Blair International Baccalaureate School

Blair High School
Location
Pasadena, California
United States
Information
Type Public
Motto The Few, The Proud, The Vikings.
Established 1964
Principal David Ibarra
Grades 6th-12th
Number of students approx. 1,100
Athletics conference CIF-SS Rio Hondo League
Mascot Viking
Website blair.pasadenausd.org

Blair International Baccalaureate School (formerly Blair High School) is located at 1201 S. Marengo Avenue, Pasadena, California 91106 and is in the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD).[1] It offers the IB Middle Years Programme and the IB Diploma Programme. The school underwent a major academic overhaul beginning in the fall of 2003 as a result of sub-standard academic performance, which prompted a state review. The school's two "co-principals" were replaced with a single principal, Rich Boccia (an administrative official with the Pasadena Unified School District, and district employee since 1980), who had been principal at South Pasadena Middle School. During Boccia's tenure, school wide academic performance rose sharply as a result of several academic reforms and in 2005 Boccia was named Secondary School Principal of the Year for the State of California for his leadership success at turning around Blair.

During the 2005-2006 school year, Blair International Baccalaureate School was one of many PUSD schools threatened to be shut down due to budget cuts.[2] The prospect of having to send their children to John Muir High School and elsewhere brought out a strong showing of community support and was able to convince the Pasadena school board to keep Blair open. Students, parents (both with enrolled children, and those considering Blair), and various local figures attended school board meetings in large numbers to support Blair. The parents and community also advocated strongly for the smaller, more manageable size of the campus, the 7th-12th configuration which allows for longer buy-in time for families and the fact that Blair is fully authorized to offer the prestigious IB Diploma Programme in addition to the Middle Year's Programme. Blair is the only PUSD secondary school located in the Southwest part of Pasadena.

Since 2007, Blair's 7th - 9th grades have been housed on Blair East, formerly Allendale Elementary School. Blair's "C" Campus which formerly housed the 7th - 9th grade was torn down in spring of 2005 with the intent to rebuild (it was deemed less expensive to rebuild than to renovate the existing buildings). The Measure Y bond monies earmarked for that project were subsequently depleted in overages at other PUSD sites and Blair's "C" campus remains a project slated for rebuilding.

Blair's Middle School offers a variety of sports as part of the after-school LEARNS program with competitive teams in basketball, soccer and flag football. The LEARNS program offers many extracurricular options for students in middle and high school including a performance choir program that has become well known in the area for its annual musical revue production called "OVATIONS".

The 10th - 12th graders are housed on Blair's "A" Campus currently referred to as "Blair West" and is located on the corner of Glenarm and Marengo. The Pasadena Public Library's Allendale branch is located directly across the street from Blair West and serves students on both campuses.

Blair's high school campus will be reopened in August of 2018, high school students are taking classes at the former Allendale Elementary school campus with the exception of physical education and athletics. The campus is being funded by Measure TT, approved by the district's voters during the November 2008 election.

In athletics, Blair has historically had a very competitive basketball program with the 2007-2008 Varsity girls team being named League Champions. The 2007-2008 Varsity Football team was co-league champions and is another indicator of a school building stronger, sustainable programs. Blair offers a variety of other Varsity sports as well including soccer, track, swimming, volleyball and tennis. Blair uses Pasadena City College for all varsity football home games due to lack of lighting on their home field, but the junior varsity football team uses Blair's home field.

Blair's varsity football team had to cancel the remaining of the 2016 season and it will cancel the 2017 season after not having enough players for its games. The school notified both the Rio Hondo League and the CIF-Southern Section and allowed its league opponents to find new opponents for its games in the final five weeks of the 2017 season.

In addition to the International Baccalaureate Programme, Blair is also known for its JROTC program and its Health Careers Academy Program. 80% of Blair's students attend Blair on permit and over 100 students come from cities outside the PUSD attendance zone. The IB programme is cited by many of these non-PUSD families as the reason they chose Blair.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Pasadena Unified School District Website: Blair International Baccalaureate School". Archived from the original on 2006-10-15. Retrieved 2007-03-22.
  2. ↑ "City of Pasadena Newsletter". November 2005. Retrieved 2007-03-22.
  3. ↑ Timothy, Mary (1974). Jury Woman. Palo Alto, California: Emty Press. Retrieved July 12, 2010.

Coordinates: 34°07′35″N 118°08′46″W / 34.126413°N 118.146227°W / 34.126413; -118.146227

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