| Lowell High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 1101 Eucalyptus Drive San Francisco, California, 94132 United States |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Motto | Fiat Scientia ("Let there be knowledge") |
| Founded | 1856 (as Union Grammar School) |
| School board | San Francisco Board of Education |
| School district | San Francisco Unified School District |
| School number | 697 |
| CEEB Code | 052970 |
| Dean | Ray Cordoba |
| Principal | Andrew W. Ishibashi |
| Vice principal | Holly Giles |
| Vice principal | Ellen Reller |
| Vice principal | Michael Yi |
| Faculty | ~150[1] |
| Number of students | 2,671[2] |
| Campus type | Urban |
| School Colour(s) | cardinal red white |
| Song | The Lowell Hymn |
| Mascot | Cardinal |
| Team name | Cardinals |
| Accreditation(s) | Western Association of Schools and Colleges |
| USNWR ranking | 28th[2] |
| Academic Performance Index Average | 950 |
| Newspaper | The Lowell |
| Yearbook | 'The Red and White' |
| Website | http://lhs-sfusd-ca.schoolloop.com/ |
Lowell High School is a public magnet school in San Francisco, California. The school opened in 1856 as the Union Grammar School and attained its current name in 1896. Lowell moved to its current location in the Merced Manor neighborhood in 1962.
Run by the San Francisco Unified School District, Lowell is open to all San Francisco residents and charges no tuition. Admission is contingent on submission of an application and based primarily on evaluation of test scores and prior academic record.[3]
Lowell contains a wide-ranging and rigorous curriculum and is noted for its academic excellence and prominent alumni. The school has been named a California Distinguished School seven times and a National Blue Ribbon School four times.[4][5] Lowell is currently ranked 28th by U.S. News & World Report's Best High Schools in America for 2010 and 49th by Newsweek's America's Best High Schools 2010 list.[2][6]
Contents |
Lowell High School began in 1856 as the Union Grammar School. In 1894, the school was renamed to honor the distinguished poet James Russell Lowell, chiefly by Pelham W. Ames, a member of the school board and ardent admirer of James Russell Lowell. The school relocated in January 1913 to an entire block on Hayes Street between Ashbury and Masonic. Lowell remained there for 50 years and established its position as the city's college preparatory high school. In 1952, the school sought a new location near Lake Merced and moved there (its present address) in 1962.
In 1983, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) attempted to ensure racial desegregation at Lowell and other schools by implementing a race-based admissions policy as a result of San Francisco NAACP v. San Francisco Unified School District and the 1983 Consent Decree settlement.
Because of the Consent Decree, SFUSD strived to create a more equal distribution of race at Lowell, which was predominantly Chinese American, particularly trying to introduce more African American and Hispanic students into the school's population. As a result of this policy, effective in 1985, Chinese-American freshman applicants needed to score 65 out of a possible total of 69 eligibility points, whereas Caucasian and other East Asian candidates needed only 61 points.
In 1994, a group of Chinese-American community activists organized a lawsuit to challenge the 1983 Consent Decree race-based admissions policies used by SFUSD for its public schools.
In 1999, both parties agreed to a settlement which modified the 1983 Consent Decree to create a new "diversity index" system which substituted race as a factor for admissions with a variety of factors such as socioeconomic background, mother's educational level, academic achievement, language spoken at home, and English Learner Status.
Critics of the diversity index created by Ho v. San Francisco Unified School District point out that many schools, including Lowell, have become even less racially diverse since it was enacted.
On November 15, 2005, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California denied a request to extend the Consent Decree, which was set to expire on December 31, 2005 after it had been extended once before to December 31, 2002. The ruling claimed "since the settlement of the Ho litigation [resulting in the institution of the "diversity index"], the consent decree has proven to be ineffective, if not counterproductive, in achieving diversity in San Francisco public schools" by making schools more racially segregated.[7]
The expiration of the Consent Decree means that SFUSD's admissions policies, including the "diversity index" and the special admissions policies granted to Lowell, and many of its "Dream School" initiatives are no longer codified and mandated by the Consent Decree. As a result, these policies may be challenged at the community and local levels as well instead of just at the judicial level by filing a lawsuit.
Lowell is located north of Lake Merced, south of San Francisco's Parkside District. The school spans several blocks between Sylvan Ave. in the west and 25th Ave. in the east, and Eucalyptus Drive in the north to Winston Drive in the south. The school is accessible via the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) K, M, 17, 18, 23, 28, 28L, and 29 lines. The campus is located next to Lakeshore Elementary School, a public school, and St. Stephen School, a private K-8 school.
The campus itself consists of a main three-story academic building with two extensions, a three-story science building finished on September 21, 2003,[8] a two-story visual and performing arts building with the 1500-seat Carol Channing auditorium, 13 Bungalows, a library, extensive arts and science laboratories, six computer labs, a foreign language lab, an indoor gymnasium, a dance studio, a weight room, an American football field, a soccer/multipurpose field and baseball batting cage, ten tennis courts, eight basketball courts, four volleyball courts, and a 1/4 mile (400 m) dirt oval.
Lowell is one of the two public schools in the San Francisco Unified School District (the other being School of the Arts) that is permitted to admit only students who meet special admission requirements.[9] The Lowell admission process is based on a combination of standardized test scores, GPA, a writing sample, and extracurricular activities. Lowell High School is ranked 3rd in terms of test scores among the Top 10 Public Schools in California, behind Gretchen Whitney High School and Oxford Academy. Lowell was also named a California Distinguished School in 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994, 2001, and 2009 as well as a National Blue Ribbon School in 1983 and 1994–1996.[10][11]
The school's modular scheduling system and self-scheduling "arena" program allow students freedom in course choice, unlike the rest of the high schools in the SFUSD. Students also have the opportunity to choose from a large number of Advanced Placement courses. Lowell has a graduation rate of nearly 100%, and it is the largest feeder school to the University of California system, particularly to the Berkeley and Davis campuses. Many students also matriculate at other prestigious universities nationwide.
Lowell uses a class scheduling system historically popular in most high schools and colleges, an "arena" in which students move from table to table signing up for classes, allowing students a degree of programming freedom almost unheard of in other high schools today.
While scheduling classes for the 2006 spring semester, one of the students who had volunteered to assist the running of arena was caught abusing the scheduling system to use early scheduling privileges, granted to volunteers by the administration, to let friends schedule before others.[12][13]
This abuse proved to be a catalyst for anti-arena faculty in the school. Five of six department chairs and dozens of teachers at Lowell filed a union grievance demanding an end to class imbalances. Citing these imbalances, they called to eliminate arena scheduling and to replace it with computerized scheduling used in all other SFUSD schools. Critics characterized arena scheduling as an antiquated and inefficient system, one which promotes inequities and abuses, and creates weeks of unnecessary work for teachers and counselors (the system tends to produce "incomplete" schedules which must be dealt with after the scheduling period).[14][15]
Proponents of arena argued that the system distinguishes Lowell and gives students additional responsibility and flexibility with shaping their high school careers. Doing so, students can prepare for a similar selecting of courses in college. Students would be able to choose teachers whom they found to be compatible with their learning style. The rotating priority system of picking teachers and times would assure the fairest results for the greatest number of people.
After a student forum, countless committee meetings, several student petitions, and final deliberation by then-principal Paul Cheng and the administration, it was decided that arena would remain in place, with modifications to address concerns about inequities and class imbalance, including the abolishment of early scheduling for Shield and Scroll and "mini arena," which allowed people with incomplete schedules another chance to complete them by opening up all the classes again with a few slots.
| Latino | White | African-American | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | American Indian | Filipino | Other Non-White | Declined to State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.0% | 14.1% | 2.9% | 52.1% | 1.6% | 1.1% | 0.2% | 6.1% | 12.3% | 2.7% |
| Latino | White | African-American | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | American Indian | Filipino | Other Non-White | Declined to State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.1% | 56.4% | 2.0% | 13.6% | 3.4% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 2.7% | 4.0% | 8.8% |
The Cardinals are one of the most active student bodies in San Francisco, with over 84 academic organizations, teams and student interest clubs.
Lowell also has academic teams that are exempt from volunteer hours in exchange for not being publicized as well as the clubs. The Mock Trial team is very accomplished, representing San Francisco County at the State Competitions in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2007. In 2007, they finished in the Top Ten at State Finals and ended their season with a 7-1 record.
The Lowell Forensic Society, founded in 1892, is the oldest high school speech and debate team in the nation and the largest student organization on campus, with over 200 members. The team travels regularly to prestigious national invitationals, including Harvard, UC Berkeley, Stanford, CSU Long Beach, and the Tournament of Champions in Kentucky. Lowell Forensics has also competed in the National Speech and Debate Tournament under the National Forensic League for 40 years, making it one of the longest running national championship teams in the nation. Forensics alumni include Yale University President Richard Levin, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, California Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, actress Carol Channing, actor Benjamin Bratt, writer Naomi Wolf, actor Bill Bixby, PG&E CEO Frederick Mielke, author Daniel Handler of Series of Unfortunate Events fame and numerous academics, writers, and judges.
The school's monthly student newspaper, The Lowell, has won numerous national-level awards, including the CSPA Gold and Silver Crown awards, the NSPA Pacemaker and the Northern California Society for Professional Journalists' James Madison Award, in recognition of their 2006–2007 school year battle to protect free speech. Most recently, The Lowell received the All-American ranking, with five marks of distinction, from the NSPA, the highest award.
Lowell has a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps battalion consisting of seven special units: Lowell Drum Corps, Flag Drill Team (AKA Boys Drill Team), Exhibition Drill Team (AKA Girls Drill Team), Color Guard, Drill Platoon, Brigade Best Squad, and Guidon.
Lowell Battalion has been a role model for many Army JROTC battalions around the San Francisco Bay Area. A photo of the Lowell Battalion's former rifle range, now converted into a classroom and indoor drill facility, was featured in the Army JROTC Cadet Reference Second Edition[16]
The Lowell Battalion has been an honor unit with distinction for the past 15 years and has won many San Francisco Brigade awards in their seasonal competitions. Every fall, the Lowell Drum Corps, Color Guard, Guidon, and Brigade Best Squad compete in the Annual Fall Liberty Competition. In addition, every spring, Lowell Exhibition Drill Team, Flag Drill Team, and Drill Platoon participate in the Spring Drill Competition.
Notable alumni from JROTC include William Hewlett, who was battalion commander during his years in Lowell in the 1930s.
Many students participate in a variety of athletic leagues and competitions. Lowell has competitive football, cross-country, soccer, tennis, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, badminton, gymnastics, softball, swimming, track and field, fencing, golf, cheerleading, and baseball teams.
Lowell's Boys Varsity Basketball has recently been very successful. In 2004, the team won its first AAA Championship since 1952. Following a runner-up finish in 2005, the 2006 squad went undefeated in league play and finished with an unprecedented 30-3 record and a city championship. The 2007 squad also won the championships, while the 2008 squad finished high in the playoffs. The 2009 team once again won the 2009 AAA championships over Lincoln. The basketball team engages in an annual rivalry with Washington High School in a game commonly known to those in the city as the "Battle of the Birds" game. This is based on that fact that Lowell's mascot is the cardinal and Washington High School's mascot is the eagle.
Lowell's Varsity Baseball team, led by coach John Donohue, won eight of ten championships from 1994 to 2004[17] while posting a regular season record of 185 wins and only 11 losses[18] during that span. Coach Donohue won his 300th AAA league game on March 7, 2003 and tallied his 450th win overall just two weeks later on March 21, 2003.[19]
Lowell's track and field and cross-country teams have also fared well in the past. Led by Andy Leong, the track and cross country teams recently won the city championship in all four divisions for the seventh year in a row.[20] The cross country team recently swept all three divisions at the city finals in Golden Gate Park, marking Lowell's 26th overall championship win in a row.[21] In recent years, the track and field team has attracted about 150 athletes each season, and the cross country Team has attracted nearly 100 runners each season.
Lowell's Girls' Varsity Volleyball team has dominated the sport since its creation with the most city championships amongst other San Francisco public schools, and from November 1996 to November 2008, went on an unprecedented streak of 13 consecutive volleyball city championships.[22] The girls' junior varsity volleyball team also owns 15 of the 18 city titles (as of November 2010).[22]
In April 2007, Lowell's varsity swim team won their 11th consecutive AAA Championship title, with an undefeated season and an undefeated girls' title, ever since girls have been admitted on the team. The close rivalry between the Cardinals' and the Washington Eagles ended with Lowell coming out on top of all the other SFUSD high schools participating, which included Balboa High, Lincoln High, and Wallenberg High School. In April 2008, Lowell's varsity swim team won their 12th consecutive AAA Championship title, with an undefeated season yet again. The rivalry between the Cardinals' and the Washington Eagles ended with Lowell coming on top with the varsity boys scoring 170-49 and the girls 122-62. The JV girls also were able to defeat Washington with a score of 104-67. However, the JV boys lost to their counterpart from Lincoln 93-69.
In April 2007, Lowell's dragonboat team competed in the California Dragonboat Association Youth Race at Lake Merced in San Francisco, California. They brought home three golds and two silvers. The Lowellitas, the girl's team, won their seventh consecutive gold medal. In the spring of 2010 the Lowell Dragonboat team won gold medals in the top division, breaking a five-year drought of golds for Lowell in the top division traced back to 2005.
Lowell's JV Girls' Gymnastics team placed first in the NCVAL JV Gymnastics Finals from 2007 to 2010. At the CCS Varsity Finals, Lowell's Varsity Girls' Gymnastics team placed third in 2009 and second in 2010. Lowell does not have a boys' gymnastics team.
The Lowell Varsity Cheer Squad placed 1st in stunts and received a runner up medal in dance in the 2009 AAA competition. They also went to USA Nationals (2010) and placed in the top half of their division (4 points away from 1st place). Lowell Cheer also performs at school rallies and pumps up the crowd at most, if not all, boys' football and basketball games.
The Lowell Hymn is the official alma mater for Lowell High School. Its melody is taken from All Hail Blue and Gold, written by Harold Bingham to serve as the alma mater for the University of California, Berkeley.
With heads bared we stand
In tribute to thee,
Our alma mater Lowell
All true to thee we'll be!
Unfurled red and white
None shall thee decry,
Thy name we love
Oh Lowell High!
| Name | Class year | Notability | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Baer | 1976 | President of the San Francisco Giants MLB team. 2010 World Series Champions. | [23] |
| Mischa Berlinski | 1991 | Author of Fieldwork, a 2007 National Book Award Finalist. Fieldwork is Mischa's first published novel. | |
| Bill Bixby | 1952 | Movie and TV actor: The Incredible Hulk, My Favorite Martian, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, and film director. | |
| Richard C. Blum | 1953 | Husband to Dianne Feinstein. Chairman and President of Blum Capital. Regent of the University of California. | |
| Michael Bortin | 1966 | Member of the Symbionese Liberation Army. | |
| Benjamin Bratt | 1982 | Movie and TV personality. Starred in the popular television series, Law & Order. | |
| Stephen Breyer | 1955 | Associate Justice in the United States Supreme Court. | |
| Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Sr. | 1923 | District Attorney of San Francisco; State Attorney General; Governor of California, 1959–1967. | |
| Gill Byrd | 1978 | Played in the NFL for the San Diego Chargers, 1983–1992. | |
| Alexander Calder | 1915 | Renowned artist and inventor of the mobile. | |
| Dan Chan | 1995 | Variety performer, author, magician, juggler, pick-pocket and Bian lian artist. | |
| Carol Channing | 1938 | International actress of stage and screen. | |
| Margaret Cho | 1986 | Comedienne, briefly attended Lowell before transferring to School of the Arts High School. | |
| Jamie Chung | 2001 | Movie and TV actress: Samurai Girl, Dragonball Evolution and many more. | |
| Jerry Coleman | 1942 | Decorated Marine aviator, New York Yankee, Hall of Fame announcer | |
| Eric Allin Cornell | 1980 | Nobel Prize in Physics in 2001. | |
| Jennifer Egan | 1980 | Novelist and short story writer. | |
| Joseph Erlanger | 1892 | Physician; Professor, Washington University in St. Louis. Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1945. | |
| Charles H. Ferguson | 1972 | Software entrepreneur; Writer; Filmmaker. Film Inside Job won 2011 best documentary Academy Award. | [24] |
| Donald Fisher | 1946 | Founder and Board Chairman of The GAP. | |
| Dian Fossey | 1949 | Scientist who dedicated her life to protecting the mountain gorillas of Rwanda. Book and film, Gorillas in the Mist based on her life with the great apes. | |
| Rube Goldberg | 1900 | Pulitzer Prize winner, creator of "Rube Goldberg" machines. | |
| Walter A. Haas | 1905 | Board Chairman, Levi Strauss & Co. | |
| Daniel Handler | 1988 | Aka Lemony Snicket, bestselling author of a series of children's novels: A Series of Unfortunate Events, and a novel set in a fictional Lowell High School, The Basic Eight. | |
| John L. Heilbron | Historian of science. | ||
| William Hewlett | 1930 | Inventor, businessman, philanthropist. Co-founder, Hewlett-Packard Company; William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. | |
| Soji Kashiwagi | Playwright, Executive Producer for Grateful Crane Ensemble theatre organization. | ||
| Adrian Lamo | Computer hacker & journalist. Attended Lowell prior to transferring to International Studies Academy, Raoul Wallenberg Traditional High School, and passing the California High School Proficiency Exam. | ||
| G. Albert Lansburgh | 1894 | Notable architect of Broadway and Los Angeles legitimate theatres and cinemas. | |
| Richard Levin | 1964 | Current President of Yale University. | |
| Harry Likas | 1943 | NCAA Men's Tennis Championship in Singles in 1948 (as a member of the University of San Francisco Dons); Collegiate Tennis Hall of Famer. | |
| General Kenneth McLennan | 1943 | Marine Corps four-star general, Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. | |
| Elaine Mar | 1990 | Forensic Scientist. For 4½ years following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Project Manager and Lead Supervisor of the World Trade Center DNA Identification Unit for the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner. | [25][26] |
| Dennis Marcellino | 1965 | Former member of Sly & The Family Stone, The Elvin Bishop Group, Rubicon, and The Tokens (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) | |
| Tom Meschery | 1957 | Played in the NBA for the Warriors, 1961–1971. | |
| Albert Abraham Michelson | 1868 | Nobel Prize in Physics in 1907. First American Nobel laureate in a scientific field. | |
| Daniel M. Nakamura (aka Dan the Automator) | 1985 | Hip-hop and rap producer. | |
| Anton Peterlin | 2005 | Soccer player | |
| Paris (rapper) | 1985 | Hip-hop artist. | |
| Stafford Repp | 1936 | Actor, best known for playing Chief O'Hara in the 1960s television show, Batman. | |
| Pierre Salinger | 1941 | Press secretary to US President John F. Kennedy. | |
| William Ware Theiss | 1948 | Academy Award nominated Costume Designer for movies and TV, including Star Trek. | [27][28] |
| Charles Lee Tilden | 1874 | Attorney & businessman, namesake of Tilden Regional Park in the East Bay. | |
| John Roos | 1973 | Attorney & U.S. Ambassador to Japan. | |
| John D. Trasviña | 1976 | President of MALDEF, HUD Assistant Secretary of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. | [29] |
| Alex Tse | 1994 | Screenwriter of Sucker Free City (2004) and Watchmen (2009). | |
| Naomi Wolf | 1980 | Rhodes Scholar, Writer. |