Abraham Lincoln High School (San Francisco)


Abraham Lincoln High School is a California Distinguished public high school located in the Sunset District of San Francisco, California. In 2018, ALHS was ranked #499 and earned a gold medal by U.S. News & World Report, placing it in the top 2% of public high schools nationally.
ALHS offers honors and college prep programs and students have the opportunity to specialize in one of six academic areas: the Architecture, Construction, and Engineering Pathway, the Biotechnology Pathway, the Business Academy, the Digital Media Design Academy, the Teacher Academy, and the Green Academy.
In addition to its academies and pathways, ALHS provides services and special education for severely and non-severely impaired students; a comprehensive English Language Learner program; a Mandarin Secondary Dual Language Pathway; 4 years of Spanish, Mandarin, French, and Japanese instruction; a GATE pathway for gifted and talented students; a Wellness Center; Peer Resource Program; AVID; Step-to-College; and a vast array of clubs, athletics, and extracurricular activities.

History, location and facilities

Abraham Lincoln High School was established on Tuesday, August 27, 1940, accepting approximately 950 students under principal Clyde W. White. Its opening and dedication ceremony was held on September 22, 1940.
ALHS is a "westside" school along with Lowell High School and George Washington High School.
In the center of the Sunset District, ALHS occupies four city blocks demarcated by the intersections of Quintara Street and Santiago Street and 22nd Avenue and 24th Avenue. The school is located near the Sunset Reservoir, which supplies water for the Sunset district and serves as a rectangular, city-block track for physical education, and directly north of McCoppin Square, the Taraval Police Station, and the Parkside branch of the San Francisco Public Library.
A 1938 bond issue, approved by San Francisco voters to address the increasing population in the Western San Francisco area, financed the incorporation of ALHS with a three-story building of 50 classrooms, library, and cafeteria as well as a football field, costing over $750,000 in 1940. Additions such as the North and South Gymnasiums, the auditorium, and the "New Building" expansion were completed later.
ALHS has been the beneficiary of the voter-approved Prop A Bond work for remodeling and renovation. The site has been fully updated for the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as much cosmetic advancement including new floors. ceilings, and light fixtures throughout the building, an expanded alarm system, campus-wide exterior lighting, interior and exterior paint, new athletic fields and irrigation systems, a new rubberized track with "D" zones, batting cages, refurbished floors in both gymnasiums, new tennis courts, picnic tables, a remodeled cafeteria and a remodeled basement level that includes state-of-the-art classrooms, two new Biotechnology laboratories designed by the instructors, and a Photography lab with dark room. The
crowning achievement of the bond work has been a new building housing eighteen 21st century classrooms that is LEED certified "green" construction. Lincoln has also received greening grants that have installed an outdoor classroom, raised plant beds, a condensation irrigation system and tree plantings.

Academics and admissions

Abraham Lincoln High School, unlike alternative schools such as Lowell and SOTA, is a comprehensive school which does not require special applications, testing or auditions for admission. As with all SFUSD schools, Lincoln's admissions are affected by the "diversity index", which considers factors such as socioeconomic status, academic achievement, parents' educational background, and the API score of the sending school.
For the 2017–2018 school year, ALHS was the second most requested high school in the district, after Lowell. 34% of all applicants requested Lowell as a 1st choice, and 19% requested Lincoln.

Traditions

The school colors are red and gold, and the school mascot is the Mustang.
The school hymn, titled "High on a Hilltop", was written by Lincoln graduate, Patricia Cutler Aversano, in 1943.

High on a hilltop, 'mid sand and sea,

Abraham Lincoln, we will honor thee forever.

Thy sons and daughters, however long the trail,

Always will remember thee. Hail! Hail! Hail!


The Bell Game is a 70-year old football tradition between Lincoln and rival Washington High School. The winning school receives the prized bell.
Spirit week is an important time at Lincoln High School. It takes place the week of the Bell Game. Spirit Week events include Battle of the Classes, Twin Day, Crazy Hair Day, Nerd Day, Polo/Hat/Tie Day, and Duct Tape/Tinfoil Day.
The annual Brotherhood Sisterhood Assembly is one of the largest events at ALHS. Various clubs perform to celebrate the school's diversity. BSA began as an opportunity to understand other cultures after a near fatal school-related shooting, which resulted in a paralyzed teenager over ten years ago. The BSA is a two-hour assembly presented by a wide array of extracurricular clubs that promote tolerance and awareness, diversity, and student interests.
Lincoln hosts two seasonal festivals each year: Fall Fest and Spring Fest. Accompanied by popular music, a majority of clubs hold fundraising activities in the open courtyard, from JROTC's traditional barbecues to Chinese food, other cultural dishes, smoothies and mixed drinks.
The Turkey Day game is the city championship football game held annually on Thanksgiving.

In popular culture

The first convention in Northern California was held at Lincoln in 1975.
The main entrance of ALHS is portrayed as Elmore Junior High School in the British/American cartoon show The Amazing World Of Gumball.

Extracurricular and community work

ALHS has over 30 clubs and student organizations including Amnesty International, Red Cross Club, Lincs Service Society, Environmental Club, Gay Straight Alliance, Youth for Chinatown Elderly, Chinese Leadership Empowerment Club, JROTC, Black Student Union, the Varsity Gold Show Choir, and Drama, to name a few.
The student body at ALHS prides itself on making generous charitable contributions and running charitable campaigns, with annual drives for organizations such as the and Salvation Army as well as fundraising for current disasters and other events needing charitable contributions. In 2004 the San Francisco Food Bank recognized ALHS for collecting the most food out of all San Francisco schools. That year students raised $10,000 in the wake of the 2004 Asian tsunami.

Athletics

ALHS fields varsity teams in baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, fencing, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, volleyball and wrestling. ALHS also offers track and field, badminton, softball, weightlifting and girls' flag football. Additionally, ALHS has a number of athletic and sports clubs including archery, cycling and dragon boat.

Dragon boat team

Established in 1996, the ALHS dragon boat team is one of the largest in the Bay Area. The dragon boat team is co-ed and has won numerous championships.
The ALHS Dragon boat teams won the World Championship title at the 11th International Dragon Boat Federation Club Crew World Championship Races in Szeged, Hungary in July 2018.

Varsity football

The ALHS Varsity Mustangs are the back-to-back California State Champions for football in 2018 and 2019.
On December 15, 2018, the Mustangs defeated visiting Orange Glen High School, the San Diego Section Division V champion, 24-13 in the CIF Division VI state title game at City College of San Francisco. It was the first state title in the school's history in the first ever state championship game held in San Francisco.
On December 14, 2019, the Mustangs defeated Gardena High School Panthers 35-26 in the Division 7AA state championship at City College of San Francisco.

Demographics

AsianLatinoWhiteAfrican-AmericanFilipinoTwo or more racesAmerican IndianPacific IslanderOther/declined to say
51.5%24.6%7.5%5.3%4.3%1.1%.7%.7%4%



NameClass YearNotabilityReference
Brooksley Born1956American attorney and chairperson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
John L. Burton1950President of the California State Senate and Congressman.
Bruce Cohn1965Founder of B.R. Cohn Winery; manager of The Doobie Brothers.
Cecil O. De Loach, Jr.1956Firefighter, winemaker, viticulturist.
Bob DiPietro1945Baseball player for the Boston Red Sox.
Barbara Eden1949Actress.
Einar Enevoldson1950NASA test pilot and director of the Perlan Project.
Vince Guaraldi1946Jazz musician, pianist, and Grammy Award-winning composer; best known for composing music for animated adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip.
Mike Holmgren1966NFL head coach of the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers.
Jess Jackson1947Founder of Kendall-Jackson, Sonoma County's largest wine company.
Martin Jenkins1971Federal District Court Judge and Trustee, most widely known for presiding over the largest civil rights class-action suit in American history, Dukes v. Wal-Mart.
Ron Jones 1958Disability advocate and author.
Gus Lee1964Author, attorney, legal educator, and whistleblower.
Zeph Lee1981Football player for the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Raiders.
Johnny Miller1965Professional golfer and golf commentator for NBC Sports.
Martin J. Pasqualetti1962Professional geographer who pioneered work on energy landscapes.
Alonzo Powell1982Professional baseball player. Current hitting instructor for the San Francisco Giants.
Richard Serra1954Minimalist sculptor.
Tony Serra1952Trial attorney and tax activist.
Jeffrey Tambor1961Emmy Award winning actor.
Laurence Tribe1958Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard.
Ken Venturi1949Professional golfer and sports commentator.
BD Wong1978Television, film, and Tony Award-winning theater actor.
Micah FranklinProfessional baseball player. Played in the MLB, NPB, and KBO.

General information

*
*