Tustin High School is a public high school in Tustin, California, United States. It is part of the Tustin Unified School District. It was established in 1921 as the Tustin Union High School.
History
Founded in 1921, Tustin High School was originally meant to serve five elementary districts: Tustin, Laguna Beach, El Toro, Trabuco Canyon, and San Joaquin. Their mascot, the "Tiller", was inspired by the agribusinesses that originally surrounded the school.
In 1972, the Tustin Union High School District merged with Tustin Elementary School District to create the Tustin Unified School District.
In 2015, Tustin was recognized as a California Gold Ribbon School for its academics, school environment, and learning center.
On January 31, 2023, a Tustin High student was the victim of a stabbing by another student. The suspect was detained by school staff before being released to the Tustin Police, and students were released early.
Curriculum
Tustin High School's academic programs include many AP courses, honors courses, and STEM courses, alongside high school college-prep courses.
STEM
The Tustin High School Technology & Engineering Academy ("T-Tech"), is a four-year program focused on STEM fields, as guided by PLTW (Project Lead the Way). Tustin started the academy in 2010. The class of 2015 was its first "complete" class.
Athletics
The Tillers currently compete in the Empire League of the CIF Southern Section (CIF-SS), a part of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF). The athletics programs have accumulated 131 league titles and 11 CIF-SS Championships as of 2015. League teams include: Tustin High School John F. Kennedy High School (La Palma) Pacifica High School (Garden Grove) Cypress High School Crean Lutheran High School (Irvine) Valencia High School (Placentia)
Seasons
Tustin High School fields 26 teams in 16 different sports.
Fall: Cheer Cross country (men's/women's) Football Golf (women's) Tennis (women's) Volleyball (women's) Water polo (men's)
Winter: Basketball (men's/women's) Soccer (men's/women's) Water polo (women's) Wrestling (men's/women's)
Spring: Baseball Golf (men's) Lacrosse (men's/women's) Softball Swimming (men's/women's) Tennis (men's) Track and field (men's/women's) Volleyball (men's)
Football
In 2008, Tustin High School and Dillard high school had six players in the NFL, which was the most in the United States at the time. These players were Sam Baker (Atlanta), Beau Bell (American football) (Cleveland), Chris Chester (Baltimore), DeShaun Foster (San Francisco), Matt McCoy (Tampa Bay), and Frostee Rucker (Cincinnati). The totals were based on the 1,693-man 2008 NFL Kickoff Weekend rosters (September 4, 7–8).
Since 1996, Tustin has won 10 league titles and has gone to 10 CIF semi-finals and four finals appearances (1997, 2008, 2010, 2011).
On December 10, 2011, Tustin defeated the El Toro Chargers in the CIF-SS Southwest Division championship game at Anaheim Stadium, their first CIF Championship since 1948.
Since the school's rivalry started with Foothill High School in 1966, Tustin trails with a record of 23-29-1.
As part of the National Football League Super Bowl High School Honor Roll Program, Tustin High was awarded a Golden Football for its impact on Super Bowl history. The program recognizes each high school, with alumni participating or playing in a Super Bowl. DeShaun Foster, a running back for THS from 1994 to 1998, participated in Super Bowl XXXVIII with the Carolina Panthers in 2004. In 2013, Kim Robinson, an English teacher at Tustin High, published For Underdogs Only, detailing the life of long-time football coach, Myron Miller.