De La Salle High School In Concord Turns 60 On Sunday, But Quietly

CONCORD, CA — From football stars to actors and executives, De La Salle High School has stood on 20 acres in Concord for more than half a century.

Instead of grandstanding on the day that marks the 60th year since its founding — Sept. 7, 1965 — the high school will be keeping a low profile.

The anniversary will be part of other events, such as printing the date on glasses during the annual Taste of De La Salle fundraiser.

But the adults are clearly proud. “Sixty years is more than an anniversary— it’s a testament to a mission lived and renewed,” the school president, David Holquin, said. “This milestone celebrates not just our history, but the generations of leaders shaped here who transform their communities and the world. Our commitment to forming young people of character and conviction remains as resolute as ever," he said.

The all-male school is named after the French priest and education reformer, St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, who founded the Lasallian Christian Brothers. The brothers founded the school in Concord, whose population in 1965 numbered just over 36,000.

La Salle now graduates about 1,000 young men annually.

De La Salle prides itself on academics. But the school also has a reputation for sports, particularly when it comes to the Spartans, which achieved a 151-game football winning streak, multiple national titles, and widespread recognition, including national articles, and the book and film, “When the Game Stands Tall.”

NFL kicker and Superbowl champion Doug Brien, who played with the San Francisco 49ers, graduated from De La Salle.

Graduates return to the school to mentor students preparing to exit high school, De La Salle spokesman Richard Davi said.

Not all of them have to be football stars, he said. Academics distinguish the school as much as sports have, he added.

The school is also working on making the transition into high school easier. "Fitting in is always a pressure," Davi said. The school has to keep students enrolled or there wouldn't be a De La Salle for long, meaning students have to want to stay. They have options and single-gender, religious private schools charging upwards of $25,000 are shrinking in number despite scholarships and incentives.

This year, De La Salle launched a program called the House System, which Davi likened to Hogwarts, the imaginary school in the Harry Potter series.

Incoming 9th-grade students are assigned to one of the "houses," filled with their fellow students from different grades.

That said, the school still encourages a little rivalry. But, Davi said, they live by the school's motto, "Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve."