Beverly Hills Unified School District

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The Beverly Hills Unified School District, abbreviated BHUSD, is a school district based in Beverly Hills, California. It was formed in 1935.

Beverly Hills USD serves the city of Beverly Hills. It consists of four K-8 schools, one high school and a special education school. The high school, Beverly Hills High School, has been known for such movies such as Clueless and its famous alumni. Angelina Jolie and Nicholas Cage are some of the many famous people who have attended the school.

The current district superintendent is Kari McVeigh. The previous superintendent was Dr. Jeffrey Hubbard, who accepted a position as the superintendent at the Newport-Mesa Unified School District in Orange County. [1]

1 Schools
- 1.1 Elementary schools
- 1.2 Secondary schools
2 References
3 External links

[edit] Schools

The District supports four elementary schools and one high school.

[edit] Elementary schools

[edit] Beverly Vista School

Beverly Vista School serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade in Beverly Hills. Established in 1924, the school enrolls 732 students in the 200 block of South Elm Drive. A new building B was dedicated on October 3, 2007. The Principal is Erik Warren and the Vice Principal is Cherryne Lue-Sang. All Beverly Vista students continue on to Beverly Hills High School.

Beverly Vista School was awarded the California Distinguished School Award in 1989, 1993, 1997 and 2004.^[1]

Beverly Vista's B building includes a bell tower, an auditorium with a balcony, and classrooms for band, choir, and foreign students.

[edit] El Rodeo School

El Rodeo School serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade in Beverly Hills. Established in 1927, the school enrolls 743 students in its campus at 605 Whittier Drive. The Principal is Patricia Escalante and the Vice Principal is Kevin Painter. All El Rodeo students continue on to Beverly Hills High School.

Kevin Painter first was a fifth grade teacher at Beverly Vista School before becoming Vice Principal.

[edit] Hawthorne School

Hawthorne School serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade in Beverly Hills. Established in 1914, the school enrolls approximately 900 pupils and occupies most of the 600 block of North Rexford Drive in Beverly Hills. Among its alumni are Jack Abramoff and Monica Lewinsky. The Principal is Alex Cherniss and the Vice Principal is Kathy Schaeffer. All Hawthorne students continue on to Beverly Hills High School.

[edit] Horace Mann School

Horace Mann School (named after Horace Mann, American education reformer, abolitionist, and congressman) serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade in Beverly Hills. Established in 1929, the school enrolls 723 students in its campus at 8701 Charleville Blvd. The Principal is Dr. Dawnalyn Murakawa-Leopard and the Vice Principal is Marlene Calcenes; due to a maternity leave the interim vice principal is Patricia Samarge. All Horace Mann students continue on to Beverly Hills High School.

On March 18, 1929, construction began on a two-story, 30-room Spanish style school building. In July, the school was named Horace Mann School, and 307 students and 11 teachers entered its doors in Kindergarten through sixth grade on December 9, 1929. The school was officially dedicated on March 21, 1930.^[2] The first seventh grade students began attending in February 1930, and the first eighth graders arrived in the fall of 1930. The first graduating class of 30 students was in June 1930.^[2] In 1932 and 1933, the school was expanded, closing off most of Arnaz Drive for playground space and to ensure safe passage for the students between the buildings. In 1962-63, the music, art and industrial arts wing were remodeled. In 1966, the auditorium was reconstructed, and in 1968, the school's tower building was opened. A faculty parking structure, with middle school classrooms above, was built in 1975. Additional property on Robertson Boulevard was acquired in the 1980s.^[2]

Horace Mann has had six principals.^[2]

Thomas Mock (1929-1958)
David Haserot (1958-1972)
Dr. Helene West Feldman (1972-1976)
Arthur Fields (1976-2001)
Dr. Mark Jones (2001-2003)
Dr. Dawnalyn Murakawa-Leopard (2003-present)

Horace Mann School was awarded the California Distinguished School Award in 1987, 1997 , 2004 and 2008.^[2] The school is ranked 639 of 5365 elementary schools in California^[3] and is rated 93 on a 100 point scale.^[4]