John Marshall High School (Los Angeles)
John Marshall High School is a high school in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Marshall, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Marshall is named for jurist John Marshall, who served as Chief Justice of the United States for three decades. The school is located at 3939 Tracy Street in the Los Feliz district of the city, northeast of Hollywood. Students at Marshall primarily come from Los Feliz, Atwater Village, East Hollywood, northeastern Koreatown, Elysian Valley, and Silver Lake, but some are bussed from overcrowded schools in South Los Angeles and Westlake.
John Marshall Gifted, Highly Gifted, High Ability Magnet School opened with a class of ninety freshman students in August of 1999. Marshall is an experienced year-round school, currently in its tenth year as a concept 6/multi-track school. The Magnet School is on Track A which most resembles the traditional academic year.
By providing a stringent and rigorous curriculum, John Marshall Magnet School designed a course of study to provide an academically challenging college preparatory program. The Magnet presents students with an array of choices in enrichment opportunities which includes the full spectrum of academic and extracurricular activities. The goal is not only to foster analytical and critical thinking skills, but also to develop creative abilities and independent thinking. The Magnet student is a well-rounded individual whose successes are emotional, intellectual, and physical. These successes are interwoven into the fabric of the regular school program and the community. By participating and interacting in a culturally diverse urban high school, students gain an invaluable experience which will enhance their ability to interface with the modern world. The School for Advanced Studies on the school's "C" track also offers the rigorous AP courses found in the magnet program and contribute to the school's prominence. In addition to the School for Advanced Studies, there are numerous other SLC within Marshall, such as the Perkins Academy, Performing Arts Academy,Artistic Vision Academy, Well and Fitness Academy and Social Justice Academy.
John Marshall High School also offers a good number of Advanced Placement, and honors courses on top of the regular curriculum. The variety of AP courses offered makes it possible to take almost every major subject offered in grades 9-12 in the AP system. Entry to these courses in the past has been granted to students with high grades or letters of recommendation from their previous teachers. Many of the students participating in the "AP program" move on to campuses of the University of California, with some top students achieving admission to Ivy League universities or other universities in the Top 50, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
History
John Marshall High School first opened its doors on January 26 1931 with approximately 1200 students and 48 teachers. Joseph Sniffen, for whom the auditorium was named, served as the Principal, while Hugh Boyd and Geraldine Keith acted as Marshall’s first Vice-Principals. The football field was named in Mr. Boyd's honor, while the library was named for Mrs. Keith.
During the first semester of the school's existence, the faculty and students cooperatively selected the school motto, seal, and colors. The school motto, Veritas Vincit (Truth Conquers), was an easy choice since this was a favorite sentiment of John Marshall. The school seal shows an open Book of Learning, behind which is projected the scales of justice with Veritas Vincit emblazoned on the bar. Two shades of blue became the official colors of the high school; the moonlight blue of midnight and the sunlight blue of dawn. Since the color blue is symbolic of truth, the choice of colors harmonized with the school's motto. John Montapert and Henry Suykida, two Marshall students who graduated in the Winter Class of 1939, composed "Alma Mater", the official school song.
Johnny Barrister is the school’s mascot. Since John Marshall was in the legal profession and served as a jurist it was fitting that Marshall’s students be called “Barristers.” The school's service organization is the Continentals. A bust of John Marshall stands in the center of the Senior Court.
Following the Sylmar earthquake of 1971, some of Marshall’s buildings were condemned. The cafeteria was torn down, but the Los Feliz community actively campaigned to save the unique Collegiate Gothic Main Building. In 1975, this building was closed for structural strengthening and all classes moved to temporary bungalows. In September of 1981 the refurbished Main Building was opened. A new building now houses the library, cafeteria, and science classrooms.
Marshall won the United States Academic Decathlon in 1987 (under David Tokovsky) and 1995. The Head coach of the 1995 "Aca Deca" team was Mr Phil Chase, who also opened the School for Advanced Studies. The current head coach is Mr. Welch, an English Teacher on C track. He is also an AP instructor for the AP English Language course and the AP English Literature course.
Today, Marshall is a year-round high school with an enrollment of approximately 4500 students and a teaching staff of 200.
Famous alumni
- La Monte Young, composer
- Tim McIntire, actor, American Hot Wax
- Bob Arbogast, legendary Chicago and San Francisco radio DJ
- Peter Arbogast, Los Angeles-based sportscaster and the school's sports information director; son of Bob Arbogast
- Heidi Fleiss, Hollywood madam
- Lance Ito, Los Angeles Superior Court judge famous for the O.J. Simpson trial in 1995
- Ann Marie Johnson, television actress
- Rosemary LaPlanche, Miss America, 1941
- Allan "apl.de.ap" Pineda Lindo, vocalist for the Black Eyed Peas
- Julie Newmar, actress
- Andy Reid, NFL football coach, who was coached by Pete Arbogast in youth sports
- Leonardo DiCaprio, actor
- Mike Haynes, NFL Hall of Famer
- Lyor Cohen, Warner Music Group's (WMG) Chairman and CEO of U.S. Recorded Music
- Carol Lin, CNN broadcaster
- Michael Antonovich, member of Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
- Tom LaBonge, member of the Los Angeles City Council
- Chagi Nelson, martial artist, starred in Kasumi Ninja
- Dr. David Ho, whose novel use of a "cocktail" of protease inhibitors and other antiviral drugs in the earliest stages of infection has shown remarkable promise in beating back the AIDS virus, is TIME Magazine's 1996 Man of the Year.
Trivia
Shots of Marshall have been used for a variety of movies and television series, most notably Mr. Novak, Boy Meets World, Smart Guy, Sister, Sister, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Can't Hardly Wait, Rebel Without a Cause, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Boston Public, Pretty in Pink and Grease.
The Pharcyde shot their video "Runnin'" inside/outside the Collegiate Gothic Main Building.
The official John Marshall Academic Decathlon team sport is Hacky Sack.