Garfield High School (California)

History

The James A. Garfield High School Building was built in 1925.

During World War II, the students of James A Garfield High School worked on war aircraft and other war related machining and assembly projects to support the War Effort, for school credit and pay. The efforts and details about the program of Garfield High School appeared in a film created for the Army and Navy servicemen and women in 1944 by the Army-Navy Screen Magazine. (https://www.c-span.org/video/?320798-1/armynavy-screen-magazine-youth-power)

Garfield was one of the five schools to initiate student protests known as the East L.A. walkouts in 1968, and contributed to the walkouts in 2006, in protest to the HR 4437 bill.

Campus

On May 20, 2007, a 17-year-old arsonist set fire to the school's 82-year-old auditorium. It was estimated that the fire caused over $30 million in damages. The auditorium was completely destroyed. The 17-year-old arsonist, a boy who was a freshman at the school, was sentenced to juvenile camp and ordered to pay restitution for setting the blaze. Chandeliers were saved from the auditorium's wreckage.

A benefit concert was held collaboratively with Los Lobos, and a donation was given by boxer Oscar De La Hoya. L.A. Unified contends that the 1925 auditorium needs to be rebuilt from the ground up to meet state building codes, but nine insurers insist that the walls are salvageable and could support a new building, district officials said. Garfield's main administration building, which is attached to the auditorium must be retrofitted to meet earthquake standards, and officials have not determined the level of demolition needed.

On March 31, 2010, a day after the death of Jaime Escalante, the Los Angeles Unified School District announced that the new auditorium under construction at Garfield High would be named in his honor. On April 1, a memorial service honoring Escalante was held at Garfield High, where he taught from 1974 to 1991. Students observed a moment of silence on the front steps. About 200 attended, said Principal Jose Huerta.

In July 2010, while the school was closed for the first summer vacation since 1991, the Administration Building and the remains of the original Auditorium were demolished. By the start of the school year in September, the entire building was leveled. Only a small power plant remains of the building. The school's 300 building is the final structure that dates back to the school's opening in 1925.

On April 5, 2014, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) officials cut the ribbon on Garfield High's Auditorium project. The new facility includes state-of-the-art upgrades and the new Jaime Escalante Memorial Plaza.

The school is known for its murals. In 2006, due to structural damage, many of the murals were removed.

Year-Round Calendar

Garfield was on a year-round, multi-track schedule to relieve overcrowding from July 1991 to June 2010. Initially, there were four tracks. The students were, for the most part, randomly assigned to one of three tracks, and alternate two-month vacations. Only two-thirds of the student body were on campus at any given time. In 2010, the School announced that because of the opening of the new Esteban Torres High School, the school would revert to a traditional September–June calendar starting in September 2010.

Demographics

From the 1930s through the 1950s, Garfield High was predominantly White. However, since the 1960s, the majority of student body has been Hispanic. The school had a total of 4620 students in the 2005–2006 school year; 99.26% of the students were identified as Hispanic. Students enrolled in the 2009–2010 year are a total of 4,603.

Academics

Before the term of Henry Gradillas as principal in the 1980s, the average reading level of 10th grade students (sophomores) was equivalent to that of a student in the second month of the fifth grade, or a 5.2. The total number of AP tests taken at Garfield each year before the Gradillas's term was 56. During Gradillas's term, the average reading level of a 12th grade student (seniors) was the tenth grade level, and the number of AP tests yearly increased to 357. The increase in the reading level was due to required reading and remedial English courses for students at least three grade levels behind and a reading laboratory.

Small Learning Communities (SLCs)

There are small learning communities (SLCs) in which the student body is divided into smaller academies: Career and Performing Arts Academy, Computer Science Magnet, Global Academy, Humanitas Academy of Leadership and Law, and University Preparatory Program. These are all separated within buildings throughout the campus, each student is divided into each. SLCs were introduced to LAUSD around 2005 to combat dropping out of school.

Advanced Placement

Garfield achieved fame because of Jaime Escalante who, in the 1980s, along with the administration of Henry Gradillas built an exceptional advanced placement program. In 1982, 18 of his students passed the advanced placement calculus test. The College Board suspected cheating and required the students to re-take the examination. Further testing showed that the students had actually learned the material.

In 1987, 73 students passed, while another 12 passed the second year calculus test. In 1988, a popular film titled Stand and Deliver starring Academy Award-nominee Edward James Olmos was made about the events of 1982. In 1990, there were over 400 students in Escalante's math program from algebra to calculus. In 1991, he had a falling out with the school administration and as a result left the Garfield school system. By 1996, only seven passed the basic calculus exam, with four passing the advanced exam. That was a total of eleven passing students, down from a high of 87 nine years earlier. In 2001, the school made a slight recovery in its calculus scores, with 17 passing the basic test and seven passing the second year test.

In 2004, Newsweek ranked Garfield 581st top high school in the nation. The rank was based on the number of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests taken by all students at a school in 2004 divided by the number of graduating seniors.

Student performance

In 2005, according to the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) assistant vice chancellor for admissions and enrollment, Richard Black, Garfield had the highest number of combined Latino/Chicano and African-American students accepted by UC Berkeley.

American football

Garfield High School participates in the "East L.A. Classic" the homecoming football game against Theodore Roosevelt High School, that traditionally draws over 20,000 fans. The East LA classic has been held at the East Los Angeles College at the Weingart Stadium although it has also been held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Other sports

Besides the football team playing a big role, there are also other sports who are significant in the annual classic such as: Drill Team, Cheer, and Band. They are well-known and have won competitions throughout the year.

There is also Soccer, Baseball, Softball, Swim, Cross-Country, and Basketball.

Vietnam Era Monument

On May 2016 a black granite monument was unveiled Saturday near the front entrance of Garfield High School, engraved with the names of the 582 former students who served in the military during the Vietnam War. Veterans, families, elected officials and community supporters filled the auditorium to capacity as the Vietnam Era Monument was dedicated in honor of those who served in Southeast Asia from Feb. 28, 1961 to May 7, 1975. The ceremony was the culmination of more than three years of work by a small group of Garfield alumni, who envisioned a monument engraved with the names of their classmates and fellow servicemen.

Notable alumni