York School (California)

York School
Location
9501 York Rd Monterey, CA 93940 United States
Coordinates	36°34′29″N 121°48′15″W
Information
Type	Private, Day
Motto	Inspiring and preparing a diverse community of creative, independent thinkers for over 50 years
Established	1959
Staff	10
Faculty	31
Grades	8-12
Enrollment	225
Color(s)	Red and Black
Athletics	12 sports
Athletics conference	Pacific Coast Athletic League (PCAL)
Mascot	Peregrine Falcon
Rival	Stevenson School
Religion	Episcopal
Accredited by	WASC NAIC National Association of Episcopal Schools California Association of Independent Schools
Website	york.org

York School is a coeducational day school consisting of about 225 students on a hilltop near Highway 68 in Monterey, California.

History

York was founded in 1959 with 12 seventh-grade boys and two teachers. For the first year, only seventh-grade boys were admitted, but it was planned that a grade would be added each year as the class advanced until a full high school was in session. Later, the seventh grade was dropped. It was decided that the Episcopal school would be called York after the Diocese of York in England, one of the oldest in existence. The coat of arms of the See of York was adopted as the school's slogan and is still in use today.

York started in Pacific Grove, but was soon moved to Monterey. It was a day school until dormitories could be built in 1964. The same year, the new Laguna Seca campus was opened, where York remains today. Later, for various reasons, including financial constraints, York stopped accepting boarding students. The dorms were converted into classrooms and the boarders were sent to a house in Pacific Grove, called the “pink house,” where they finished their education as the last class to include boarding students.

York would see many more changes in the ensuing years. In 1970, York became coeducational. In 1973, it became non-diocesan. The land still belongs to the Episcopal Church and will return to the Church if York dissolves. However, York is not as closely affiliated with the Church as it had been in the past. As the school grew, more electives were added to the curriculum, such as art and choral music. Originally, York had no official sports teams, but in time various teams were formed.

York would then see a new change, where they are in the process of building a new soccer stadium for an upcoming soccer club. As well as they will be creating new dormitories.

Sports

York has a variety of sports for both boys and girls, for varsity and junior varsity divisions. During the Fall, students may participate in Boys’ Water Polo, Girls’ Field Hockey, Girls’ Tennis, Girls’ Volleyball, or Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country. During the Winter, they may participate in soccer or basketball, which are divided into girl and boy teams. In Spring, students may join boys’ and girls’ lacrosse, track and field, and swimming, or Boys’ Tennis (coached by stellar Chamisal coach Matt(hew) Ledoux), Girls’ Softball, and coed golf. The school's colors are red and black, and its mascot is Florky the Falcon.

Headmasters

• Father Brunner (1959–1965)
• Father Wood (1965–1966)
• Charles S. Downes (1966–1974)
• John H. Pomeroy (1974–1976)
• Henry Littlefield (1977–1990)
• Dr. Richard Enemark (1991–1993)
• Jim Tunney (1994–1995)
• Roger Bowen (1995–2002)
• Chuck Harmon (2002–2019)
• Doug Key (2019-2024)
• Garrett Webster (2024-Present)

Noted alumni

• Ben Jealous, former president of NAACP and executive director of environmental advocacy group Sierra Club
• Scott Snibbe, media artist and founder of Snibbe Interactive
• Greg Rucka, novelist and comic book writer
• David Lin

External links

• York School