Type Public Principal Pamela Damonte Mascot Lancer Founded 1959 | Established 1959 Grades 9-12 Phone +1 818-756-2700 | |
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Motto What we are to be we are now becoming. Dean Jon Mannochio, Devin Ellison Address 13000 Oxnard St, Valley Glen, CA 91401, USA District Los Angeles Unified School District Similar Van Nuys High School, Birmingh Community Charter H, East Valley High School, Los Angeles Valley Co, North Hollywood High Sch | ||
Ulysses S. Grant High School is a secondary school in the Valley Glen neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the east-central San Fernando Valley. It is located adjacent to Los Angeles Valley College.
Contents
- History
- Academic and artistic feats
- Demographics
- Culture
- Film program
- Los Angeles city athletic championships
- Notable Alumni
- Use as a filming location
- References
It is part of District 2 of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school serves several areas, including Valley Glen, much of Sherman Oaks, and sections of both Van Nuys and North Hollywood.
Its mascot is the Lancer and the school colors are brown, orange, and white. The school motto is: "What we are to be we are now becoming."
The school newspaper is called the "Odyssey" in reference to President Grant's first name - Ulysses - the main character in Homer's epic "The Odyssey." There is a school tradition that, on or about April 1, a satirical issue is distributed called the "Oddity" and it contains comical and irreverent articles. Past "articles" have been about finals being canceled, the school being closed, rats infesting the cafeteria, clothing optional P.E. classes, etc.
The school yearbook is called the "Shield" .
Connected to Grant High School is a communications/technology magnet which emphasizes smaller class sizes and communications technology electives including film/video production, broadcast journalism, computer technology, graphic communications, and performing arts.
History
Grant opened as a high school in September, 1959. Its first students were baby boomers moving into suburban houses in the San Fernando Valley. Reut Cohen of Neon Tommy, a publication of the Annenberg Media Center, wrote that in the 1970s and 1980s the school was "regarded as an excellent public institution."
In the 1990s there was an ethnic tension between the Armenian students and the Hispanic and Latino students. An LAUSD official stated a belief that the tension may have originated from earthquake relief drives held in the 1980s which were meant to benefit Armenia and Mexico. Cohen stated that the ethnic tensions were a major factor in the decline of Grant's reputation in the 1990s.
The tensions exploded on Thursday, October 21, 1999 when the a fight between an Armenian girl and a Latina girl turned into a fight between 200 students. The fight resulted in 40 students being detained and minor injuries being inflicted on 10 students, some teachers, and a maintenance worker. No serious injuries occurred. In January 2000 the students signed a "peace treaty" to prevent future fighting. By February banners were erected which promoted peace. By October of that year there were discussion programs aimed at further reducing tension.
A fight involving almost 500 students occurred on Tuesday March 8, 2005.
In 2006, Grant was relieved of many 9th and 10th graders by the opening of East Valley High School, which planned to phase in grades 11 and 12 in the following two years.
Ethnic tensions reappeared during an Armenian remembrance event in 2008.
Grant was featured in Newsweek magazines April 17, 2008 cover story about 25 years of divorce in America; Grant was chosen as a prototypical suburban high school and the article featured members of the class of 1982 and their marital stories.
Academic and artistic feats
In the late 1960s, a local L.A. television station aired a game show called It's Academic, which featured competition among L.A. area high schools in a quiz show format. Grant won the competition both years that the show was on the air.
In 1977, students at Grant achieved a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records for playing the world's largest musical chairs game (record since broken).
Grant students are also credited with helping to paint one of the largest murals in the world—the Great Wall of Los Angeles—in the Tujunga Wash that lies on the border of the campus. The mural, which depicts southwestern U.S. history from prehistoric times, is 2,754 feet (840 m) making it the longest mural in the United States.
Grant's award-winning Academic Decathlon team placed 11th out of 64 schools in the 2009 regional competition.
Demographics
In the mid-20th century the school used a tracking program which resulted in many Jewish students, who anticipated attending colleges and universities, together. Deborah Dash Moore, the author of To the Golden Cities: Pursuing the American Jewish Dream in Miami and L.A., wrote that this made the presence of these Jewish students "more visible than numbers alone would warrant." Grant offered Modern Hebrew classes.
In 1978 the school had over 3,000 students. In 1999 the school had 3,400 students, and there were 3,300 students in 2000. That year the student body was 51% Hispanic and Latino, 36% White, 6% African-American, 4% Asian, and 2% Filipino. Most of the Hispanic and Latino students were Mexican American and many of the Whites were Armenian American. As of 2000 the students originated from 48 countries. As of 2010 65% of the students were Hispanic and Latino, and 20% were Armenian.
The Hispanic and Latino students, as of 2015, often originated from families who migrated from Mexico and Central America and were born in the United States; they prefer to identify by their countries of origin even though they are grouped together as Hispanic and Latino. The Armenian students, as of 2015, originated in a wave of immigration from Armenia and the former Soviet Union that began in the early 1990s.
Culture
In 2000 the socialization point for the Latinos was the south side of the school's quad, while the Armenians socialized in the north side. As of that year, fights between Armenian and Latino students often occurred in October. As of 2000 the common belief at the school was that Latinos wore baggy clothes while Armenians dressed more conservatively.
Film program
Grant has a film program for students either considering a career in that field or with a general interest. Students that have completed his program have earned numerous awards such as certificates, CINE Golden Eagles, trophies and other means of recognition. The students are allowed to freely create stories of their own.
Los Angeles city athletic championships
Notable Alumni
Use as a filming location
Grant High School has been featured in a number of film and television productions. This is due to the long strip of road (known as "Lancer Lane") that runs between the eastern boundary of the school and a scenic greenbelt, walking path, and the Tujunga Wash, and the availability of ample parking—combined with the ease of moving equipment around. Grant High School is also recognized as among the best high schools in the country for its film/video productions made by students of the communications/technology magnet.
Among the professional film and television productions that have utilized Grant High School as a filming location:
Many music videos including: