William S. Hart High School

William S. Hart High School is a four-year public high school in the neighborhood of Newhall 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 cowboy actor William S. Hart, it is part of the William S. Hart Union High School District.

Hart High School
Address
24825 Newhall Avenue

Santa Clarita
,
California
91321

United States
Coordinates34.3845°N 118.5378°W / 34.3845; -118.5378
Information
TypePublic high school
MottoAlive with Pride
Established1945
School districtWilliam S. Hart Union High School District
PrincipalJason d'Autremont
Grades9–12
Enrollment2,146 (2021-22)[1]
Color(s)  Red
  Black
  White
Team nameIndians
NewspaperThe Smoke Signal
YearbookThe Tomahawk
Websitewww.harthighschool.org

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.[1] As of 2020-21, 844 students (39.2%) were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.[2]

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.[3]

Mascot controversy

Hart High School's mascot has been an Indian since the school's foundation in 1945. In June 2020, some students urged principal Jason d'Autremont to discontinue the mascot, which they characterized as outdated and offensive.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.[4] D'Autremont, with help from the Santa Clarita City Council, acted on these complaints.[5]

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.[6] On July 14, 2021, the board of the William S. Hart Union High School District voted 4-1 to retire the mascot by 2025.[7]

Notable alumni
Anthony Ervin
Mark-Paul Gosselaar
Dee Dee Myers

Notable faculty

Film composer Paul Hertzog formerly worked at Hart as the AP Music Theory teacher.[12] Hertzog also taught 10th-grade Honors English.

References
  1. "Enrollment by Ethnicity - William S. Hart Union High (CA Dept of Education)". dq.cde.ca.gov. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  2. "Hart High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
  3. "FOND FAREWELLS FOR RETIRING TEACHER HART INSTRUCTOR LEAVES LEGACY OF SUCCESS". Los Angeles Daily News. June 7, 1995.
  4. Melnarik, David (June 8, 2020). "Hart High School Students Call For Retiring Of 'Outdated' Indian Mascot". KHTS.
  5. Brown, Michael (June 9, 2020). "Hart High Principal Responds To Student Call For Retiring 'Outdated' Indian Mascot". KHTS.
  6. "Recent Hart High School Survey Reveals Majority Support For Keeping Indians Mascot". Hometown Station. 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  7. Lunetta, Caleb (2021-07-14). "Hart board to retire Indian mascot no later than 2025". Santa Clarita Valley Signal. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
  8. "Kevin Millar". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  9. "Matt Moore". Miami Dolphins.
  10. "Who are the 49ers and Chiefs' backup QBs for Super Bowl 54?". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
  11. "Todd Zeile Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  12. "Paul Hertzog". Hart High School.
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