Maria Carrillo High School

History

Maria Carrillo High School was originally named after Maria Ygnacia Lopez de Carrillo. As Maria Carrillo High School begins its nineteenth year as one of the top high schools in Sonoma County its namesake’s humble adobe is a daily reminder of this female pioneer and the hard journey she had to undertake to settle here. Maria Ygnacia Lopez de Carrillo was born the youngest to a large family on January 31, 1793 in San Diego, California. At the age of seven it is thought that Maria watched her father being buried just outside a San Diego presidio. It was at this same presidio that Maria spent most of her childhood until, at the age of sixteen; she married Joaquin Victor Carrillo, a young man who had left his family in Baja, California to come north and train as a soldier. The happy couple eventually had thirteen children. The family thrived first in San Diego and then in San Gabriel. Joaquin retired from the military at about the time when Mexico gained independence from Spain. At that time Maria and her family went back to San Diego where they occupied a home with a garden. In 1835 at the age of forty-two, Joaquin died. Maria had no means with which to support her nine unmarried children so she took her family and walked north. There she lived for a short period in Sonoma in La Casa Grande with General Vallejo’s family. After some time Maria took her family to live near Carreta, which is currently where Santa Rosa exists. It was on January 28,1838 that Maria Carrillo was formally granted to occupy that land. On this surveyed 8,885 acres of granted land Maria had Native Americans and Mexican workers build the Carrillo adobe. Contrary to most women of her time, Maria supervised the farming of her rancho. She also managed the cultivation of large fields of wheat, barley, oats, corn, beans, peas, lentils and vegetables. Maria and her family were multilingual which enabled them to easily communicate with the natives who worked on the rancho. After the Bear Revolt of 1846, Maria was left with a bitter, angry feeling toward the Americans. The Gold Rush had forever altered the home Maria strove so hard to build. Just as the prospector ships began to pour into San Francisco Bay, Maria Ygnacia Lopez de Carrillo died on February 28, 1849. Maria’s courage and strong desire for a better life are the characteristics that the students of Maria Carrillo High School should heed. She was a role model and an important part of our living history.

The school opened in 1997. In 2011, a YouTube video of Maria Carrillo student Kayla Kearny speaking at a Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial assembly went viral after Kearny came out during her speech. Maria Carrillo High School (MCHS), a California Distinguished High School 2013, is one of five comprehensive high schools in the Santa Rosa City Schools district. MCHS currently enrolls 1,607 students in grades 9-12. The school received its first regular accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in 1999.

Curriculum

Maria Carrillo follows curriculum as mandated by the Santa Rosa City Schools district. The school offers English classes, fine arts, mathematics, physical education, social sciences, and science classes. The latter include biology, chemistry, zoology, physics, and physical science. The school has a culinary program, in which students learn cooking skills and compete for awards at local Santa Rosa restaurants.

Sports

The school has a girls and boys basketball team. In November, 2011, the girls basketball coach resigned after being accused of bullying team members over the course of his career at the school. There is a track and field team, which is part of the North Coast Section competition field. There is also a baseball team, which, as of 2004, were the two-time North Coast Section champions.

Famous Alumni

Madeline Jane "Maya" DiRado is an American former competitive swimmer who specialized in freestyle, butterfly, backstroke, and individual medley events. She won four medals in the 2016 Summer Olympics- two gold, one silver, and one bronze.