Garfield High School (Los Angeles County, California)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James A. Garfield High School
Location
East Los Angeles, California Flag of California
USA
Information
School district Los Angeles Unified School District
Principal Omar M. Del Cueto
Enrollment

4620 (2005-2006)
Type Public
Grades 9 - 12
Mascot Bulldog
Color(s) White, Blue, & Crimson             
Established 1925
Homepage Official website
LAUSD website

James A. Garfield High School is a public, year-round high school founded in 1925 in East Los Angeles, an unincorporated section of Los Angeles County, California. The school suffers from many of the problems common to inner-city schools. Its strong computer science magnet, Academic Decathlon, and Advanced Placement programs have led to unexpected academic success stories. The school was made famous by the film Stand and Deliver about teacher Jaime Escalante. The auditorium, constructed in 1924, was burned badly by an arsonist on May 20, 2007. The arsonist proved to be a freshman student at the school. The Administration building suffered some smoke and water damage.

float

Contents

[edit] Administration

Garfield is administered by the Los Angeles Unified School District.


[edit] Demographics History

From the 1930s through the 1950s, Garfield High was predominantly non-Hispanic white. However, since the 1960s, the majority of student body has been Hispanic. [1]

The school had a total of 4620 students in the 2005-2006 school year; 99.26% of the students were identified as Hispanic[2].

[edit] Academics

Overall, Garfield has a student population that places significantly below average in the California Standards Test.[3]

The vast majority of the parents of students at Garfield High School were born in another country; 67% never finished high school.[citation needed]

[edit] Year-Round Calendar

Garfield has been on a year-round, multi-track schedule to relieve overcrowding since July 1991. Initially, there were four tracks. The students are, for the most part, randomly assigned to one of three tracks, and alternate two-month vacations. Only two-thirds of the student body is on campus at any given time.

Classes are approximately 63 minutes in length and meet five times per week. Sixteen weeks constitute a semester. The highest mark possible is an "A" ; the lowest passing mark is a "D".

[edit] Academic Decathlon

Garfield has the following record in the California Academic Decathlon from 1998 to 2006[4]:

Year State standing State points LAUSD standing LAUSD points
2007 9th 44,509.7 5th 43,992.4
2006 10th 42,707.9 6th 44,310.4
2002 13th 42,645.0 7th 41,677
2001 12th 39,398 3rd 41,702
1999 8th 44,557 2nd 45,780
1998 6th 45,912 2nd Unknown

[edit] Advanced Placement

Garfield achieved fame because of Jaime Escalante who, in the 1980s, along with the administration of Henry Gradillas built an exceptional advanced placement program. In 1982, 18 of his students passed the advanced placement calculus test. The College Board suspected cheating and required the students to re-take the examination. Further testing showed that the students had actually learned the material.[5].

In 1987, 73 students passed, while another 12 passed the second year calculus test. In 1988, a popular film titled Stand and Deliver was made about the events of 1982. In 1990, there were over 400 students in Escalante's math program from algebra to calculus. In 1991, he had a falling out with the school administration and as a result left the Garfield school system. By 1996, only seven passed the basic calculus exam, with four passing the advanced exam. That was a total of eleven passing students, down from a high of 85 nine years earlier. In 2001, the school made a slight recovery in its calculus scores, with 17 passing the basic test and seven passing the second year test.[6]

The legacy of Jaime Escalante can be seen in the 722 students who took AP tests of some sort in 2000. They had a 44% overall pass rate, which is comparable to the national average.[7]

In 2004, Newsweek ranked Garfield 581st top high school in the nation. The rank was based on the number of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests taken by all students at a school in 2004 divided by the number of graduating seniors.[8]

[edit] Activities

[edit] Marching Band and Colorguard

The Garfield High School Marching Band and Colorguard (formerly Marching Band and Drill Team) is one of the most successful groups in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Since the late 1980's, Garfield has won 14 City Championships, and has won 5 in the last 7 years. In 2007, the Band and Colorguard became the 4th LAUSD school to make the Southern California Schools Band and Orchestra Association's Field Championships, tying for 6th place.[9]

[edit] Sports

The school colors are crimson, white, and blue, and the mascot is the bulldog.

[edit] Football

Garfield High School participates in the "East L.A. Classic" against Theodore Roosevelt High School, in football, a game that traditionally draws over 20,000 fans[10]. Garfield has the following record in the Classic:

Year W/L Score Source
2006 W 35-13 [11]
2005 W 27-26 [12]
2003 L 0-33 [13]
1999 W 16-13 [14]

Garfield is the 2007 Invitational City Champions.

[edit] May 2007 Auditorium fire

  • On 20 May 2007, an arsonist set fire to the school's 82 year-old auditorium. It is estimated over $30 million dollars in damages in the fire, the auditorium is now completely destroyed.[15]


[edit] Notes

  1. ^ In school, Latinos find fewer resources, ethnic isolation - The Boston Globe
  2. ^ LAUSD Enrollment Summary
  3. ^ http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/lausd/offices/bulletins/8679_cst.pdf
  4. ^ California Academic Decathlon Website
  5. ^ Jerry Jesness (2002). "Stand and Deliver Revisited".
  6. ^ Jerry Jesness (2002). "Stand and Deliver Revisited".
  7. ^ Jerry Jesness (2002). "Stand and Deliver Revisited".
  8. ^ Mathews, Jay. "The Complete List of the 1,000 Top U.S. Schools" (html), 16 May 2004 issue, Newsweek, 2004. Retrieved on 2006-12-02. 
  9. ^ World of Pageantry - Scores Links
  10. ^ NFLHS.COM - State Stories
  11. ^ http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-spw-hsfbgarfield4nov04,1,201416.story?coll=la-headlines-sports&ctrack=1&cset=true
  12. ^ NFLHS.COM - State Stories
  13. ^ http://archive.maxpreps.com/FanPages/Sports/Football/Common/Team.asp?TeamID={DE036292-2079-4DDA-AC9B-5E92FF9B8DBE}&setTeamType=3&setSeason={34E61A38-E781-4559-AD3B-975471A36E45}&setAffiliate=LAS
  14. ^ http://www.harvardindependent.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=8287
  15. ^ Fire destroys auditorium at Garfield High.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Los Angeles Unified School District District 5
High schools
Garfield • Jefferson • Lincoln • Roosevelt • Santee EC • Wilson
Magnet schools