| South Pasadena High School | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Fair play, Strength, Scholarship, Leadership |
| Established | 1906 |
| Type | Public secondary |
| Principal | Janet Anderson |
| Students | 1,600 |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Location | 1401 Fremont Ave, South Pasadena, California, USA |
| Mascot | Tigers |
| Newspaper | 'Tiger' |
| Website | sphstigers.org |
South Pasadena High School (SPHS or "SouthPas") is a public high school serving grades 9-12 located in the city of South Pasadena, California.
The school is one of five schools in the South Pasadena Unified School District.
Established in 1906, it is the first and only public high school in South Pasadena. The campus is situated on the west side of the city on Fremont Avenue. The school is composed of several main academic buildings, a library, a performing arts auditorium, a swimming pool, three sets of tennis courts, two indoor gymnasiums, a 400-m outdoor track, and three athletic fields. Housed within these facilities are the departments of English, foreign language, math, science, social science, performing arts, athletics, physical education, ELD (English language development) programs, special education, and the ROP (regional occupational program). The school's motto is "Scholarship, Leadership, Strength, and Fair Play." The school colors are orange and black, and the mascot is a tiger.
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SPHS opened in 1906 after South Pasadena residents approved a measure that would construct a public high school.
Before 1955, South Pasadena High School was known as South Pasadena-San Marino High School, serving both South Pasadena and San Marino. San Marino opened their own high school in 1955.
In 2003, SPHS dedicated a concrete wall honoring former superintendent George C. Bush, who was murdered in 1940 by administrator Verlin Spencer. It was later determined that Verlin Spencer was high on prescription pain killers.
In 2005, SPHS students and faculty successfully saved principal Janet Anderson from reassignment, proposed by then-superintendent Rob Arias. Anderson had been principal of SPHS since 2001. Arias originally reassigned Anderson to a nearby elementary school. On March 18, 2005, faculty picketed outside of school, protesting the reassignments before school and students walked out of class to protest the reassignments as well. The Board of Education repealed the reassignments, leading to the resignation of Arias. Two school board members, both of whom favored the reassignments, were voted out months later in an election.
Due to South Pasadena Unified School District's budget problems, numerous changes have occurred: Two teachers were laid off at the end of the 2005-2006 school year (a math teacher and a social science teacher). According to the South Pasadena Board of Education, SPUSD owes the teachers union (Teachers Association of South Pasadena) a 5.98 percent pay increase. An estimated 80 percent of the SPUSD budget, as in most schools, is dedicated to teacher salaries, thus there is less funding for other necessities such as textbooks.
SPHS's API score for 2006 is 830, up by 13 points from 2005.
The on-site screen printing company, SPHS PawPrints, has received numerous orders from clients, including the American Cancer Society for the Relay for Life event. Pawprints has won third place at the Project ECHO competition at UCLA Anderson School of Management. In the same competition, the other business, which is the student store, received second place.
The school's publications, Tiger Newspaper and Copa de Oro (yearbook), have been awarded by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. Tiger Newspaper has been awarded with the best High School newspaper by Columbia Scholastic Press Association once for the best newspaper in the country, and the Copa de Oro yearbook has been awarded with the best yearbook in the country twice.
The Associate Student Body (ASB), otherwise known as the Student Government in other schools, is composed of Commission and Class Officers.
There are 13 Commissioners—Commissioner General (ASB President), Commissioner of Internal Affairs (ASB Vice President), Commissioner of Correspondence (ASB Secretary), Commissioner of Finance (ASB Treasurer), Commissioner of Academics, Commissioner of Activities, Commissioner of Assemblies, Commissioner of Athletics, Commissioner of Clubs, Commissioner of Noontime, Commissioner of Publicity, Commissioner of School and Community, and Commissioner of Spirit. The first four Commissioners—Commissioner General (ASB President), Commissioner of Internal Affairs (ASB Vice President), Commissioner of Correspondence (ASB Secretary), Commissioner of Finance (ASB Treasurer)-- are considered the Cabinet. For the class offices, there are four positions—President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer—for each class.
Together, the Commission and Class Office make decisions of the activities, dances, recognitions, clubs, sports events, and other essentials that make up a high school experience.
Homecoming takes place during the last home football game of the season.