Frequently Asked Questions about GWHS, GWHSAA and Alumni Membership

Documentation comes from S.F. Unified School District offices, no records are stored at GWHS after graduation. 

• The District offers transcripts via an online request and payment process which we’ve been told is very simple. Click here for the link to do so.

• The District does not offer replacement diplomas. We can create facsimile diplomas for a minimum cost of $30 to cover materials, only if we can borrow a classmate's diploma [so that your facsimile will have the correct signatures], but they are not official at all. 

For volumes up to 2012, vintage Surveyors are at this page on our Square site. Proceeds benefit the current yearbook class. If you don’t see the year you want, we don’t have any. Orders are not fulfilled during school closures such as summer vacation or winter break. For volumes from 2013 onwards, we may occasionally have a copy so please check our Square site. If we don't have one, buy new books at TreeRing.

It depends on several factors:

• We require the person's full name when they were in GWHS, and their year of graduation.

• If they are a living Alumni Association member, in accordance with our Privacy Policy we’ll ask if they’re willing to release their contact information to you. We must wait for their response.

• If they are a deceased member, we’ll tell you when they passed (if we know) but we do not have family contact information.

• If they are not a member, we may be able to ask reunion committees (if one exists) if they have any information.

We cannot research beyond this, as we are not a genealogical service or investigative agency.

Also see the last entry on this page about our Privacy Policy.

Faculty, coaches and administrators may also be Alumni Association members, in which case the same Privacy Policy procedures apply. If they’re not on our list, there is no source for us to check.

We’d be delighted to add your friend to the Alumni Association membership list for a one-time new member fee of $30. Alumni, family members, retired staff/faculty or friends of GWHS may join one of two ways:

• online at Givebutter — accepts PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay and all major credit cards)

• by check made out to GWHSAA. Mail us at GWHSAA, P.O. Box 590605, San Francisco, CA 94159. 

There’s a third way—buy your friend a gift membership, mail your check along with a note that has your name and address and the gift member's full name, address, phone, email, and year of graduation.

You do as much or as little as you want. There is no requirement for participation in events, or to give time or money. Once you have paid the one-time new member fee, any future contributions are much appreciated to support our mission, but are completely voluntary! 

If you want to become involved, there are opportunities for volunteering at school to make presentations to the student body officers or other specialized classes or groups, or to mentor students. There are also opportunities within the Alumni Association to assist with administrative tasks, or to apply for an Alumni Directorship to help steer our mission and values. Please use the Contact Us form on our Links + Contact page to inquire.

There is none! See above.

No, we do not have the manpower or budget to do so. Each class has their own reunion committee and coordinates their events independently. There are opportunities to join existing reunion committees or form a new committee for a class that doesn’t have one. 

The Alumni Association provides guidance (particularly for new committees), suggestions based on successful reunions coordinated by classes in the same demographic, publicity/promotion in our newsletter, emails and social media, and the Alumni member list for that particular class. 

Important: In accordance with our Privacy Policy, our member lists are only released to legitimate reunion committees; if there are two competing committees for the same class or a group coordinating an unauthorized event, we honor the existing/standing/more-established committee.

We are not an advertising platform and do not have the capability to provide advance publicity for upcoming events, lectures, performances, etc. We may, space permitting, include a brief mention of a book, performance or other achievement in the forthcoming AlumniScope, please ask us for details.

If you have very specific criteria and we are familiar with an alum who may fulfill that role, we can reach out to them with appropriate advance notice but participation is not guaranteed. Beyond that, we do not have a "speakers' bureau" listing of our members' vocations/careers. We have recruited alums' participation in past Career Days on campus via our eblasts and AlumniScope newsletter but we were not the sole source of participants for these events.

The GWHS Alumni Association:

• gives grants to teachers for classroom supplies and student activities that are not funded by the school district budget, thanks to the generosity of our members

• bestows over 40 scholarships to deserving college-bound students, thanks to the generosity of our members

• publishes the twice-yearly AlumniScope newsletter which is mailed to the majority of our members with news about campus, alumni, reunions and special events, and more

  • some members prefer email (which may include more recent or breaking news) sent every month or two

  • some request both mail and email

• provides guidance and promotion to reunion committees as stated above

• receives and preserve artifacts such as Eagle newspapers, commencement programs, sports and performing arts programs, other publications, photos, cards, pins and apparel, that provide insight into the rich history of Washington High; with the long-term goal of developing an on-site museum to display rotating exhibits

• saved the New Deal murals from destruction and will work to restore, preserve, explain and educate about them

• coordinates the induction of new Hall of Merit members and Lifetime Service Award recipients, maintain the Hall of Merit display board and the Gallery of Principals

Hall of Merit candidates are nominated by classmates or other parties for extraordinary lifetime accomplishments, and each fall the nominees are reviewed and voted on by the Alumni Board for induction in our annual awards dinner in late May. The current list of inductees, list of requirements and instructions for nominating are here. The nomination form is here, but it is only open from Aug. 15 to Oct. 31.

GWHS Athletic Hall of Fame candidates are nominated by coaches or classmates for athletic achievements while at GWHS and submitted to the GWHS AHoF Board of Directors. They review submissions and vote on nominees in the fall of even-numbered years for induction during their awards dinner in March of odd-numbered years. Nominators may submit nominations with documentation of their nominee’s achievements using this form.

The S.F. Prep Hall of Fame is a separate entity. Their website is currently unavailable, and they use paper nomination forms. Ask us for their contact information.

Established in 2016, the Annabelle Marsh Piercy Lifetime Service Award is named for a S’39 alum who served on the Alumni Board for many years, co-chaired the school’s 50th anniversary gala dinner, and coordinated dozens of class reunions, to honor alumni who have likewise taken the initiative and given their time willingly to independently coordinate multiple social events, commemorations and/or fundraising or undertaken other activities which benefit the GWHS community without any expectation of recognition. This award has no nomination process; awardees are selected directly by the Alumni Board.

The Alumni Board of Directors, four of whom also serve as Officers, all must be GWHS graduates; current bios are here. Directors must meet additional requirements and criteria. The application is in this Google Form. Honorary Directors include the current and former Principals and the Executive Director.

Scholarships and awards are complex, but in short they come into existence when a fund is established with gifts from alumni, family, colleagues, etc., and may be limited-duration or perpetual based on the initial gift amount and establishing donor’s instructions. See Alumni Funds.

To permanently name a physical feature on campus, a formal Resolution must be drafted and submitted by the Principal to the S.F. Board of Education; reviewed and approved by a school District committee and then by the full Board of Education; signage designed, purchased and installed (not paid for by the school budget); and a dedication ceremony scheduled, coordinated and publicized. So far only the Shop building (Lubamersky), the gym’s basketball court (Athanasopoulos) and the Esplanade (Vidal) have received official District naming approval.

No, drop-in access to campus during weekdays is not permitted for security reasons to preserve the safety and learning environment of students and teachers. Campus is closed other times unless an event is taking place. By prior arrangement, a one-on-one meeting with an Alumni Director on campus who will escort you to the locations you request to the best of the Director’s authority. If you attend an athletic or performing arts event on campus, access to other parts of the campus will be restricted.

NO.

Campus events are strictly limited and subject to review by school administration six months in advance, a School District permit application and payment six months in advance, additional payments for mandatory janitorial and security, a $1 million event liability insurance policy with the School District as named beneficiary, and other restrictions based on location requested. Also, there is absolutely no smoking of anything and no alcoholic beverages allowed anywhere on campus at any time; no beverages other than water, and no high heels, on the fields; no gym events without floor covering (additional fees); and only service animals are permitted.

Reunion committees are welcome to coordinate a campus tour prior to a reunion, subject to the administration availability as these tours are led by the Principal or Assistant Principal; however, no after-tour event is allowed on campus.

The GWHS Alumni Association will never:

• sell your data (member record).

• disclose your data to anyone, aside from your class’ verified reunion committee, without your express permission.

• ask for your birth date or Social Security number.