block schedule. Classes are 100 minutes long, with the exception of Wednesday, when classes are 90 minutes long. The base schedule consists of six 100-minute periods; students have three classes per school day. Odd-numbered classes are on one day and even numbered classes the next. Some students opt to add an extra 50-minute "B-period" class to their schedule. B-period classes meet on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday for 59 minutes At the end of the second full period of the day, from 8:30 to 10:10, students have a designated "tutorial" period during which they can read, study, collaborate on work, or get help from teachers. There is no tutorial on Wednesday, since the day is shorter. Awards and recognition During the 2006–07 school year, California High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive. Cal High's student-run monthly newspaper is The Californian. The first school newspaper, The Bear Facts, was started in 1973. California High School was ranked No. 250 in the top 500 US high schools by Newsweek in 2011, placing it within the top 1.5% of the over 18,000 high schools in the United States. In 2005, Cal High was a California Distinguished School. In 2020, the California High School National History Bowl Team won 2nd place. They subsequently won 4th place in 2021. Notable people Alumni David Bingham (2008) – Major League Soccer player for San Jose Earthquakes Colby Buzzell (1995) – Author of multiple books and well-distributed magazine articles Chuck Cary (1978) Professional baseball player David Klech (2006) American track and field athlete Sandy LaBeaux (1978) – professional football player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Gamblers Chris Verhulst (1984) – NFL Professional Football Player Houston Oilers (1988–1989), Denver Broncos (1990) Andrew Wiedeman (2007) – professional soccer player Ryan Wright (2018) – NFL Professional Football player, punter Sam Shapira (2010) - Dropout Faculty Tony Sanchez – Head football coach from 2004 to 2008. Went on to coach the Bishop Gorman High School (Nevada) and University of Nevada, Las Vegas football programs. Sanchez turned around California High "from doormat status to a berth in the North Coast Section finals," according to ESPN. Gallery References External links Cal High website High schools in Contra Costa County, California Public high schools in California San Ramon, California Educational institutions established in