In the past, the Palos Verdes Unified School District consisted of three different high schools: Miraleste High School, Rolling Hills High School, and Palos Verdes High School. In 1991, the district decided to merge the three schools into one big high school, and Rolling Hills High School, the biggest at the time, was chosen as a place of consolidation. The newly formed school was named Palos Verdes Peninsula High School (PVPHS) and the school population went up from roughly 1400 students to 3300.
Pat Colin, a PVPHS counselor, shared her experience during the consolidation.
“I had been teaching for seven years as a math teacher in Rolling Hills High School when the district decided to consolidate with the other schools. My husband was teaching at Miraleste high school and came in as an English teacher along with other great teachers from both Miraleste High School and Palos Verdes High School.”
Colin continued, “When it was just Rolling Hills High School, we had a quiet and almost low-key campus and the biggest change we all saw during the consolidation was the noticeably inflated school size. However, I believe the whole process of coming together was overall extremely efficient. I think the transition was the easiest for people who were already in this campus, like myself, because it felt like home, but the teachers from other schools were amazing about accommodating to the new school.”
For 11 years, the three high schools coexisted as the Palos Verdes Peninsula High School Panthers. In 2002, Palos Verdes High School decided to break off and begin their own school. Enrollment rates went up again and it was simply getting too crowded at PVPHS. Now, Palos Verdes High School has around 1700 students and Palos Verdes Peninsula High School has approximately 2500.
In the memorable game to remember the consolidation, the remaining two high schools on the hill, Palos Verdes High School (PVHS) and Palos Verdes Peninsula High School (PVPHS) came together and cheered for the PVPHS football players as they fought against Torrance High School in the “Remember the Titans” football game.
Along with students from both high schools, there were over 200 “Titan” alumni who wore their blue and gold school colors and partook in creating an alumni tunnel that the players ran through before the start of the game. With the 35-17 victory, the Panthers and the Titans united once more and celebrated.
Although the schools are not unified anymore, Palos Verdes Peninsula High School Panthers will always remember the Rolling Hills High School Titans who once roamed the same campus that they are in. The amphitheater filled with laughter, the gym filled with chants and cheers, and even the lockers and classrooms… a part of the Titans will always remain at the heart of Palos Verdes Peninsula High School.
