Hollister High School (California)

The San Juan school district was created in 1852, and split off the Hollister school district in 1869.[4] High school education in Hollister began in 1875 alongside the grammar school located at First Street and San Benito Street.[5] Hollister school district built another schoolhouse in 1875, and expanded the original building in 1881.[4] During this time, education was not mandatory nor was it free, and enrollment remained relatively low for years. Attendance increased as Hollister grew.[5]

A new school building was commissioned in 1908 and completed the following year,[5] during Hollister's post-earthquake construction period that also built Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital and City Hall.[6] This is still used as the main administration building. Further construction brought the O'Donnell Gym and Davis Library. But most of the facilities were destroyed in a fire in 1955, with only the administration offices surviving. Repairs were made, and further expansions over the years, including an extension to the library after 1980.[5]

In the 2000s there were more than 120 classrooms, with thousands of students and hundreds of faculty.[5]

In 2021, the San Benito High School District Board of Trustees voted to officially change the name of the high school from San Benito High School to Hollister High School. Juan Antonio Lara, Associated Student Body president explained at that meeting of the board that the block H worn on school athletic letter jackets was an "H" and was designed to reference Hollister, not the Haybalers mascot. He explained that everyone attending school refers to their school as "Hollister" high school and the name change would end confusion.[7]

Gregory A. Hearn Administration Building on Monterey Street

Hollister High School runs on an alternating block schedule split into "red days," periods 1 through 3, and "white days," periods 4 through 6. The days are named after the school's main colors. Each block is 100 minutes long, except for the 1st block of the day (1st and 4th period) which is 105 minutes to allow the reading of the school bulletin. There is also an optional, 65-minute 0 (zero) period, that is run before school, Tuesday through Friday.

The school offers standard general education courses, 15 Advanced Placement courses, and many electives. Electives include arts such as ceramics, drama, choir, and band; language electives such as Modern American Literature and Shakespeare; and technical and vocational courses like auto shop. The school also prides itself on its large student government and leadership class. HHS has been a member school of the California Association of Student Councils since 1994. Some of the more active electives are agricultural classes, computer/business classes, and Hispanic Studies classes, such as Hispanic Literature and Chicano History.

In early 2010, Hollister High School's Associated Student Body came together to help raise money for Diana Magaña, who at the time was a freshman student who was battling cancer. The ASB set a goal of $15,000, and ended up surpassing this with an end amount of over $22,000.[8] The students put together a viral dancing video which reached all over the globe.[9] This, along with their Benefit Ball dance, helped the surrounding community come together and raise money for Diana. In February 2012, Diana died at the age of 17.

The schools athletics teams are known by the school's mascot, the Haybaler, or more commonly the 'Balers. The school's colors are red and white. The team competes in 13 sports in the Monterey Bay League as part of the Central Coast Section.

The arch rival for the Balers is the Gilroy Mustangs. The team's annual football game is called the Prune Bowl, named for the trees that used to line Highway 25, which connects the two cities. Hollister has dominated the game in recent years, winning eight of the past ten games and holding a 30-23-1 advantage since the VFW Memorial Trophy came into existence in 1956. The trophy goes annually to the game's winner.

• Conner Menez, Major League Baseball player for the San Francisco Giants
• Robert Rivas, California State Assembly Speaker of the Assembly

36.8408°N 121.40466°W / 36.8408; -121.40466