Monroe High School (Los Angeles)
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| James Monroe High School | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| North Hills, Los Angeles, California |
|
| Information | |
| Principal | Mr. Ayala |
| Type | Track School (A,B,C) |
| Color(s) | Red, White, & Blue |
| Established | 1958 |
| Homepage | Official website |
Monroe High School (MHS) is a high school in the North Hills area of Los Angeles, California, belonging to the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its address is 9229 Haskell Ave., North Hills, CA 91343. Home of The Vikings (mascot). It is home to Small Learning Communities (SLCs) and magnet schools.
Contents |
[edit] History
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This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can (August 2007). |
Monroe High opened in 1958 [1].
The opening of Panorama High School in October 2006 [2] relieved overcrowding at James Monroe High School[3].
Monroe runs by tracks but starting the 2008-2009 school year, it will change into a traditional school.
[edit] Smaller Learning Communities (SLCs)
- 9th Grade Academy
- Arts, Media, & Entertainment
- Education, Child Development, & Family Services
- Hospitality, Tourism. & Recreation
- Public Service
- Engineering & Design (including the Monroe SAS )
- Magnet (LAW & GOVERNMENT, Police Academy)
[edit] SAS (School for Advanced Studies)
The Monroe School for Advanced Studies formed in 2001 under the leadership of Todd Tyni. After his departure, Dr. Leigh Clark became the new director, with Greg Schiller as the co-coordinator. Although the program does not necessarily have a specific academic theme or focus, due it's small size, it belongs to the larger SLC of Engineering & Design in C-Track. Attempts have been made to try to make SAS its own Smaller Learning Community; however, it is too small (somewhat ironically), with only about 175 students. Its overreaching goal is to expose students to higher-level learning opportunities, prospective colleges and career paths, and simply: education for education's sake.
The SAS boasts a small, close-knit group of teachers and students, as well as a unique, personal and challenging course. Although the SAS provides students with a "basic plan" of classes to take, which meet or exceed high school requirements and college prerequisites, many students choose to modify their schedules to suit their interests and needs. The program also stresses Advanced Placement classes, offering opportunities to take courses in AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP English Language, AP U.S. History, AP Calculus AB, AP English Literature, AP World History, AP U.S. Government and Politics, AP Psychology, and AP Spanish Literature.
SAS students have gone on to create the SAS club to plan, coordinate and fund-raise for the program, and the SAS Drama Club, which has produced Werewolf's Curse or: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow by Billy St. John,The French Have a Word For it by Georges Feydeau, and Rumors by Neil Simon. SAS students have opportunities to take part in other school clubs and classes; many belong to programs such as JROTC, Cheerleading, Volleyball, Yearbook, Leadership, Basketball, Fencing, Christian Club, Key Club, and Karate Club.
[edit] The Magnet Schools in MHS
Magnet Students can choose from honors level and Advanced Placement (AP) classes in many subject areas such as:
- AP Environ. Sci
- AP English
- AP Biology
- AP Foreign Language
- AP Calculus
- AP Chemistry
[edit] Speech and Debate
The James Monroe High School team has won six state champions, including two in expository speaking, one in Original Oratory, one in Dramatic Interpretation, one in Original Prose and Poetry, and one in Thematic Interpretation. Students from the team have gotten into schools such as Harvard, Yale, Brown, Wellesley, Vassar, UCLA, USC, UC Berkeley and many more. The team often has people rank in the top 18 in the state in various events. The team has established statewide dominance and has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 1995, when Chante Griffin - a former Miss Teen of America - was Monroe's sole qualifier to the California State Finals. Controversially, Monroe no longer fields a policy debate team, despite the early regional dominance established by Monroe's first squads in the late 1990s, due to the longtime coach's opposition to the recent trends in high school competition in that event.
[edit] Mock Trial
Because of The Law and Government Magnet, James Monroe High School has its own court room located in the school's F hall. The school's Mock Trial team, which competes in the Constitutional Rights Foundation's Los Angeles Mock Trial, has been very successful over the years. In the last 6 Years, the school has been in the semifinals four times, and one time in the quarterfinals. They have had multiple members rank best attorney in Los Angeles. Many of Monroe's mock trial alumni go on to successful careers in intercollegiate competition, law school, and legal practice; others have paved successful paths outside of the field of law.
[edit] Sports
Some sports teams in Monroe include Football (Boys), Baseball (Boys), Basketball (Boys and Girls), Volleyball (Boys and Girls), Tennis (Boys and Girls), Fencing (Boys and Girls), Soccer (Boys and Girls), Softball (Girls), Track and Field (Boys and Girls), Wrestling (Boys and Girls) and Chess Club
[edit]
Football
The James Monroe High School football team has been undergoing reconstruction over the last 3 years. All the hard work has paid off, after just winning four games over the past two seasons, The monroe Vikings ended the 2007-2008 season with a record of 7-4 losing in the invitational playoffs against North Hollywood. Head coach Donald Senegal has worked and fought hard to make the Vikings a competitor, but made them even better than that the Vikings are the team to beat in the Valley Mission league. The Monroe traditions for football are rich and are looking to go nowhere but up and make the program one of the top teams in the valley.
[edit] Chess Club
James Monroe High School has also had a very strong Chess Team. The founder of the chess club is English teacher and United States Chess Federation chess master Steve Hughes. For the last five years, Mike Moreno, a former chess student of Mr. Hughes' from San Fernando Junior High, has assisted in coaching the team.
From 1997 to 2007, James Monroe High School had a good number of prominent chess players. The chess team participated in city, state, and national championships, winning seven city and six state championships. Many great chess players have come out of Monroe High including Santy Wong, Romeo De La Cruz, Minas Nordanyan, Arsen Nordanyan, Ryan Reyes, John Quach, Miguel Contreras, Robert Zuchini, and Abraham White.
The Monroe Chess Team finished very strongly in the Supernationals I, held in Knoxville in 1997. The team captured second place in Division II, behind the performances of Romeo De La Cruz, who won the Division II title with a perfect 7-0 score, and Santy Wong, who placed third with 6.5 out of 7 points. In the 2001 Supernationals II, held in Kansas City, Minas Nordanyan spearheaded a strong team to its best national finish ever, twelfth place in the championship section and fourth place in the blitz championship. Minas Nordanyan finished in fourth place in both the tournament and the blitz championships. Also playing for Monroe in Kansas City were: Arsen Nordanyan, Tongzhou Wang, Abraham White, and Arturo Garcia.
In April 2006 James Monroe High School took four players to the National High School Chess Championships, which were held in Milwaukee. The team placed 23rd in the nation in the section of Under 1500. In the Blitz competition Monroe placed 22nd. The players were: (Captain) Miguel Contreras, Roberto Zuchini (placed 25th in the U1500 section), Jesse Moya, and Marcos Perez.
[edit] Track and Cross Country
The Monroe High School Track and Cross Country teams have been quite successful in the past 20 years. Under Head Track Coach Dean balzarett and Coach Leo Hernandez, both Boys and Girls Track and Cross country teams have won multiple League Championships throughout the years. In 2005 the Boys Cross Country team ended San Pedro High's winning streak by winning the 2005 Cross Country Team City Championship. In the 2006 Season, the Girls team placed 2nd in the City, winning its first trip to the State Championship in Fresno. Notable athletes include:
- Cesario Marquez- Holder of one of the fastest prep times on the Pierce College Course (14:50 mins). The fastest time was done by Ian Alsen of Granada Hills in a dual meet against Van Nuys in the fall of 1987.
- Manuel Ruiz- Holder of the LA City Track Record for the Boys' Varsity 3200 meter (8:55 mins)
- Gabriel Guzman- Track City Champion in the Boys' Varsity 3200 meter as a Sophomore, Cross Country City Champion as a Junior.
- Tim Quinn- All American High School Pole Vaulter in the 1970's
- Jeff Nadeu- Former Track City Record Holder in the High Jump
In June of 2007, Coach Dean Balzarett (Daddy Balzarett) retired after 41 years as Coach of the Track and Cross Country Teams. He was awarded one of the 2006 California Coaches Association High School Coach of the Year awards. He remains one of the greatest coaches in Monroe History.
[edit] Attempted name change
In 1972 one teacher on the History staff, Marvin Katz, challenged his class to "make history". Two of his students, Douglas McBride (deceased 1997) and Peter Hess decided to make a case for changing the name of the school to Marilyn Monroe High School. The two students circulated petitions and made tee shirts with Marilyn's image and the words "Monroe High". The students pitched their idea to the school staff and community wherever possible. They touted that the school would be more relevant using a modern era person instead of a President no one knows much about and promised to replace the bust in the library with a much more interesting one. The students decided they had succeeded making history when UPI called Mr. McBride one evening to interview him about the effort. As with so many high school projects it was soon dropped.
[edit] Notable Alumni
- Golden Brooks - actress
- Doug DeCinces - former Major League Baseball player.
- John Ennis (baseball) - Major League Baseball player
- Jim Geeting - author, retired Wyoming State Trooper and columnist.
- Debra Winger - Academy Award-nominated actress
- Brandon Browner - NFL-Football player
[edit] External links
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