Blair International Baccalaureate School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

Location
Blair High School
[[image:{{{img src="http://www.blairibmagnet.org/pics/header.jpg"}}}\|center\|200px]]
The Few, The Proud, The Vikings.
Pasadena, California USA
Information
Principal	Rich Boccia
Students	approx. 1,700
Type	Public
Mascot	Viking
Established	1960s
Homepage	blairibmagnet.org

Blair International Baccalaureate School (formerly Blair High School) is located at 1201 S. Marengo Avenue, Pasadena, California 91106 and is in the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD).^[1] It offers the IB Diploma Programme. The school underwent a major academic overhaul beginning in the fall of 2004 as a result of sub-standard academic performance, which prompted a state review. The school's two "co-principals" were replaced with a single principal, Rich Boccia (an administrative official with the Pasadena Unified School District, and district employee since 1980), who previously was principal at South Pasadena Middle School. During Boccia's tenure, school wide academic performance rose sharply as a result of several academic reforms.

Blair High School was one of many PUSD high schools threatened to be shut down due to budget cuts.^[2] The prospect of having to send their children to Muir High School brought out a strong showing of community support and was able to convince the Pasadena school board to keep Blair open. Students, parents (both with enrolled children, and those considering Blair), and various local figures attended school board meetings in large numbers to support Blair^{[citation needed]}.

For the 2007 - 2008 school year, Blair has been split into two different campuses while undergoing construction. The Blair A campus is on the west side of Marengo Avenue, and houses 10th through 12th grades. Blair East, or BE, is located where Allendale Elementary school used to be. It is home to 7th through 9th grades.

In athletics, Blair has a very good basketball team. Blair uses Pasadena City College for all varsity football home games due to lack of lighting grass and resources on their home field, but the junior varsity football team uses Blair's home field.

[edit] Alledged Gunman

On February 29th, 2008, a female student reported to school officials that she had seen a student with a gun on campus. School officials immediatley called police and put the entire school on lockdown as police searched every student and classroom. About ten classrooms containing students were not searched or evacuated; school officials failed to let the police know that those classrooms had students in them. The lockdown lasted for about eight hours until students were released to their parents. No gun was found on the campus, but a male student was arrested for suspicion of possessing a firearm.