Independence High School (San Jose, California)
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| Principal | Ms. Cec Bell |
| Associate Principal (APED) | Mr. John Najac |
| Associate Principal (APA) | Mr. Ray Valverde |
| Villa Principal (A Villa) | Mr. Jesus Rios |
| Villa Principal (B Villa) | Mr. Paul Mansingh |
| Villa Principal (C Villa) | Mr. Warren Strouse |
| Villa Principal (D Villa) | Mr. Greg Meissner |
| School type | Public |
| Founded | 1976 |
| Location | San Jose, California |
| Enrollment | 3,711 (05-06) |
| Anthem | "The Star Spangled Banner" |
| Faculty | 270 |
| Campus surroundings | Suburban, upper middle-class |
| Advanced Placement Courses | Biology, Chemistry, Physics B, Physics C, Spanish Language, French Language, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Statistics, English, English Literature & Composition, English Language & Composition, US History, US Government & Politics, Studio Art, Art History, Microeconomics |
| Honors Classes | English |
| Student Legislature | Associated Student Body Council of Independence |
| Student Newspapers | The Declaration of Independence; The Independent Voice |
| Yearbook | The American |
| Mascot | 76er |
| School Colors | Red, White, and Blue |
| Address | 1776 Educational Park Dr. San Jose, CA 95133 |
| Website | ih.ca.campusgrid.net |
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Independence High School (IHS) is a public high school located in the Berryessa area of San Jose, California, USA. It serves the neighborhoods of Berryessa and East San Jose. The high school is located on Educational Park Drive and is just north of Overfelt Gardens. Student population is approximately 3711 as of 2005-2006, with approximately 180 teachers serving the school. Independence is part of the East Side Union High School District.
Independence High School's mascot is the 76er (more commonly known as the Sixer), so-called because Independence High School not only has the address number of 1776 (mirroring the year the United States Declaration of Independence was signed), but also was founded in the year 1976. The official name for the school mascot is Sammy the Sixer.
Independence High School began renovating its campus in 2003, and finished renovation in 2006 with the reopening of D Villa and the Fukushima Gym.
Campus
Independence High School consists of over fifty buildings, each labeled with a specific letter (there are no indoor hallways). The four primary sets of buildings are referred to as the villas, including A-Villa (American Hall), B-Villa (Bicentennial Hall), C-Villa (Constitution Hall), and D-Villa (Democracy Hall). During the fall of 2005, E-Villa (Eagle Hall) was removed indefinitely, only to be used as the name place for all music rooms. All villas are architecturally identical and surround the Clock Tower.
Areas of Interest:
- Fukashima Gym
- Frank Fiscalini Pool Tower
- Independence Planetarium
- Clock Tower & Senior Stage
- Memorial Grove Park
- School / Public Library
Sports Structures:
- Small Gym
- Olympic-sized racing and diving pools
- Olympic-sized track
- Four baseball fields
- Seven tennis courts
Other Academic Structures:
- E-Building, the music center, dedicated to all and any music-related classes
- G-Complex, the art complex, composed entirely of all art classes on campus.
- H-Building, the main office, located in the front of the school.
- K-Complex, the science building, generally used for all lab sciences, and home to the ASB room and bank.
- L-Complex, mainly used for real-life courses, including Business and Childcare.
- M-Complex, the industries building, predominantly used for industrial classes such as Woodshop and Space Technology
- N-Complex, the foreign languages building, essentially used for most foreign language classes and the book room.
- P-Buildings, or the portable buildings, which are now in use by MACSA, a charter school on Independence's campus
Yearbook
With an annual budget of $65,000, students advised by Mrs. Stacy Johnson write The American, Independence High School's CSPA Gold- and Silver-winning yearbook. The 2006-2007 edition of The American will be all in color, a first in Independence High School's history.
Band
Independence High School's band program, led by Mr. Ken Ponticelli, includes Concert Band, Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra, and Symphonic Band, as well as the audition-only class Wind Ensemble.
The school's marching band, the 76th Cavalry Marching Band and Color Guard, was World Champion in 1981, but has since fallen from that rank. In 2006, the 76th Cavalry became WBA Class AA Champion with Antonín Dvořák's New World Symphony, garnering 85.85 points at preliminaries and 87.69 at the finals -- the first championships the Cavalry had won since 1991. The 76th Cavalry placed fourth in the overall A/AA/AAA classing.
Choir
Independence High School offers two choirs for student enrollment: Concert Choir and Chamber Choir. Chamber Choir is audition-only, and holds auditions during May/June. Both choirs present concerts in December and May, as well as a fundraising one in mid-January.
Dance
Dance classes offered at Independence include Jazz Dance 1 &and Jazz Dance 2-3, Ballet 1 & Ballet 2-4, Modern Dance 1 & Modern Dance 2-4, and Theater Dance (also known as the Independance Company, audition only).
Athletics
Most sports teams are divided among a Junior Varsity (JV) team and a Varsity team. Independence is one of the schools in the BVAL that does not offer a Men's Volleyball team, a Golf team, or a Field Hockey team.
Fall Sports Season
- Cross Country (Co-ed)
- Football
- Tennis (Women's)
- Volleyball (Women's)
- Water Polo (Men's & Women's)
Winter Sports Season
- Basketball (Men's & Women's)
- Soccer (Men's & Women's)
- Wrestling (Co-ed)
Spring Sports Season
- Badminton (Co-ed)
- Baseball (Men's)
- Softball (Women's)
- Swimming (Co-ed)
- Tennis (Men's)
- Track and Field (Co-ed)
Trivia
Although urban myth dictates that Independence High School was originally planned to be a college, presumably because of its massive area compared to other high schools in California, this rumor is false. In actuality, Independence High School was planned to be not just one high school, but two or three, all sharing the same facilities (i.e. the multitude of sports structures now in use by Independence). However, due to financial and practical problems, the idea was scrapped, and Independence opened as a single high school in 1976.
The school mascot is the 76er, or the Sixer. This is because Independence High School not only has the address number of 1776 (mirroring the year the United States Declaration of Independence was signed), but also was founded in the year 1976. The 76er is usually interpreted as a patriot of a founding father; the mascot is usually depicted as a cartoonish George Washington caricature, although actually named Sammy the Sixer (perhaps alluding to Samuel Adams).
On Tuesday, June 2, 2006, the first official day of finals for all non-seniors of the 2006 school year, students were greeted by a senior prank committed the previous night. One hundred and eighty doorknobs had been sabotaged with the supergluing of tanbark into their key inserts, thus forcing the custodians to blast open the doorknobs, costing the school thousands of dollars in repairs. The San Jose Police Department became involved, referring to the incident as a criminal offense, and all culprits faced adult prosecutions. The consequences of the prank included the canceling of the Senior Picnic scheduled the same day.