La Serna High School
| La Serna High School | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Motto | Be Your Best![1] |
| Established | 1960 |
| Type | Public secondary |
| Principal | Dr. Drew Passalacqua[2] |
| Students | 2,074–2,410[3][4] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Location | 15301 E. Youngwood Drive, Whittier, California, USA |
| District | Whittier Union High School District |
| Colors | Crimson Gold White |
| Nickname | La Serna |
| Mascot | Lancer |
| Yearbook | The Pennon |
| Newspaper | The Freelancer |
| Website | www.wuhsd.k12.ca.us |
La Serna High School (abbreviated LSHS) is a public high school in Whittier, California that was founded in 1960 and is part of the Whittier Union High School District. The school's colors are Crimson, Gold and White.
Contents |
[edit] History
La Serna High School was founded in 1960. The school has been a California Distinguished School four times, in 1990, 1996, 2003, and 2009.[1][5]
[edit] Students
At La Serna High School, every Senior is required to complete the Senior Project in order to pass high school. The average class size at La Serna varies per grade level. For 9th graders, the average class size is 26, 31 for both 10th and 11th graders, and 28 for 12th graders.[4] La Serna has an average rating of 8 out of 10 from parents and students, making it a "great school".[4]
The students 2006 school year API score was 742, and improved to 777 at the end of 2007 school year.[4] Every year, 10th graders must take the High School exit exam, known as CAHSEE. In 2006, approximately 84 percent of 10th graders passed the English/Language Arts portion of CAHSEE, and in 2007 it was improved to 85 percent.[4] However, only 83 percent of 10th graders passed the Math portion of CAHSEE in 2007, compared to the 86 percent from 2006.[4]
Approximately 59 percent of the enrolled at La Serna are of Hispanic descent, followed by Caucasians with a percentage of 39.[4] Asians make up 3 percent of the student population, and all others 1%.[4]
For the 2007-2008 school year, there are approximately 2,410 students enrolled at La Serna.[3] 585 students are freshman, 543 are sophomores, 514 are juniors, and 392 are seniors.[3]
[edit] Link Crew
Link Crew was a system implemented in 2005 that was aimed at helping incoming freshman students acclimate to the high school environment by having peer mentors help them through their first year at La Serna.[5]
[edit] The Freelancer
The Freelancer is the name of La Serna High School's newspaper, which has one issue released each month during the regular school year. The Freelancer is created and written by the students, who also allow feedback mail to which they respond. One teacher oversees the production of each newspaper per year.
In 2006, English teacher Holly Vance was demoted from her position as the adviser of the newspaper's production,[6] due to the controversial[7] penultimate issue on May 10 of the 2006 school year entitled The ‘S’ Word, which the topic discussed was sex amongst teenagers.[8] Also due to this, the final edition of the year for the month of June was banned and the student body was unsuccessful in overturning the decision.[9]
[edit] The Pennon
La Serna High School's yearbook is called The Pennon, which, like The Freelancer, is created by the student body and a teacher adviser.
[edit] Athletics
La Serna High has a large athletics program. Their sports include football, track and field, cross country, soccer, volleyball, baseball, softball, tennis, wrestling, and basketball.[10] Boys football and Boys & Girls Cross Country and Boys Water Polo and girls volleyball are held in the autumn; boys and girls basketball, soccer are held in the winter; and boys baseball, tennis,and girls softball and boys and girls track and field are held in the spring every school year.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Dave Dalby,[11] 1968 – former center for the Oakland Raiders from 1972 until 1985.
- Royce "The Voice" Reynolds,[12] 1984 – a member of the doo-wop group The Alley Cats.
- Gary Allan Herzberg, 1986 - Country music artist.
- Ara Babajian, 1993 - Drummer for The Slackers and The McMartin Choir Boys.
- Andrea Barber,[13] 1994 – American actress most notable for her role as Kimmy Gibbler on Full House.
- Tupe Peko,[14] 1996 – former offensive lineman for the Indianapolis Colts from 2002 until 2004.
- Adam Snyder,[15] 2000 – current offensive guard for the San Francisco 49ers.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ a b La Serna High School official website. Retrieved on 2008-05-12.
- ^ Tracy Garcia (2009-04-23). "Passalacqua now reigns at La Serna". Whittier Daily News. http://www.whittierdailynews.com/ci_12212068. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
- ^ a b c La Serna High School at PublicSchoolsReport.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
- ^ a b c d e f g h La Serna High School at GreatSchools.net. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
- ^ a b "La Serna High School Receives 4th California Distinguished School Award". La Serna. http://www.wuhsd.k12.ca.us/whittieruhsd/lib/whittieruhsd/LSHS_CA_Distinguished.pdf. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
- ^ Sergio Hernandez (2006-06-09). "Newspaper adviser removed from post following 'Sex Issue' controversy" (PDF). The Freelancer. http://www.splc.org/pdf/laserna3.pdf. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
- ^ Sergio Hernandez (2006-06-09). "Letters" (PDF). The Freelancer. http://www.splc.org/pdf/laserna4.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ Claire Webster (2006-05-10). "The 'S' Word" (PDF). The Freelancer. http://www.splc.org/pdf/laserna1.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ Pam Wight (2006-06-27). "Campus paper hot topic: Sexual content prompts censorship, possible lawsuit". Star-News. http://www.highschooljournalism.org/Content.cfm?mode=1&newsid=425&id=65. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
- ^ MaxPreps.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
- ^ "Dave Dalby". Database Football. http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=DALBYDAV01. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ "Classmates: Royce Reynolds". Classmates. http://www.classmates.com/directory/public/memberprofile/list.htm?regId=461414121. Retrieved 2008-10-27.
- ^ "Youth Forum". Soroptimist International of Whittier. http://www.siwhittier.org/YouthForum.html. Retrieved 2008-09-06. "Andrea is also an alumna of La Serna High School here in Whittier."[dead link]
- ^ "Tupe Peko". Database Football. http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=PEKOTUP01. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ "Adam Snyder". Database Football. http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=SNYDEADA01. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
Coordinates: 33°57′21″N 117°59′50″W / 33.95583°N 117.99722°W
