San Fernando High School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| San Fernando High School | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| 11133 O'Melveny Avenue. San Fernando, California |
|
| Information | |
| School district | Los Angeles Unified School District |
| Type | Public |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Mascot | Tigers |
| Color(s) | black, gold |
| Established | 1896 |
| Homepage | Official website |
San Fernando High School, located in San Fernando, California, is a secondary school that is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The school colors are black and gold. All girls teams are referred to as Lady Tigers, all boys teams simply as Tigers. It is the only high school in California with Project G.R.A.D.(Graduation Really Achieves Dreams). San Fernando High School also hosts the Puente Project, a national-award winning program which has assisted thousands of students reach their dreams of college success.
The City of San Fernando is zoned to the school. Originally the Pacoima area was mostly assigned to the school, but much of it was reassigned to Arleta High School when that school opened in 2006. The San Fernando Gardens public housing complex in the Pacoima area is assigned to San Fernando High School.
Plans to bring the school to a traditional calendar in 2009 rather than the "year-round" calendar have surfaced recently. With the opening of numerous new senior high schools in the valley to relieve overpopulation in area schools, the plan is possible. Apparently, that was obvious to officials as well, because in March of 2008 it was announced by current school principal Ken Lee that San Fernando High School would start on a traditional calendar in the fall of 2008. This calendar would allow all three tracks (A, B, and C-track; roughly 3300 students in total) to join as one in September of 2008, as well as make it impossible for the city's planned charter middle school to take residence within the school grounds.
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[edit] History
San Fernando High School, the second oldest school in the San Fernando Valley, was established in 1896 [1]. The first campus was located on Fifth Street and Hager Street. In 1906 the school was moved to a site on North Brand Boulevard. In 1952 the school moved to its present location at 11133 O'Melveny Avenue. The North Brand Boulevard location now houses San Fernando Middle School.
San Fernando High School's attendance boundary changed numerous times as well as new high schools opening in the area. In the fall of 2006, 9th and 10th graders in a portion of San Fernando High School's 2005-2006 school year zone will attend Arleta High School instead of San Fernando [2]; Arleta will phase in grades 11 through 12 [3].
The school will be relieved when Valley Region High School 5 opens in 2011 [4]. Los Angeles Times Retaliation Alleged for Teaching on Iraq War By Jessica Garrison Times Staff Writer
August 26, 2006
Among the students at San Fernando High School, a sun-baked campus in a poor, mostly Latino area on the northern fringe of the San Fernando Valley, the issue of military recruiting looms large.
The school sends hundreds more students to college than it does into the military, but still, according to senior Erika Preciado, "more recruiters are here for the military than for colleges."
The 17-year-old is co-editor of the school newspaper, El Tigre. In her journalism class this week, almost all of the students said they had been contacted by a military recruiter, and several said recruiters had been guest speakers in their classes or had talked to them at school events, such as one where recruiters brought a chin-up bar onto campus.
Seven of the 28 students said they knew someone who had died in Iraq while serving in the U.S. military.
The issue concerns the school librarian, Kitty Kroger, so much that she banned recruiters from placing their literature in the library and has waged a campaign to "make kids fully aware of what it would mean to be in the military."
Now the issue figures in a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District by a San Fernando High teacher who says the principal retaliated against him because he urged students to think critically about the military and the war in Iraq.
Alberto Gutierrez, a 33-year-old social studies teacher who is known on campus as a passionate educator with a left-wing tilt, says in a suit filed this week that after he "offered objective discussion … regarding the United States' involvement in the war in Iraq to his students," then-Principal Jose Luis Rodriguez began filling Gutierrez's personnel file with negative reviews and surreptitiously encouraging parents to complain about him.
The teacher says he received only glowing performance reviews until two years ago, after he began teaching about the war.
At the same time, according to the suit, Rodriguez didn't object when another teacher required students to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test, designed by the Department of Defense to measure aptitude for military service.
The suit contends that Rodriguez "strongly supports the United States' involvement in the war and adamantly opposes any other opinions."
Rodriguez, who has since been promoted to director of secondary services for one of Los Angeles Unified's local district headquarters in the Valley, denied those claims. He said he limited military recruiters' presence on campus to Wednesdays at lunch.
And he said his concerns about the teacher "weren't specific to the war in Iraq." Rather, he said, he spoke to Gutierrez because of complaints from parents that the teacher had required students to visit a cafe in Sylmar to watch movies including "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore's 2004 antiwar film, and "Crash," which won the Academy Award this year for best picture.
District policy requires that students have their parents' permission to see such adult-oriented movies, Rodriguez said. He added that Gutierrez is a committed teacher and called it unfortunate that he had chosen to sue.
Gutierrez responded that he did not require students to visit Tia Chucha's Cafe; he only offered them an extra-credit opportunity.
As for "Fahrenheit 9/11," Gutierrez said, he showed it to students in his classroom in response to unannounced and uninvited visits from military recruiters.
"I had military recruiters walk into my class two times in one week," he said. After those visits, he said, he decided to show the movie, which includes scenes of recruiters — one of whom was later killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq — before allowing recruiters to address his class. He also said Rodriguez placed limits on the recruiters only after Gutierrez and other teachers exerted pressure.
Gutierrez, who grew up in North Hills, said he was once affiliated with a gang but has dedicated himself to improving conditions in his community and at San Fernando High.
"As a teacher, my goal is to bring awareness and make the connection between the textbook and the real world," he said.
Military recruiters' visits to high schools have led to disputes around the country in the last few years, with some teachers and parents complaining that they use overly aggressive tactics and target schools with low-income and minority students.
The federal No Child Left Behind Act allows the Pentagon to gather the home addresses and telephone numbers of public school students.
An opt-out clause lets parents sign a form preventing information about their child from being released.
In addition, the law says any school that allows college recruiters must also allow military recruiters if it wants to keep its federal funding.
At San Fernando High, Kroger, the librarian and sponsor of the now-defunct Peace Club, said she was taken aback when some of her students talked of joining the military and bombing Middle Eastern countries.
"I think we should have separation of the school and the military," she said. "It's become much too enmeshed in the school."
But Kroger said she blames the federal law that allows recruiters on campus — not the former principal.
"I personally haven't seen any crackdown on dissent," she said.
Copyright 2006 Los Angeles Times
[edit] Athletics
[edit] Football
Operating the wishbone offense (a rarity in California) with future USC stars Charles White and Kevin Williams, San Fernando High won the L.A. City Football title in 1974 and 1975, repeating the 1934, 1937, 1953 and 1967 season championships. Prior to the 1975 season, they were ranked #1 in the country. In 1976 they lost their first game of the season to Gardena High by a score of 41-0. The team rebounded, losing only one more game (and defeating John Elway's Granada Hills High team along the way) to earn a spot in the city playoffs. They went on to defeat Banning High School to win the city title.
[edit] Wrestling
The San Fernando High School wrestling team currently holds the largest number of city championships in Los Angeles. In the spring season of 2006, the Tiger wrestling team had a perfect undefeated season of 21-0. The 2006 wrestling team took first place at the C.I.F. championship, with five of their wrestlers qualifying for the State championship.
[edit] Student Government
The San Fernando High School Student Government (ASB starting in the fall of 2008) is a well organized school organization. It is a well respected and respectful student run organization that is in charge of most school events. Covering everything from homecoming to the annual "Tiger Fest" (a school activity in which many school clubs and teams sell foods during an extended lunch period; it usually consists of music, activities and wonderful theme decorations), the student government class is known for creativity.
[edit] San Fernando Mighty Tiger Marching Band and Color Guard
San Fernando High School is home to the San Fernando Mighty Tiger Marching Band and Color Guard. With unforgettable field shows and amazing music, the Mighty Tigers are a tough band to beat in the LAUSD Band and Drill Team Competitions held annually at East L.A. College.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Gerald Chamales
- George Lopez, comedian, writer, actor.
- Christopher Duarte, musician.
- Anthony Davis, USC running back from 1972-74.
- Charles White, NFL and USC running back, Heisman trophy winner in 1979.
- Richie Valens, late 1950s Rock and Roll icon.
- Rodrigo Barbosa, Muay Thai Kickboxing Champion.
- Milford Zornes, artist.
- Alex Padilla, California State Senator.
- Tony Cardenas, Los Angeles City Council member.
- Felipe Fuentes, California State Assembly member.
- Denzil E. "Denny" Crum,Head Coach, University of Louisville between 1971 and 2001.
- Cheech Marin, comedian, actor, writer.
[edit] External links
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