North Hollywood High School

Facilities

The campus facilities include three main buildings (Kennedy Hall, Frasher Hall, and Randolph Hall), an agricultural area with livestock, a garden, an auditorium, a cafeteria, two gymnasiums, multiple computer labs with internet access, an automech shop, a woodshop, an instrumental music room, a football field, two softball fields, a baseball diamond, two tennis court areas, a teachers' parking lot, an art room, a college center, a parent center, a student store, and a library.

History

Built in 1927, Lankershim High School was named for the town of Lankershim (first called Toluca, now North Hollywood) and its founding family. It opened with only a main building, auditorium, gymnaisum, and a shop & mechanics building, with 800 students, graduating its first class in 1928. The Board of Education was asked to employ teachers who were already residents of North Hollywood, creating jobs and education opportunities right in the area. Lankershim High School was renamed North Hollywood High School in 1929. In 1937, a girls' gymnasium and a second major classroom building, now named Frasher Hall, were built. In 1950, the third major classroom building, now named Randolph Hall, was built. In the 1950s, many smaller construction projects took place, including the agricultural classrooms, the boys' gymnasium, the home-side bleachers, and the instrumental music room. In 1965, the main hall was named the John F. Kennedy Memorial Hall after the slain President. In 1966, the cafeteria, student store, and two shop buildings were built. In 1973, the Amelia Earhart Continuation High School was built on the campus' Northeast corner. In the late 1990s, thirteen modular buildings were installed to support an increase in the number of students.

1990s and beyond

In 1996, the LAUSD board voted to move NHHS to a year-round schedule, but after more classroom space was found, the board reversed course. Several NHHS parents and community members did not want a year-round schedule since they feared it would negatively impact the Highly Gifted Magnet. According to the 1996 scheduling magnet students were supposed to get July–May, which would have impacted their ability to attend summer programs operated by Ivy League universities. The zoo magnet students were to get the September–June schedule.

In 2000, Ramon C. Cortines, the LAUSD superintendent, stated that the overcrowding at NHHS was more severe than originally anticipated, and he announced that NHHS was going year-round. This was despite parents and students protesting against the move for several months. From 2000 to 2007, NHHS was a year-round school with three tracks.

In 2006, East Valley High School opened, relieving overcrowding at NHHS. In 2007, the traditional calendar was re-adopted and the students were divided into many Small Learning Communities (SLCs). All but three of these SLCs were closed in June 2012.

In 2015, it was announced that NHHS was selected to undergo major renovations, including upgrading buildings and removing portable buildings, to be completed in five years.

Academics

NHHS contains two magnet programs; the Highly Gifted Magnet (HGM) and the Zoo Magnet. There are also three Small Learning Communities (SLCs); the Humanitas School for Advanced Studies, the Home Engineering Academy, and the Freshmen Academy.

Highly Gifted Magnet

The Highly Gifted Magnet was established in 1989, and is a component of the voluntary integration program of the LAUSD, designed to provide an academically challenging college preparatory program. The program is designed to prepare its students to thrive in the most demanding of university environments. The students in the HGM are from all over Los Angeles, and have a variety of extracurricular interests, as well as diversity in their academic directions.

Children are eligible if they test in the 99.5th percentile or above on an intelligence test conducted by an LAUSD psychologist. Priority is given to children with 99.9%, officially “Highly Gifted” by LAUSD definition. If there are openings remaining in the program, “Gifted” students with 99.5%-99.8% may be admitted with priority based on magnet points. The program had 265 students, 4 administrators, and 7 faculty members in 2016.

Zoo Magnet

The Zoo Magnet was established in 1981, and is a specialized school that buses students to a small campus next to the Los Angeles Zoo in Griffith Park. At this site, approximately 300 students take standard classes such as history, math, and English, in addition to Advanced Placement classes related to biological and zoological sciences. Many of these classes include fieldwork in the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Los Angeles River ecosystem, Autry National Center and the natural world of Griffith Park for tours and observation. Classes are on a block schedule, meeting three days a week for two hours per class.

Small Learning Communities

The Small Learning Communities (SLCs) are intended to increase student achievement by personalizing the educational experience of students in large schools. Of the eight SLCs originally created, three remain as of 2015; the Humanitas School for Advanced Studies (HSAS), the Home Engineering Academy (HEA), and the Freshmen Academy (FA). The HSAS is designed for identified gifted, high achieving, high-ability students who show an interest in taking Honors and Advanced Placement courses. The HEA specializes in the construction and building trades.

Rankings

In 2017, Niche awarded NHHS an overall grade of "A" (with an A in Academics, a B+ in Diversity, an A in Teachers, an A+ in College Readiness, a B- in Clubs and Activities, and a B+ in Health and Safety), ranked it as 17th out of 604 "Niche Standout Schools" in California, and ranked it 81st out of 2,253 in the "Largest Public High Schools" in California.

In 2016, U.S. News & World Report awarded NHHS a silver medal, ranked it as 1,195th in the country, 204th of all high schools in California, and gave it a College Readiness Index score of 39.4/100. It also ranked its Highly Gifted Magnet as 160th in the country.

In 2016, the Washington Post ranked NHHS as 440th in the country, 51st of all high schools in California, 36th of all public high schools in California, 7th of all high schools in Los Angeles, 5th of all high schools in LAUSD, and 1st of all high schools in District 2.

In 2016, LAUSD's new School Quality Improvement Index scored NHHS's 2014-15 year as 80/100, broken down into 10.51/15 in Academic Performance English Language Arts (64% met or exceeded standards), 12.01/15 in Academic Performance Math (37% met or exceeded standards), 11.25/20 in Four Year Cohort Graduation Rate (85% graduated class of 2014), 3.7/5 in Five Year Cohort Graduation Rate (90% graduated class of 2013), 3.51/5 in Six Year Cohort Graduation Rate (89% graduated class of 2012), 12.68/13.33 in Chronic Absenteeism (6% chronically absent), 13.35/13.33 in Suspension Rates (0% suspended/expelled), and 13.33/13.33 in English Learner Re-Designation (21% re-designated).

In 2015, the Los Angeles Times gave NHHS a grade of "A" in arts education, ranking it 6th of all secondary schools, and 9th of all schools within LAUSD. Out of over 700 schools, only 35 received an "A" grade.

In 2014, Los Angeles Magazine ranked NHHS 14th in Los Angeles County, 7th of all public schools in the county, 4th of all LAUSD schools, and 1st in District 2.

In 2013, NHHS's Academic Performance Index (API) score was 778, which is 22 points below the state goal, but an improvement of 8 points since 2012.

For the 2013-14 school year, the average SAT Reasoning Test score was 1557 of a possible 2400 points.

For the 2013-14 school year, the average ACT Test score was 22 of a possible 36 points.

For the 2013-14 school year, the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) classified 84% of 10th graders in English and 83% of 10th graders in Mathematics, as "proficient or better."

For the 2012-13 school year, the California Standardized Testing and Reporting Program (STAR) classified 59.3% of students in English-Language Arts, 20.7% of students in Algebra 1, 13% of students in Geometry, 30% of students in Algebra 2, 69% of students in Summative High School Mathematics, 45.3% of students in World History, 58% of students in U.S. History, 55% of students in Life Science, 39% of students in Biology, 33.8% of students in Chemistry, 86.3% of students in Life Science, and 74.3% of students in Physics, as "proficient or advanced."

For the 2014-15 school year, in the Physical Fitness Exam for 9th graders, 89.8% of students in Abdominal Strength, 65.5% of students in Aerobic Capacity, 63.1% of students in Body Composition, 91.2% of students in Flexibility, 92.1% of students in Trunk Extension Strength, and 80.9% of students in Upper Body Strength, were considered to be in the "Healthy Fitness Zone."

Advanced Placement Courses

NHHS offers 24 Advanced Placement courses: AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Environmental Science, AP European History, AP French Language, AP Human Geography, AP Macroeconomics, AP Music Theory, AP Physics 2, AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Psychology, AP Spanish Language, AP Spanish Literature, AP Statistics, AP Studio Art, AP US Government and Politics, AP US History, and AP World History.

For the 2013-14 school year, 802 students took 2,042 AP examinations, with 20.9% receiving a score of 1, 22.8% receiving a score of 2, 26.2% receiving a score of 3, 17% receiving a score of 4, and 13% receiving a score of 5.

Extracurriculars

There are a wide variety of extracurricular activities offered at NHHS. While many of these activities are provided by the school, after-school partnerships exist with Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) and the Youth Policy Institute.

Competitive Academics

NHHS offers many highly successful teams in competitive academics: Academic Decathlon, CyberPatriot, DECA, Duke Moot Court, FIRST Robotics, Future Farmers of America, Mock Trial, North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad, National Ocean Sciences Bowl, Physics Olympiad, Science Bowl, Science Olympiad, and Speech and Debate.

Athletics

The NHHS Huskies compete in the CIF Los Angeles City Section's East Valley League. NHHS's rivals are Polytechnic High School and Ulysses S. Grant High School. The NHHS Athletics Department offers: Archery, Baseball, Basketball (boys' and girls'), Cheerleading, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Soccer (boys' and girls'), Softball (girls'), Students Run LA, Tennis, Track & Field, Ultimate Frisbee, Volleyball (boys' and girls'), and Weight Training.

Performing Arts

NHHS offers a wide variety of performing arts courses.

Demographics

For the 2014-15 school year, NHHS had a total enrollment of 2,736 students, broken down into 692 freshmen, 929 sophomores, 513 juniors, and 602 seniors, with 52.7% males and 47.3% females. During the 2014-15 school year, NHHS had 11 administrators, 114 teachers, and 10 pupil services workers. Of the 114 teachers, 1 has a Doctorate, 61 have Master's degrees, 48 have Bachelor's degrees, and 4 were unreported. The student-teacher ratio was 24 to 1. 10.4% of NHHS students were English Learners.

Achievements

Filming Location

NHHS has been the filming location for movies, television shows, and other productions, including the following: