Buchser High School

Emil R. Buchser High School was a comprehensive, coeducational public high school in Santa Clara, California, United States that served students in grades nine through twelve.^[2][3] It opened in 1957 as the Santa Clara Union High School District's second high school,^[3][5] and it closed in 1981 due to declining enrollment.^[4] The campus was repurposed as Santa Clara High School's new location, and Buchser Junior High School^[a] was established at Santa Clara High's old location.^[4][13]

Emil R. Buchser High School
Location
3000 Benton Street[1] Santa Clara, California 95051 United States
Coordinates	37°20′45″N 121°58′56″W
Information
Type	Public high school[2]
Established	October 9, 1957 (67 years ago) (1957-10-09)[3]
Status	Defunct
Closed	1981 (44 years ago) (1981)[4]
School district	Santa Clara Union High School District (1957–1966)[5] Santa Clara Unified School District (1966–1981)[6]
Grades	9–12[7]
Color(s)	Red   Black   White[8]
Team name	Bruins[3][9]
Rival	Santa Clara High School[3]
Newspaper	Bear Prints[10]
Yearbook	Kodiak[11][12]

History

Construction of Buchser High School began in 1957 and wrapped up in 1958.^[14] The school opened to freshmen and sophomores on October 9, 1957^[3] and held half-day sessions for the first three weeks due to ongoing construction.^[15] It grew to include grades nine through twelve by the 1959–1960 school year.^[16] The school was dedicated to longtime superintendent Emil R. Buchser Sr. on October 11, 1959.^[17][18]

The Santa Clara Unified School District suffered declining enrollment throughout the late 1970s.^[19] On November 6, 1980, the district board of education announced that the student bodies of Buchser High School and Santa Clara High School would merge before the 1981–1982 school year.^[4][20] Following the merge, Santa Clara High moved to Buchser High's location.^[4] Buchser Junior High School^[b] was established at Santa Clara's old location.^[13]

Principals

• Elmer Johnson (1957–1959)^[3]
• Herbert L. Stocking (1959–1961)^[3][21]
• Donald Callejon (1961–1973)^[21]
• Jack Lyon (1973–1980)^[22][23]
• George Bergna (1980–1981)^[24]

Notable alumni

• Steve Bartkowski, Class of 1971, former quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons (1975–1985), Washington Redskins (1985), and Los Angeles Rams (1986) of the National Football League^[25][26]
• Joe Charboneau, Class of 1974, former left fielder for the Cleveland Indians (1980–1982) of Major League Baseball^[27][28]
• Mark Langston, Class of 1978, former pitcher for the Seattle Mariners (1984–1989), Montreal Expos (1989), California/Anaheim Angels (1990–1997), San Diego Padres (1998), and Cleveland Indians (1999) of Major League Baseball^[29][30]
• Omid Kordestani, Class of 1980, businessman and former executive chairman of Twitter^[31][32]
• George "Krazy George" Henderson, teacher (1975), professional cheerleader who created the wave^[33]

Notes

1. Now Buchser Middle School^[13]
2. Buchser Junior High School became Buchser Middle School in 1986.^[13]