Marshall Fundamental Secondary School

Marshall Fundamental Secondary School is a secondary school located in Pasadena, California at 990 North Allen Avenue, and is part of the Pasadena Unified School District.^[1] Marshall excels in academic coursework with the most number of AP classes offered and the highest ABI score of all high schools in PUSD.

History

Named after the honorable United States Supreme Court Justice John Marshall, ground was broken for construction in 1924, with several expansions in the 1930s (North Building), 1960s (Cafeteria), 1970s (Bungalows) and 2000s (Science Building). Marshall was a Junior High School from its opening until 1972 when it became a Fundamental School (K-12). It was reopened as John Marshall Fundamental Junior and Senior High School. The sixth grade level was added during the 1985-1986 year.

Curriculum

Marshall has the following Advanced Placement courses.

• English Language
• English Literature
• Calculus AB
• Calculus BC
• Statistics
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Environmental Science
• Physics C (August 2013)
• Human Geography
• World History
• US History
• US Government
• MacroEconomics
• Spanish Language
• Spanish Literature
• Music Theory
• Studio Art 2D, 3D, and Drawing

Extracurriculars

Marshall Fundamental offers many extracurricular activities such as various clubs, sports, and music programs.

Music courses that are offered consist of orchestra, band, and choir. Each type of music course can be taken in a beginning, intermediate, or advanced class. The award-winning Marshall Fundamental Marching Band is regarded as the best music program in the Pasadena Unified School District. It has most recently won 3rd place at state championships for its division.

Some of the various clubs offered are the National Honors Society, Unidos, Key Club, Yearbook, Journalism, and Art Club. Students also have the opportunity to create their own club if approved by the Associated Student Body.

Sports

The teams are named "Marshall Eagles" and their uniforms display White, Blue, and Red. Some teams have different colors for away games.

The sports at Marshall include:

• Cross Country
• Girls Tennis
• Football
• Girls' Volleyball
• Girls' Soccer
• Boys' Soccer
• Girls' Basketball
• Boys' Basketball
• Track and Field
• Swimming
• Boys' Tennis
• Baseball
• Softball
• Golf

Performance

Jay Matthews, an educator and education reporter for the Washington Post, listed Marshall Fundamental as the 130th best High School as of 2007, chiefly due to its vast number of underprivileged students, high graduation rate, and 70% free and reduced lunch program. This was enough to be singled out for the cover of Newsweek, and was featured exclusively as one of America's best schools. Marshall was first posted in 2003 as 119th, but fell in the following years to 255 in 2005, and 286 in 2006. It saw a jump in the last school year, rising 156 places, back into the top 10%.

Notable alumni

• Paul Rodriguez Jr., comedian
• Lark Voorhies, actress, Saved by the Bell
• Jaleel White, actor, Family Matters
• Edward Van Halen, musician, Van Halen (Junior High)

Trivia

• The campus is frequently used as a filming location for television commercials and motion pictures including 13 Going on 30, Max Keeble's Big Move, Transformers, the Disney TV show Phil of the Future, Terri We Bought a Zoo, and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

• The Drama Program read and practiced the play "Bang Bang You're Dead" for several months, and scheduled the play to be released in April, 2007. Coincidentally, this was preceded by the Virginia Tech Massacre within a week, which drew media attention to the play. Due to political pressure and parental complaints, the drama teacher, David Pitts, was forced to postpone the play until May of that year.

• Madison Elaine Triplett (2015),the 97th Tournament of Roses Queen, became the first student from the school chosen to be queen. In the past, the school was represented with princesses for the Royal Court, but this is the first time in school history that a student from Marshall Fundamental was selected to become Rose Queen. It was also the first time since the 1970s that a student from a Pasadena Unified School District high school was selected as Rose Queen.

References