Tulare Union High School is a public school for secondary education.

•District: Tulare Joint Union High

•Founded: 1890

•Enrollment: 1,732 (2020)

•School type: Public

•Grades taught: 9-12

Rankings

National Rankings  #3537 (2020)

California High Schools  #527 (2020)

Visalia, CA Metro Area High Schools  #5 (2020)

Academic Indicators

Graduation Rate  99%

Reading Proficiency  61%

Took at Least One AP® Exam  37%

Passed at Least One AP® Exam  22%

Mathematics Proficiency  36%

College Readiness  25.6 (2020)

Facilities

The school has grown steadily since the 1980s with expanding local land development and the corresponding general population. In 1989 the Tulare Joint Union High School District retained the firm of Earth Metrics to forecast district growth and analyze the facility needs of the system in future years. In the 1980s the California Legislature changed the rules governing school facilities financing by authorizing school districts to directly levy School Impact Fees (sometimes called "Developer Fees"), and by deeming the School Facilities Act the exclusive means by which cities and counties can address the overcrowding of schools. Thus at that time the district forecast future enrollment and established appropriate development fees to finance forecast facilities needs to expand Tulare Union High School and other district facilities.

Athletics

The school's athletic teams compete in the six-team East Yosemite League under the name Tribe.

Tulare Union is one of few U.S. high schools to have graduated multiple Olympic gold medal winners. Decathlete Bob Mathias won gold in 1948 and 1952, and discus thrower Sim Iness won in 1952. Mathias and Iness were classmates who graduated the same year. The school's stadium was named after Mathias in 1977, and a gymnasium was named after Iness in 1994.

From 1924 until 2016, the school's athletic nickname was the Redskins. The term "redskin" is widely defined by dictionaries as pejorative, and the California State Assembly banned use of the mascot by public schools in September 2015. Principal Nunley defended the term, saying that the school had no history of racism and that the mascot honored natives. State Senator Marty Block described that as a rationalization and said the term is a racist slur that warrants state intervention. The school had until 2017 to switch, and the district voted in June 2016 to change the name to Tribe. The move was part of a wider controversy over the use of Native American imagery as mascots

Noted graduates

•Ryan Benjamin - American player of gridiron football

•Matt Crafton - Two-time champion of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

•Marquess Wilson - NFL Wide Receiver for the Chicago Bears

•Bryce Harris - NFL Offensive Tackle for the Atlanta Falcons

•Bryan Allen, pedal-powered aircraft pilot

•Max Choboian, Former NFL quarterback for the Denver Broncos

•Zac Diles, NFL linebacker currently a free agent

•Dominique Dorsey, Former Canadian Football League player

•Freddie Ford, Former NFL player

•Virgil Green, NFL tight end for the Denver Broncos

•Sim Iness, Olympic discus gold medalist, 1952

•Vic Lombardi, Former MLB pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers/Pittsburgh Pirates

•Bob Mathias, Olympic decathlon gold medalist (1948 & 1952) and former U.S. Congressman

•Devin Nunes, Republican Party (United States), United States House of Representatives, California's 21st congressional district

•Maurice Preston, Four-star General, U.S. Air Force

•Elmo Zumwalt, Admiral, U.S. Navy