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Archie Williams High School
Archie Williams High School logo
Address
1327 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard San Anselmo, California 94960
Coordinates	37°59′01″N 122°34′19″W / 37.98361°N 122.57194°W / 37.98361; -122.57194
Information
Other name	High School 1327
Former name	Sir Francis Drake High School
School type	Public, comprehensive high school
Founded	1951
School district	Tamalpais Union High School District
Oversight	Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for School
Superintendent	Tara Taupier
School number	CEEB Code: 052770
Principal	Jacob Gran
Staff	63.91 (FTE)
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1,224 (2022–2023)
Student to teacher ratio	19.15
Language	English
Campus	Suburban
Area	Upper Ross Valley and San Geronimo Valley, Marin County
Color(s)	Green and White and Black
Mascot	Peregrine falcon
Team name	Falcons
Communities served	Fairfax, Forest Knolls, Lagunitas, Nicasio, San Anselmo, San Geronimo, and Woodacre
Feeder schools	Lagunitas School District Nicasio School District Ross Valley School District
Website	Official website

Archie Williams High School is a public secondary school located in San Anselmo, California. It is named after a former math and computing teacher Archie Williams, who was also a gold medalist in the 1936 Summer Olympics, a flight instructor with the Tuskegee Airmen, and one of the first African-American meteorologists. It was originally named Sir Francis Drake High School, after Francis Drake. It changed its name in 2021, after the George Floyd protests spurred a worldwide reexamination of place names and monuments connected to racism.

The school was established in 1951 as the second high school in the Tamalpais Union High School District. It is located at 1327 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, situated on a 21-acre (85,000 m) campus bordered by two creeks. The site was formerly known as Cordone Gardens.

The graduation rate in 2015 was approximately 99%.

History

Archie Williams High School was founded as Sir Francis Drake High School (aka Drake High School) in 1951 to serve students in grades 9–12 from Corte Madera, Larkspur, Kentfield, Greenbrae, Ross, San Anselmo, Fairfax, Woodacre, Lagunitas, Forest Knolls, San Geronimo, and Nicasio. This was the second high school to be introduced into the Tamalpais Union High School District, the first being Tamalpais High School. In 1958, Redwood High School opened to accommodate students from Corte Madera, Larkspur, Kentfield, Ross, and Greenbrae.

From 1971 until 1984, Drake High School operated a separate "School Within A School" (SWAS) within the pre-1950 Devonshire Hall, for students who wanted to explore alternative community-building, interactive, and experiential pedagogy. SWAS was a pioneer in developing such an alternative school within a public school system.

Between 1992 and 1995, Drake High School started a new program of small learning communities due to the poor performance of students, which was affecting the perception of the school. Drake has received two state grants for these programs; one in 1996–1997 and the other being in 2000. Since then, there have been four Freshman-Sophomore Academies and two Junior-Senior Academies.

During the protests against police brutality and racism that followed the murder of George Floyd, school officials initiated a process to consider changing the name of Sir Francis Drake High School, citing "the racist and violent acts of Francis Drake, a slave trader, slave owner, and colonizer, and the legacy of white supremacy he represents," and noting that "honoring such a person is counter to the values held by our community and counter to the lessons and values we wish our students and colleagues to learn." During the renaming process, the school adopted the temporary name "High School 1327", a reference to its address. On May 6, 2021, an elected school committee composed of students, parents and staff voted unanimously to rename the school after former teacher and Olympic athlete Archie Williams. The Tamalpais United School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved the new name on May 11, 2021.

School awards

In 1990 the school was designated as a Next Century School by RJR Nabisco Foundation for its "entrepreneurship in education." Drake was one of thirty schools to receive this award.

In 1999 Drake High School was designated as a California Distinguished School.

In 2003 Drake was the first high school to be recognized has a Bay Area Green Business School for its environmental awareness around campus.

Extracurricular activities

Basketball

In 1982 both the boys and girls basketball teams took the state division II title. The boys basketball team returned to the states championship in 2014 but lost.

The Pitch

The school newspaper, originally named the Jolly Roger, is published almost every month. The 1986-87 edition was a winner of Columbia University’s Silver Crown Award for high school newspapers in 1988. The Jolly Roger has been a regular recipient of the Medalist rating, given to the top 5% among high school newspapers in its class in United States.

Following the school's name change in 2021, the newspaper also changed its name from Jolly Roger to The Pitch.

Mountain biking club

The school's NICA NorCal League mountain bike team is notable for being one of the first in the nation and has won numerous regional and statewide competitions. The team is eleven-time NorCal League champions (2004, 2006, 2009–2017) and eight-time California State champions (2009-2012, 2015–2018).

Notable alumni

• Lance Acord, ('82) cinematographer
• Lee Altenberg, ('75) theoretical biologist
• Arj Barker, comedian
• Garm Beall, ('76) film composer
• Alex Bennett, radio broadcaster for Sirius XM Left
• Joel Blum, Broadway actor and dancer, nominated for two Tony Awards
• Terry Bozzio, musician (Frank Zappa, Missing Persons, U.K.)
• Scott Capurro, actor, comedian, author
• Reggie Carolan, professional football player
• Konrad Dryden, author
• John Farey, ('73) musician
• Linda Gregg, ('61), poet
• Erinn Hayes, actress known for Children's Hospital
• Steve Lavin, college basketball head coach and ESPN broadcaster
• Jane Levy, ('07) actress from ABC comedy Suburgatory and NBC comedy Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist
• Edward Neumeier, ('75) screenwriter of RoboCop and Starship Troopers
• Carole Real, ('75) playwright
• Douglas Rosenberg, ('75) dance performance art and professor at the University of Wisconsin
• Michael Rossmann, FSM activist and teacher
• Joe Ryan, pitcher for the Minnesota Twins
• Fiona O'Sullivan, professional soccer player
• Jim Saia, college basketball head coach
• Kirk R. Smith, ('63) climatologist, Nobel Prize recipient
• Scott Thunes, ('76) musician (Frank Zappa)
• Margaret Torn, ('78) carbon geochemist at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
• Eric L. Weiss, ('76) emergency medicine professor at Stanford University
• Alex Zettl, ('74) physicist at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory

Notable faculty

• Archie Williams (May 1, 1915 – June 24, 1993), Math & Computers Teacher and Track Coach, 1936 Berlin Olympics 400-meter gold medalist, Fighter Pilot and Trainer in World War II

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Archie Williams High School
2. ^ "Archie Williams High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
3. "A Meteorologist Who Changed the World". The Front Page. American Meteorological Society. 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
4. ^ "History of Drake - DHS Handbook / History of Drake - DHS Handbook". www.tamdistrict.org. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
5. "Sir Francis Drake High School - San Anselmo, California - CA - School quality". www.greatschools.org. Retrieved 2015-06-27.
6. Allen, Martha; & the Students of SWAS (2016). The Alternative: School Within A School. Balboa Press. p. 142. ISBN 978-1504361859. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
7. Small Learning Communities: A Documentary, DHS Trek, December 15, 2014, archived from the original on 2021-12-12, retrieved 2015-06-27
8. "Academies / Academies Homepage". www.tamdistrict.org. Retrieved 2015-06-27.
9. "Communication to Community". Google Docs. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
10. "Marin School Board Votes To Rename Drake High After Beloved, Former Teacher Archie Williams". KPIX-TV. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
11. Loades, David (2007). "Drake, Francis (1540–1595) English seaman and circumnavigator". In Hattendorf, John J. (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195307405.
12. Lane, Kris E. (1998). "Smugglers, Pirates, and Privateers: The Elizabethans". Pillaging the empire: piracy in the Americas, 1500-1750. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 0-7656-0256-3.
13. Thrower, Norman J. W. (2007). "Drake, Francis". In Buisseret, David (ed.). The Oxford Companion to World Exploration. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195307412.
14. White, Richard (2020). California Exposures. New York, N.Y.: W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 1–31. ISBN 978-0-393-24306-2. OCLC 1102467481.
15. Brenner, Keri (2020-09-23). "Tam Union board: 'High School 1327' is temporary". Marin Independent Journal. San Rafael, CA. Archived from the original on 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
16. Brenner, Keri (9 May 2021). "Marin panel taps Olympic gold medalist, Tuskegee Airman Archie Williams for new high school name". The Mercury News. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
17. Brenner, Keri (2021-05-12). "Tam Union board renames Drake school for Archie Williams". Marin Independent Journal. San Rafael, CA. Archived from the original on 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
18. "Nabisco Awards $9.7 Million in Grants to 15 Schools". The New York Times. 1991-04-17. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
19. "2009 Distinguished Middle and High Schools - California Distinguished Schools Program (CA Dept of Education)". www.cde.ca.gov. Archived from the original on 2015-09-01. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
20. "ABAG Green Business Program". www.greenbiz.ca.gov. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
21. Columbia Scholastic Press Association, 1988 Scholastic Crown Recipients, accessed March 14, 2007 Archived December 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
22. The Pitch, retrieved October 13, 2021
23. "About Drake MTB « Drake MTB Online". www.drakemtb.org. Archived from the original on 2015-06-25. Retrieved 2015-06-27.
24. "Drake MTB Online". www.drakemtb.org. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
25. Beall, Garm. "Garm Beall — IMDb". IMDb. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
26. "Joel Blum – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
27. Farey, John. "The Pulsators Biographies". The Pulsators. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
28. "Drake Junior Selected For Swedish Trip". Daily Independent Journal. 23 Jan 1960. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
29. Genzlinger, Neil (March 27, 2019). "Linda Gregg, Poet of Taut, Vivid Verse, Is Dead at 76". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
30. Real, Carole. "Carole Real: Playwright/Screenwriter/Actor". Carole Real. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
31. "Faculty - UW ART". University of Wisconsin. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
32. Michael Taylor, San Francisco Chronicle, May 17, 2008, "'60s activist Michael Rossman dies in Berkeley", accessed May 24, 2008. Archived January 28, 2012, at archive.today
33. "Joe Ryan". MLB.com. MLB. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
34. Smith, Kirk R. (18 June 2020). "Kirk R. Smith, Nobel Prize recipient and environmental health giant, dies at 73". Berkeley Public Health. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
35. Torn, Margaret. "Earth & Environmental Sciences". Margaret S. Torn. Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
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37. "Thinking really small". Nanotechnology Now. 2006-04-17. Retrieved July 11, 2009.

• San Francisco Bay Area
• Schools

• High schools in Marin County, California
• Public high schools in California
• San Anselmo, California
• 1951 establishments in California
• Educational institutions established in 1951
• Name changes due to the George Floyd protests