John Muir High School: Difference between revisions
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* [[John Van de Kamp]] (1952), [[Attorney General of California]] (1982-1991).<ref name="alumni_hof" /> |
* [[John Van de Kamp]] (1952), [[Attorney General of California]] (1982-1991).<ref name="alumni_hof" /> |
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* [[Fred Phelps]] (1951), head of the controversial [[Westboro Baptist Church]]. |
* [[Fred Phelps]] (1951), head of the controversial [[Westboro Baptist Church]]. |
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* [[Jackie Robinson]] (1936), first |
* [[Jackie Robinson]] (1936), first black major league baseball player<ref name="alumni_hof" /> |
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Revision as of 21:04, 14 June 2009
| John Muir High School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
 | |
1905 N Lincoln Avenue, Pasadena, California United States | |
| Coordinates | 34°10′43″N 118°09′36″W / 34.178513°N 118.159871°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Motto | "The Home of the Mighty Mustangs" |
| Established | 1955 |
| Principal | Sheryl Orange |
| Faculty | 49 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Number of students | approx. 1,300 |
| Color(s) | Blue and Gold |
| Mascot | The Mustang |
| Website | pusd.us/[1] |
John Muir High School is a four-year comprehensive secondary school in Pasadena, California, United States and is a part of the Pasadena Unified School District. The school is named after preservationist John Muir.
History
The school's buildings were originally a part of John Muir Junior College (not to be confused with John Muir College in San Diego, California).[1] The junior college merged with Pasadena City College, and converted to a two-year high school in 1955. (The senior students of the first graduating high-school class in 1955 were freshmen of the previous two-year junior college in the prior year.) It later become a full four-year high school, located on Lincoln Avenue, named after Lincoln, Nebraska.
Sirhan Sirhan, the convicted assassin of United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy, attended this high school after leaving Eliot Jr. High School.
Prior to 1964, mostly White and Asian students from the communities of La Canada Flintridge, California joined the historically black neighborhood of North Pasadena and the racially mixed community of Altadena, and enrollment was nearly 3,000 students. In 1965, La Canada Flintridge, California built its own school system and removed their students. Shortly after that, the Pasadena City School District created Blair High School, siphoning off another large portion of the school's population.
Current
Approximately 1300 students attend each year. The student body is 42% Hispanic, 47% black, 9% non-Hispanic White, and 2% "other", including 1.1% Asian. The school maintained an average class size of 27 students and a pupil-to-teacher ratio of 21:1 in the 2002-03 school year, during which a total of 49 fully credentialed teachers were on staff.[2] Beginning in 2004, John Muir has received failing Academic Performance Index (API) scores by the state.[citation needed] Consequently, John Muir has been under scrutiny to demonstrate notable improvement to state standards.[citation needed]
In the Fall of 2004, approximately 100 students at John Muir were removed from the regular school system due to poor grades and placed at the remedial Rose City Remedial High School.[citation needed] However the number exceed the school's capacity, and 'Rose City North' was created on the North Western part of the campus, annexing a portion of the classrooms.[citation needed]
As a result of continued under performance, the Pasadena Unified School District has begun restructuring the school, as well reevaluating the current faculty: {{quote|Thirty-eight teachers and five counselors who reapplied for their jobs as part of a restructuring of John Muir High School will return next school year, officials said Friday. A total of 55 Muir employees reapplied for their positions, a requirement imposed by the school district under the overhaul plan... Muir is entering its fourth year of state monitoring after posting low Academic Performance Index scores, the state's main measure of school performance. Last year, district leaders decided to completely revamp the high school to avoid a possible state takeover of Muir.||[3]}
The revamp of John Muir High School will apply to the upcoming 2008-2009 school year.
Traditions
John Muir High School and crosstown rival Pasadena High School hold the annual Turkey Tussle, during which their football teams play a game at the Rose Bowl, the winner taking possession of a ceremonial bell. In 2005, the bell was stolen. It was found on February 7, 2006 near a road in the Angeles National Forest.[4]
Controversies
In 2000 a teacher, Cyrus Javaheri, pleaded guilty to engaging in group sex with minors. The teacher lured two students from the school in addition to another minor through the internet. Furthermore, numerous instances of cyber sex were conducted between the teacher and various minors as young as 12.[5]
In 2002, white teacher Scott Phelps was the center of controversy when he asserted that the majority of the students who are failing and disruptive were black.
"But overwhelmingly, the students whose behavior makes the hallways deafening, who yell out for the teacher and demand immediate attention in class, who cannot seem to stop chatting and are fascinated by each other and relationships but not with academics, in short, whose behavior saps the strength and energy of us that are at the front lines, are African American. . . . Eventually, someone in power will have the courage to say this publicly."[6]
Opinion was divisive with whites and blacks from the community on both sides. While some students and teachers defended that his assertion, that the majority of the under performing students were black, was accurate others took offense to it. Subsequently he was placed on administrative leave but allowed to return to the school a few days later. In 2005, Phelps was elected to a four-year term on the district's Board of Education.
Racial tension and violence across the campus has become increasingly more common. On December 14, 2007, a fight broke out amongst several students, with a total of eleven students detained and charged. According to the Deputy District Attorney,
"the incident began when several black students 'with gang affiliations' began assaulting Latino students. There was an indication that the number of kids had planned on trying to initiate a riot at Muir by assaulting Hispanics...It was a melee...There apparently was an awful lot of people involved, and yet it's very difficult to determine who did what because there aren't a lot of folks talking"[7]
On April 5, 2008, History teacher Brandon Michael Landreth was detained and held on $2 million bail for allegedly killing Justo Cesar Morales, a man believed to have been in a relationship with his ex-wife.[8]
Notable alumni
- John Muir High School (after 1955)
- Sultan McCullough (1998), NFL football player, 2003 [9]
- Ruwanga Samath (1998-2000), record producer and president of The Bird Call Productions
- Inger Miller (1988), track and field Olympic Gold Medalist [10]
- Anthony Miller (1983), former NFL wide receiver
- Stacey Augmon, basketball player, NBA and Olympics
- Renee Tajima-Peña (1976), award-winning documentary filmmaker.[11][12]
- David Lee Roth (1972), lead singer of Van Halen 1974-85, 1996, 2007-current.[10]
- Octavia Butler (1965), award-winning science fiction author (d. 2006)[10]
- Darrell Evans (1965), major league baseball player, 1969-89 [10]
- John Beal (1964), award-winning film and television composer. [10][13][14]
- Richard Bellis (1964), award-winning film and television composer.[15]
- Sirhan Sirhan (1963), convicted assassin of Robert F. Kennedy.[16]
- Rod Sherman (1962), professional football player.[10]
- Albert Stinson (1962), Jazz bassist.[10]
- Roger Dawson (1958), Jazz and Salsa musician, award winning New York deejay.[10]
- Bobby Hutcherson (1958), Award winning Jazz vibraphonist, composer and bandleader.[10]
- Herbie Lewis (1958), Jazz bassist and teacher.[10]
- John Muir Junior College (prior to 1955)
- John Van de Kamp (1952), Attorney General of California (1982-1991).[10]
- Fred Phelps (1951), head of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church.
- Jackie Robinson (1936), first black major league baseball player[10]
References
- ^ "History of John Muir High School: Site locations". John Muir Alumni Association. Retrieved 2006-04-12.
- ^ "2003-2004 School Accountability Report Card" (pdf).
- ^ "Muir Staff Reshuffling Continues".[dead link]
- ^ "Victory Bell Recovery". 2006-02-07.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Protecting Our Kids". Los Angeles District Attorney. Archived from the original on 2005-12-28.
- ^ "An unpopular truth: Good sense prevails in Pasadena". Issues & Views. December 16, 2002.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Muir football star Youngblood arrested". Pasadena Star News. February 12, 2008.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "High School Teacher Accused of Killing in Custody". April 5, 2008.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|publicser=ignored (help) - ^ Sultan McCullough Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Hall of Fame". John Muir High School Alumni Association. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
- ^ Artist: Renee Tajima-Peña
- ^ Renee Tajima-Pena
- ^ IMDB - John Beal
- ^ SoundtrackNet
- ^ "IMDb - Richard Bellis".
- ^ "Sirhan Sirhan". Crime Library. Court TV. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
External links
- John Muir High School profile provided by the Pasadena Unified School District
- John Muir High School Blazer Newspaper
- Alumni general websites