Holy Names High School

The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary founded Holy Names High School in 1868. Established on the shores of Lake Merritt at the site of today's Kaiser Center, the school, then called Convent of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, has the distinction of being one of the first high schools in Oakland. In 1911, the University of California first accredited the school whose curriculum prepared students to attend the University.

Holy Names Central High School opened its doors at the current site on Harbord Drive in the fall of 1931 and combined the four high schools in Oakland then staffed by the Holy Names Sisters. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges and Western Catholic Education Association first accredited Holy Names in 1961.

School History
Holy Names High School has always reflected the time and community it has served. During the thirties, the school shared the poverty of the economic depression. In the forties it experienced the uncertainties and fears of a country at war. As the population of Oakland changed over the last half of the 20th century, so to has the school's population. Today Holy Names takes pride in a student population comprised of a rich racial, economic and religious diversity that comes together in a strong academic community where Catholic faith and Christian values are an integral part of the daily life of the school.