| Galileo Academy of Science and Technology | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 1150 Francisco St San Francisco, California 94109 |
|
| Information | |
| Motto | Eppure si muove (Italian: "And yet it moves") |
| Established | 1921 |
| Principal | Marcus Blacksher |
| Faculty | ~100 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | ~2300 |
| Campus | Urban |
| Colour(s) | Purple and Gold |
| Mascot | Lions |
| Website | Galileo Web |
Galileo Academy of Science and Technology (formerly Galileo High School) is a public secondary school located in San Francisco's Russian Hill and Marina District neighborhoods. The school is a part of the San Francisco Unified School District.
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support from the American Express Foundation to expose high school students to the wide variety of opportunities and careers paths in one of the world’s largest industries. Through the Academy, students develop the thinking and problemsolving skills critical to their success in college, careers and beyond.
The excitement and diversity in the hospitality and tourism industry makes it an attractive field for students who are fascinated by other cultures and economies. This burgeoning industry offers a huge and growing variety of professional career choices. The Academy of Hospitality and Tourism provides engaging courses and real-life work experiences that inspire students about their future whether it is in this industry or other professions.
Completion of the Academy of Hospitality & Tourism program of study helps prepare students for post-secondary education not only in hospitality and tourism related majors but also for any concentrated program requiring a strong foundation in social studies, business, and language arts.
Courses: 11th Grade Year at Galileo
12th Grade Year at Galileo
Along with their required academic courses, students take one or two specialized, industry-related courses each semester and a college-level course in their senior year. Every AOHT student is encouraged to take at least three years of mathematics, a semester of computer applications, and to study at least one foreign language. Academies are organized to encourage teachers to work together in an interdisciplinary project-based approach so students understand the relevance of each subject and become engaged in learning.
Paid Internships Each summer Academy of Hospitality and Tourism students work as paid interns in hotels, museums, travel centers, tourism bureaus, sports facilities, and other hospitality and/or tourism-related settings.
AOIT Mission The mission of the Academy of Information Technology at Galileo is to prepare students for college and career success through a program of integrated curriculum emphasizing the role of information technology in academics and industry.
How It Works Students in AOIT take a technology elective class, and also have their English and social science classes together. Internships at companies ranging from Bank of America to Pixar give students real industry experience. Teachers work to build projects and skills across the curriculum. Together we all form a small learning community.
AOIT Electives 10th—Computer Applications 11th—Introduction to Programming 12th—AP Computer Science
What is the Galileo Health Academy?
The GHA is a program designed to teach students science and to explore careers in the health field through hands-on education and cross-curricular assignments. GHA places students in an applied and engaging learning environment, which often improves academic performance and behaviors at school.
Who is involved?
The GHA is an ongoing collaboration between Science teachers and English teachers at Galileo Academy, The School to Career office of the SFUSD, City College of San Francisco, California Pacific Medical Center and Community Education Services.
Benefits for GHA students:
- Receive double high school science credit towards graduation.
- Receive 10.5 CCSF units by the end of the program.
- Receive child, infant, and adult CPR certification.
- Receive career/college counseling.
- Become eligible for paid internships at CPMC.
- Are part of a “small learning community”
- Cross-curricular assignments make learning relevant.
Galileo has two regular hour schedules with 5-minute passing period (Monday, Tuesdays, and Fridays at 3:05PM), two early-leave days with 5-minute passing period (Wednesdays and Thursdays at 2:10PM, staff until 3:05PM), and two block period days with homeroom and 5-minute passing periods (Wednesdays with 1st, 3rd, and 5th periods; Thursday with 2nd, 4th, and 6th periods and dismiss at 2:10PM).
On December 10, 1920, Major Joseph P. Nourse, who had been actively engaged in educational work in the city for many years, became the first principal of Galileo High School. Throughout the summer, carpenters were busy converting the Red Cross Building, located on Fulton Street near the Civic Center. On August 1, 1921, Galileo High School welcomed its student body into the remodeled facilities. The ceremony of "breaking ground" for the new building occurred on November 4, 1921 ' Dedication of the Van Ness Building took place on March 30, 1924. At the same time, plans were underway for a new wing which would double the capacity of the school.
Back in the 1920s, the Galileo High School building was considered an outstanding example of modern architecture. Planned with the idea of housing one of the best educational institutions in the country, it was equipped to offer the highest type of academic curriculum in addition to training in commercial and technical branches.
During the 1970s, Galileo went through an extensive seismic retrofit where most, if not all, student facilities were moved across the street onto Fort Mason. Before the seismic retrofit, there were rumors that the Galileo campus would permanently be moved onto the Fort Mason site. Though the student population, then, did not indicate whether the move and larger facilities would be justified, the land that Galileo sits on was quite valuable, which could have made the move plausible. It can not be said whether this rumor is true, but can only be verified with the staff and faculty who worked at the school during that time.
Since school year 1995-96, Galileo has transformed itself to the Galileo Academy of Science and Technology. The new program provides students with career pathways and academies. These include the Galileo Health Academy, the Academy of Information Technology (AoIT), Biotechnology Pathway, and the Environmental Science Pathway. In 2006-2007, the Publications Pathway was introduced and new for 2007-2008 are the addition of the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism (AoHT) and Digital Photography Pathway. The Chinese Immersion Program is now discontinued.
On September 25, 2007, while some construction workers were digging the courtyard, they found a time capsule which was thought to be lost forever by the Class of 1982.[4] It was uncovered that day, but was filled with water, as well as a yearbook, a frisbee, a Rubik's Cube, and a Mighty Lion T-Shirt. It was buried shortly after the class of '82 graduated, then, 10 years ago, a search for the time capsule spanning every single square foot of the courtyard turned up nothing. The time capsule is currently stored in one of the closets in the building.
On October 31, 2007, the courtyard reopened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony by the ASB officers, followed by a celebration and a contest. The courtyard didn't fully open until sometime in November, as there was still more maintenance work that had to be done on the courtyard.
The school is located at 1150 Francisco Street, San Francisco, CA (Aerial View)
Galileo is located in the Marina district with nearby bus stops including the 19, 28, 30, 47, 49, and more. Less than half of the students reside near the school, but school buses and special 30-Stockton and the 47-Van Ness buses are provided by the district for transportation and the Municipal Railway. The 19-Polk also serves nearby, but has no special runs.
The Junior ROTC Battalion at Galileo is an Honor Unit with Distinction, the highest designation a unit may have. It's afterschool teams associated with JROTC are known to be very competitive, often placing highly in the annual Fall and Spring Competitions. Fall teams consist of the Drum Corps, Guidon, Squad Drill, and Color Guard. Spring teams are the Drill Platoon, Silent Drill Team, and Girls Drill Team.
Largely due to the fame of former football player and actor O.J. Simpson, Galileo was well known for its football team. Galileo's arch enemy is reputed to be the Eagles of George Washington High School, though the Cardinals of Lowell High School have been a rising challenge.
The football field that dominates the second block of Galileo was formerly named in honor of O.J. Simpson. However, after Simpson's infamous trial in 1995, the football field was subsequently renamed to George White Field. The two twin apartment buildings that face the northern side of the football field are the Fontana buildings. The design of the twin buildings were actually built to echo and magnify the sounds of the football games.
Galileo's Football has gone undefeated three times in the school's history in 1988 the Lions defeated McAteer High School becoming the first football team in San Francisco History to go 12 - 0. The second time was in 1990 and the third was in 2002 when the Lions defeated the Washington Eagles.
During the 2009 season, the Galileo Lions snap an 18 game losing streak and end up playing in the San Francisco AAA Turkey Bowl against the Lincoln Mustangs. Lincoln had won 4 AAA championships in a row prior to the 2009 season. The Lions shut out the Mustangs and won 35 to 0.
Galileo previously had a bad reputation for low test scores and criminal events occurring in school, but in more recent years it has become one of the most improved schools in San Francisco (see Academic Performance Index below). Since the installation of surveillance cameras in 2005, criminal acts at Galileo have declined as a serious issue. Math scores remain one of Galileo's best academic strengths.
Galileo is now known for its strong career academy programs, high volume of AP and Honors courses, warm community, and excellent academics. It is one of the only fully wireless schools in the district. It is known to have a committed faculty and administration. Students go to Galileo from all over the city, and most incoming 9th graders chose it as their first choice school.
| Score type | 2004–2005 | 2005–2006 | 2006–2007 | 2007–2008 | 2008–2009 | 2009–2010 | 2010–2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schoolwide API | 744 | 763 | 753 | 742 | 757 | ? | 790 | |
| API statewide rank | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | ? | ? | |
| API similar schools rank | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 3 | ? | ? |
| Score Type | Lowell | Wallenberg | Galileo | Washington | Lincoln | Burton |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schoolwide API | 951 | 791 | 790 | 772 | 751 | 690 |
| API Statewide Rank | 10 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| API Similar Schools Rank | 10 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Latino | White | African-American | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | American Indian | Filipino | Other Non-White | Declined to state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.7% | 0.8% | 7.4% | 44.6% | 2.8% | 3.9% | 1.2% | 8.4% | 10.7% | 1.4% |