Malibu High School

Malibu High School
Location
30215 Morning View Drive Malibu, California USA
Information
Type	Public
Established	1992
Principal	Dr. Mark Kelly
Faculty	107
Grades	6-12
Enrollment	1,222
Campus	Suburban
Color(s)	Teal and Black    [2]
Mascot	Shark
Team name	Sharks
Newspaper	The Current (HS) The Surfwriter (MS)
Yearbook	Aquarius
Website	MHS Official Website

Malibu High School (MHS) is a public secondary school in Malibu, California for middle school (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12). (An alternative private school, Colin McEwen High School, is located in central Malibu.)

As one of three high schools in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, MHS serves the Malibu and Santa Monica communities and by inter-district permit, the greater Los Angeles area and Ventura County (including Topanga, Culver City, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Westlake Village, and Oxnard). With its own attached feeder middle school, antecedent feeder schools include Juan Cabrillo Elementary School, Point Dume Elementary School, and John Webster Elementary School. In addition, some students from the private Our Lady of Malibu School (grades K-8) choose to attend MHS.

History

The campus is located on land originally part of Juan Cabrillo Elementary School, which was partitioned in 1963 to create Malibu Park Junior High School, named after its surrounding region in Malibu. With no public secondary school existing in Malibu, upon promotion from middle school the high school-age students commuted 2 hours roundtrip to Santa Monica to attend Santa Monica High School.

In 1992 the district converted the Malibu Park Junior High School campus to its present combined middle school/high school, and allowed MHS's first freshman class to walk onto campus. (The State of California erroneously shows the high school established in 1993.) Classes were added every succeeding year, culminating in the first 1992 freshman class graduating in 1996. The school mascot, a grinning mako shark, was designed by an art student in the first graduating class of 1996.

The high school's first principal was Dr. Michael Matthews, notable for creating a school focused on a triumvirate of demanding academics, fine arts and sports. Under Dr. Matthews in 2003, the school earned its designation as a "California Distinguished School." Also during Dr. Matthews' tenure, the school first achieved a national ranking in 2003 as #177 in Newsweek's Top 1200 Schools in America.

Location

The school is located in the northwestern part of Malibu one block from the Pacific Ocean and the famed Zuma Beach in the Malibu Park district. The school spans 35 acres (0.14 km²) of rolling hillsides between Merritt Drive to the south and Via Cabrillo Street to the north, and Harvester Road to the east.

The school is accessible via the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) bus line 534. The majority of students arrive by private car or school bus to the campus.

The campus is located next to Juan Cabrillo Elementary School, a public school, and Malibu Methodist Preschool & Nursery, a private pre-kindergarten school for ages 0-5. Although a closed campus, many seniors and a few juniors, upon prior school administration approval, choose to shop and eat lunch at the nearby HOWS Market or Point Dume Plaza restaurants during their free lunch period.

Facilities

MHS's facilities include:

• 2-story academic building
• 2-story math/science building
• middle school building
• administrative building
• 2 visual & performing arts buildings
• 2 bungalows
• 500-seat auditorium
• amphitheatre
• library
• art and science labs
• 2 computer labs (as of 2007, 1:5.8 computer to student ratio)
• 2 gymnasiums
• baseball diamond (named the #1 high school ballpark in America in January 2004 by Baseball America)
• American football field
• track & field facility
• Soccer/multipurpose fields with baseball batting cage
• 4 tennis courts
• 4 basketball courts

Academics

MHS consistently boasts the highest SAT and API scores in the district. A California Distinguished School, the highest state-wide academic award given, MHS consistently ranks among the country's top public schools: Newsweek Magazine's Top 1200 Schools in America ranks Malibu High #184 as of 2007. In 2007, under the tenure of Principal, Dr. Mark Kelly, US News & World Report ranked Malibu High #98 nationally and awarded a Gold Medal, given to U.S. schools rated among the top 100 schools in the country.

Over fifteen Advanced Placement courses are offered at MHS, including AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Chemistry, AP Physics, AP Environmental Science, AP Calculus, AP European History, AP United States History, AP United States Government, AP Spanish Language, AP French Language, AP Studio Art, and AP Music Theory.

Malibu High's AP students historically matriculate to prestigious universities worldwide, while regular college-preparatory students attend University of California schools, state colleges, and local community colleges.

Besides regular college-preparatory, honors, and Advanced Placement (AP) courses, the school is one of a handful in California that provides extensive resources for Special Education (SpEd) students. As of 2006-07, 125 SpEd students were enrolled with 26 SpEd faculty at MHS, where roughly 10% of the student body are receiving 24% of the school's instructiors. In recent years, critics claim that the district apparently limits re-entry of SpEd students not living within the SMMUSD geographic boundary.

The PTSA continually works to support the material needs of teachers through Teacher Grants, including school and laboratory supplies, continuing education, reading materials, graders, etc.

Sports

As a high school with a student body numbering approximately 750 students, California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) rules classify MHS as a small school. MHS sports teams compete primarily at the Division IV level in League contests of the CIF Southern Section, with a few at Division V, except for football in Division XIII. Team sports include water polo, baseball, football, basketball, cross country, track & field, swimming, soccer, tennis, lacrosse, volleyball, golf, surfing, and wrestling. Cheerleading dissolved in 2007 from a lack of interest. Not official school teams, the dance club performs at school events and the equestrian club participates in the Interscholastic Equestrian League (IEL). MHS sports several competitive boys' and girls' teams, with boys' water polo and girls' tennis frequently dominating the CIF League Championships, the boys' basketball team winning its first Frontier League title in 2007, and a few individual athletes in non-team sports winning individual Frontier League Champion titles in single or multi-years. Boys' water polo, under the coaching of Mike Mulligan, went undefeated in league for 12 years until 2005. The girls' tennis team was Frontier League Champion every year from 2001 to 2004, culminating in winning CIF for Division V in 2004. In 2007 the girls' volleyball team became Frontier League Champion. Several individuals in boys' tennis, boys' and girls' cross country, boys' and girls' track and field have historically competed at the CIF State Preliminaries, Finals, and in rare instances, the State Championships.

A study published in 2007 by the MHS Site Governance Council reported that 75% of all honors and AP enrolled students participate in the school's sports programs.

The sports teams are supported to a large extent by the Athletic Booster Club (ABC), parent and coach volunteers who run the school's fundraising Christmas Tree Lot, snack shops, and school clothing stores.

Fine arts

In recent years, MHS won several awards in instrumental and choral music. The choral ensemble has performed at Carnegie Hall and various overseas venues in Europe, including Vienna, Austria. The jazz band has won numerous performance awards since its inception. In 2006 and 2007, the MHS full symphony orchestra earned the highest ranking (Superior) from Southern California judges. The fledgling guitar class includes electric and acoustic guitar instruction. The Drama department has produced plays of exceptional caliber in the fall and spring, and in 2004 was one of the first high schools in America to perform Les Misérables onstage, followed by 42nd Street (where all of the performers learned tap dancing), Beauty and the Beast, Aida, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Urinetown. The Arts Angels, a parent group, work largely to support all material areas of Fine Arts at the school.

Schedule

The school follows the traditional daily 6-period schedule, with a shortened day for students once a week to enable the faculty time for professional development, continuing education, meetings, etc. Two movements among the faculty to enact modular scheduling have surfaced over the school's short history, both occurring in the 2000s, with each proposal losing by a very slim margin.

Critics claim that the school cannot continue its path of strong academics combined with sports and performing arts, given the daily 6-period class schedule and the school's small student body. Starting in 2005, the school schedule altered, critics claim for the worst, with Honors and Advanced Placement classes offered primarily in the afternoon. This schedule alteration affected a large majority of the athletes on school teams, with many athletes missing crucial AP course instruction and labwork on a weekly basis.

The daily schedule, which is under the control of the faculty, works within the parameters of the school district's official school calendar. The district calendar covers all public schools in the district from elementary and middle to high school, where school usually starts the week after Labor Day and ends the 4th week of June. The district's calendar is subject to the control of the teachers' unions (California Teachers' Association and California Federated Teachers' Union).

Periodic calls by educators and families of upperdivision students request a different schedule to better allow college-bound students to attend college summer courses and programs have not been successful. With Advanced Placement courses set on a national course schedule with AP exams fixed annually in early May, AP-enrolled students are assigned a heavy summer courseload to stay on schedule with other secondary schools that start school earlier in the year.

Publications

The school's journalism classes produce two monthly newspapers — The Current for high school and The Surfwriter for middle school. A yearbook class also publishes the high school yearbook, Aquarius. New in 2008 was the addition of a school literary magazine, The Inkblot, published by students showcasing student stories, poetry, cartoons, and illustrations. The Inkblot is unique in school history for germinating in the mind of a couple of students, who generated private donations to help jumpstart its production. In conjunction with the school administration, the PTSA publishes the monthly school newsletter, Malibu Highlights. The PTSA also publishes the MHS Directory (students, parents, and faculty), the MHS Guide, and the middle school yearbook. Starting in 2007 the MHS Guide became incorporated into the MHS Planner, now published by the school administration through the district. The school counselors publish the annual Course Catalog, which provides course descriptions with no schedule, also through the district. Starting in 2008, the MHS Site Governance Council (the governing committee for the school, run by the principal with members from teacher and parent ranks) began publishing a brief newsletter, which was later incorporated into the PTSA's monthly school newsletter.

Campus life

The school's elected student representatives, the Associated Student Body (ASB), are required to enroll in the elective class ASB, which precludes participation by many students pressed for time, such as students applying to competitive colleges, athletes, musicians, etc. The ASB plans school-wide social activities, such as dances, pep rallies, Prom, Powder Puff, Homecoming, etc. All school clubs are approved and chartered by the ASB. School clubs with faculty sponsors range from human interest clubs (Amnesty International, Operation Smile, Habitat for Humanity, MHS Optimists, Asian Student Union) to unconventional groups (Man Club, Pie Club, English Tea Society, We're Board).

Academic

Annual traditions include the high school's Physics Olympics, where Physics and AP Physics students compete to design, model, construct, and demonstrate experiments, ranging from paper airplane and bicycle demonstrations to experimental watercraft races (with 2-3 students in the watercraft) in the pool. Every year all Physics/AP Physics students visit Six Flags for Physics Day, where students apply their knowledge of physics to the rides, gathering data and solving physics problems.

The History Department holds the yearly Decades Project, wherein students research and present poster papers and working devices in an exhibit that represent aspects of an assigned decade.

The English Department holds the annual One School, One Book, a program modeled after the City of Malibu's One City, One Book that requires participation by all students to read one assigned book and either have a classroom discussion or write an essay. In 2006, controversy embroiled the school after a book chosen by the students, Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, was challenged for inappropriateness (i.e., rape, murder, and teen sex about a female protagonist) by a small group of parents led by the then PTA President. Another book chosen by the English Department to counterbalance these parents' concerns was a book depicting a male protagonist undergoing similar events to that in Lovely Bones. Later books in subsequent years were chosen by the English Department rather than the students. In 2008, the English Department solicited recommendations from parents for its One School, One Book program.

The World Languages Department once held Multicultural Week, during which students partook of various catered ethnic foods, and later shortened to Multicultural Day, at which students researched and presented poster papers and a still-life exhibit based on the culture of their foreign language course. The event was disbanded by popular demand after many students and parents complained that the event mostly showcased Mexican culture and not other ethnic heritages, and that student speakers giving poster talks could not be heard over the loudness of the performers.

Few academic clubs or teams are sponsored at the school, namely Mock Trial (an official course offering) and the nascent Academic Decathlon.

Performing Arts

MHS has evolved several traditions in its short history: Masque (a fundraiser produced by the junior class to fund senior class events), Encore! (formerly Cabaret, an annual entertainment review fundraiser by the performing arts departments), Coffeehouse (an intimate, informal quarterly talent show fundraiser produced by The Current).

Memorable Events

• 2009: MHS palm trees go missing.
• 2008: MHS vandalism causes a stir with racial implications.
• 2007: MHS is chosen by U.S. News and World Report as #98, one of the top 100 schools in the nation and awarded a Gold Medal.
• 2007: MHS technology controversy arises concerning students posting videos of teachers on YouTube.
• 2005: MHS's founding principal, Mike Matthews, is promoted to Assistant Superintendent of schools for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
• 2003: MHS is ranked by Newsweek as #177 among the nation's best schools. MHS consistently ranks in the top 184 schools on Newsweek's list.
• 2000: MHS experiences its first and only security threat. A student is apprehended with a gun in his backpack.
• 1996: MHS's first class of seniors graduates.

Student/Teacher demographics

For the 2007/08 school year, MHS's student composition was:

• 1,303 enrolled students; 52.9% male, 47.1% female
• middle school's (grades 6-8) class size averages 163.7
• high school's (grades 9-12) class size averages 203.8
• student demographics: 0.3% American Indian or Alaska Native, 2.0% Asian, 1.1% Pacific Islander/Filipino, 9.2% Hispanic or Latino, 2.5% African American, 84.7% White (non-Hispanic), 0.2% Multiple.

Students attending the school live primarily in Malibu.

For the 2007/08 school year, MHS's teacher composition included:

• high school: 64 certified teachers; 53.1% male, 46.9% female
• high school: Certificated teacher demographics: 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 4.7% African American, 87.5% White (non-Hispanic), 1.6% Multiple.

The Shark Fund

The Shark Fund (TSF) was established by parents to handle all fundraising for the school, taking over separate money-raising functions by the Parent Student Teacher Association (PTSA), Arts Angels, and the Athletic Booster Club (ABC). Founded in 2003, it garnered over $715,000 in charitable donations in its first year. A non-profit, 501(c)3 charitable organization, it ensures that MHS has enough funding to meet basic operating needs not met by the State of California or the City of Malibu. TSF expenditures are guided by a Needs Assessment Committee, composed of a TSF boardmember, the school administration, the PTSA, Arts Angels, and ABC. Critics say that TSF has grown beyond its fundraising genesis to become central in planning school expenditures for the near and long-term, while proponents declare they're glad someone is volunteering to garner charitable giving for the school.

In 2004 shortly after TSF earned unprecedented contributions from the local community to support the school, the district under then Superintendent John Deasy (not to be confused with John Deasy, Irish politician) instituted a new policy to re-allocate 15% of all charitable donations given to schools to a district fund. The district's 15% giving policy or redistribution was haled by some as a panacea for helping poorer schools in the district where charitable giving was little to non-existent, while critics dubbed it a veritable "tax" to unfairly penalize schools that worked hard to earn the donations. The year after the redistribution was implemented, giving to TSF plummeted. Intense lobbying by TSF and the school administration brought levels of giving up in later years, but participation remained at less than 50% of the school's families.

eMHS

eMHS (aka "MHS eNetwork") was created by parents working with the school's first principal, Dr. Matthews, to facilitate communication at the school, especially during emergency situations, since the school is located in an area often threatened by wildfires, high winds, earthquakes, and mudslides. Founded in 2003, it numbers over 1,300 members as of 2008. eMHS ensures that official school notifications (e.g. school emergency closures or letters from the principal requesting immediate attention) are immediately disseminated to the school community. Though critics voice that eMHS is too heavily moderated or not moderated enough, the entire school community, from students, parents, faculty, school administration, school organizations, etc. continue to use eMHS.

Historical milestones

• 1992 Name changed from Malibu Park Junior High School to Malibu High School
• 1992 High school founded with first freshman class
• 1994 Pool built
• 1994 Baseball and softball fields built
• 1994 First issue of The Current
• 1996 First high school graduating class
• 1997 Malibu High School earns its first accrediation from Western Association of Schools and Colleges
• 2000 Funds secured by Proposition X for new buildings
• 2000 Track & Field facility built
• 2002 New high school building built
• 2002 Second spectator gymnasium built
• 2002 Theater renovated
• 2003 MHS named "California Distinguished School"
• 2003 First appeared on nationally-ranked lists
• 2003 The Shark Fund founded
• 2003 eMHS Founded
• 2004 SMMUSD Demands Share of Donations to MHS; institutes equity ("gift tax")
• 2005 Malibu High School Landscaping Committee (parent volunteers) beautifies the campus
• 2006 Alumni Association founded by R. Silver
• 2006 10^th anniversary of MHS
• 2007 Funds secured by Proposition BB for new high school buildings; no monies for middle school
• 2007 First appearance of mascot Mako Shark at Homecoming
• 2007 First appeared on top 100 national list of schools (among ~18,800 schools)

Pop Culture

Scenes from the movie Smile (2005) were shot at MHS. The film was inspired by the international organization Operation Smile and portrays real-life MHS figures such as former principal, Dr. Mike Matthews (played by Sean Astin). MHS hosts a student chapter of Operation Smile to help fundraise, and every year, a few students accompany Operation Smile tours. Scenes from the Disney Channel Original Movie Brink! were also shot at MHS and Zuma Beach. [3] [4] [5]

Notable alumni

• Jesse Billauer, Class of 1996, quadriplegic surfer, motivational speaker
• Taylor Goldsmith, Class of 2003, lead singer & composer for band Simon Dawes
• Aaron Smith, Class of 2003, stage name Shwayze, American rapper artist
• Dominique Swain, Class of 1997, actress, Lolita
• Devendra Banhart, Musician

Notable faculty

• Dr. Louis Leithold, author of The Calculus, a widely used high school and college Calculus textbook (2005)

External links

• Official Website
• District Website
• The Shark Fund
• eMHS
• MHS sports
• Malibu Prep Sportswear Store
• Aerial Photograph from Google Maps
• Bird's-Eye-View of Property