAmerican singer-songwriter, composer and actor{{cite web | url= http://www.tomwaitslibrary.com/timeline1949-1975.html | title= Tom Waits Timeline: 1949 - 1975 | access-date= 2007-01-09 | publisher= Tom Waits Library | url-status= usurped | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20070709021917/http://www.tomwaitslibrary.com/timeline1949-1975.html | archivedate= 2007-07-09 }}
Kyle Foggo1972CrimePleaded guilty to fraud associated with the Duke Cunningham scandal{{cite web |url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-1n26foggo235311-documents-misdeeds-did-not-hamper--2009feb26-story.html |title=Documents: Foggo rose despite his CIA misdeeds |author= |date=2009-02-26 |work=San Diego Union-Tribune |access-date=2018-08-30 }}
Brent R. Wilkes1972CrimeConvicted of conspiracy, bribery, fraud, and money laundering associated with the Duke Cunningham scandal
Bryan Wagner1980SportsFormer NFL punter for multiple teams{{cite news|url=https://www.thestarnews.com/wagner-returns-to-alma-mater-at-hilltop-high-school/|title=Wagner returns to alma mater at Hilltop High School|first=Phillip|last=Brents|work=The Star-News|date=November 25, 2020|access-date=March 18, 2024}}
Tommy Hinzo1982SportsFormer MLB player{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-star-news-hilltop-high-honors-its-ow/166352028/|title=Hilltop High honors its own with unveiling of Athletic Hall of Fame|first=Phillip|last=Brents|work=The Star-News|date=January 12, 2001|access-date=February 21, 2025|page=9, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-star-news/166352074/ 10]|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}
Bob Natal1983SportsFormer MLB player and World Series champion
Tami Bruce1985SportsOlympic swimmer{{Cite news | url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-08-28-sp-1869-story.html | title = She's Playing Hooky in Seoul | work = Los Angeles Times | date = August 28, 1988 | first = Kim Q. | last = Berkshire | location = San Diego | access-date = June 22, 2019}}
Todd Pratt1985SportsMajor League Baseball player from 1992–2006 primarily with Philadelphia and the New York Mets{{cite web | url= http://www.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=120747 | title= The Official Site of Major League Baseball: Players Information | access-date= 2008-02-21 | publisher= Major League Baseball}}
Charles Adair1989SportsCollege soccer coach and former professional player
José Silva1991SportsFormer MLB player
Jorge Munoz1992SportsFootball coach and former player{{cite web|url=https://www.southwesternjaguars.com/alumni/2006/bios/munozjorge|title=Jorge Munoz|publisher=Southwestern Jaguars|access-date=February 17, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190613230013/http://southwesternjaguars.com/alumni/2006/bios/munozjorge|archive-date=June 13, 2019|url-status=live}}
Mike Jacobs1998SportsFormer MLB player{{cite web | url= http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/J/Mike-Jacobs-1.shtml | title= The Baseball Cube | access-date= 2008-02-21 | publisher= The Baseball Cube}}
Desiree Linden2001SportsWinner of the 2018 Boston Marathon{{cite web|url=http://www.usatf.org/Athlete-Bios/Desiree-%28Desi%29-Davila.aspx|title=USA Track & Field - Desiree (Desi) Linden|author=|date=|website=usatf.org|access-date=June 22, 2019}}
Charlotte Mayorkas

|2001

|Sports

|LPGA Golfer, Three-time First Team All-American for UCLA{{cite web|access-date=2024-11-20 |date=2024-10-03 |title=Hilltop High School names nine to latest Hall of Fame class, four with ties to athletics |url=https://www.thestarnews.com/hilltop-high-school-names-nine-to-latest-hall-of-fame-class-four-with-ties-to-athletics/ |work=The Star-News}}

Brittni De La Mora2005EntertainmentPornographic actress turned Christian speaker{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2135756/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm|title=Brittni De La Mora Bio|website=IMDb |access-date=February 10, 2024}}
Greg Allen2011SportsProfessional baseball player{{cite web|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/jun/21/sdsu-aztecs-greg-allen-cal-carolina-all-star-game/|title=Former SDSU outfielder Greg Allen shining in minor leagues|first=Kirk|last=Kenney|date=June 22, 2016|work=San Diego Union-Tribune|access-date=November 19, 2016}}
Calvin Faucher2013SportsProfessional baseball player{{cite web |title=Calvin Faucher - Hilltop Stats |url=https://www.maxpreps.com/athlete/calvin-faucher/BhkT5fTtEeKZ5AAmVebBJg/baseball/stats.htm |website=Maxpreps|date=September 9, 2013 }}

Notable faculty

  • Rene Ortiz, former soccer player{{cite news|url=https://www.thestarnews.com/ortiz-a-coach-at-all-levels-seeks-another-ring-with-san-diego-sockers/|title=Ortiz, a coach at all levels, seeks another ring with San Diego Sockers|work=The Star-News|first=Phillip|last=Brents|date=April 7, 2022|access-date=October 17, 2023}}
  • Bryan Wagner
  • Drew Westling{{cite news|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2016/05/26/hilltop-hires-former-chula-vista-coach/|title=Hilltop hires former Chula Vista coach|work=The San Diego Union-Tribune|first=John|last=Maffei|date=May 26, 2016|access-date=February 12, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250208095210/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2016/05/26/hilltop-hires-former-chula-vista-coach/|archive-date=February 8, 2025|url-status=live}}

References

{{Reflist}}