Message from Principal
Principals Message
Welcome to Los Altos High School, Home of the Conquerors, and thank you for taking the time to read the Los Altos High School Annual School Accountability Report Card. As the proud Principal of Los Altos High School, my alma mater, I could not be more excited to represent my community. We truly have the best students, staff, and families around and I could not be more honored to share our school with you.
Los Altos High School opened its gates in 1958 and currently has 1570 students in ninth through twelfth grades. We are located twenty-two miles east of Los Angeles, in the suburb of Hacienda Heights. Our school motto is Conquerors Think, Thinkers Conquer which is a true representation of who we are and what we strive to be. We have a long tradition of excellence in academics and extracurricular activities which has given us the reputation of being one of the best well-rounded educational schools in Southern California. Colleges strive to have students with a well-rounded educational experience and they offer our students a multitude of scholarships every year.
We have receive numerous recognitions each year at Los Altos, some of which have included the California Business for Education Excellence Honor Roll, California Distinguished School, Best High Schools from U.S. News & World Report, and Newsweek’s America’s Best High Schools. Our students have received more recognitions than just about any school around through our five academic career paths and our extracurricular activities. Those recognitions include Back to Back Ed Royce Congressional App Challenge Winners represented in Washington D.C., Engineering Electric Car National Competitions in Florida and Oregon, Health Occupation Students of America National Qualifiers in consecutive years, prestigious Performing Arts competition winners in Band, Choir, and Dance, multiple CIF Championships and Championship Qualifiers, and we were the very first high school in the country to have a running Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine along with the history of being the first high school in the world to finish a solar vehicle race across the continent of Australia.
As a leader in creating college and career ready students, Los Altos High School provides the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program which boasts a 100% college acceptance rate. We also offer more than 35 Honors and Advanced Placement courses, Los Altos Academy of Engineering, Los Altos Performing Arts Academy, Health and Medical Technology courses, Digital Arts and Graphic Design courses, Business Marketing and Management courses, Leadership courses at all grade levels, and much more.
Our success is a by-product of hard work, pride, dedication, and strong partnerships among the staff, students, parents, and community. This success has extended our community beyond our attendance boundaries as more than 15 percent of our students join us through intra-district and inter-district permits. With these partnerships, Los Altos High School produces students who have completed A-G requirements and are ready to enter the college and career world. All of these stakeholders are proud to send our students into the world ready and focused on their successful futures ahead. Together, our focus never waivers on making all students successful.
On behalf of the Conqueror Family, we appreciate your time and interest in exploring Los Altos High School. If you would like a more interactive view of Conqueror life you can follow us on Facebook at Los Altos High School, Conquerors or one of our various social media accounts. For further information about joining our Conqueror Family or questions about our programs, please call my office at (626) 934-5418 or email jhess@hlpusd.org.