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Theodore Roosevelt High School (Los Angeles)

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Type
  
Public

Principal
  
Mr. Ben Gertner

Enrollment
  
5,047

Phone
  
+1 323-780-6500

Established
  
1922

Grades
  
9-12

Mascot
  
Rough Rider, Teddy Bear

Number of students
  
5,047

Theodore Roosevelt High School (Los Angeles)

Motto
  
"Don't flinch, don't foul, hit the line hard!"

Address
  
456 S Mathews St, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA

District
  
Los Angeles Unified School District

Similar
  
Roosevelt Community Adult Sch, Garfield High School, Hollenbeck Middle School, Belmont High School, Esteban E Torres High Sch

Theodore roosevelt high school los angeles top 8 facts


Theodore Roosevelt High School is an educational institution of seven high schools (grades 9-12) located in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles, California named for the 26th president of the United States.

Contents

Roosevelt is a public school in the Los Angeles Unified School District with an enrollment of 5,047 in 2007, making it one of the largest in the country, and second largest behind Belmont High School at the time. Up until the 2008-09 school year, the school followed a year-round calendar. In 2008, the school started to be managed by the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, which was started by Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. In 2010, the cohesive institution was split up into seven small schools, each with its own principal, CEEB code (used by SAT, colleges, etc.), students and staff. The outcomes of this have been debated by students and administrators.

Its school colors are red and gold, the mascot is Teddy the Bear, and their sport teams are known as the Rough Riders. The school's motto is "Don't flinch, don't foul, hit the line hard!", which is a Theodore Roosevelt quote.

Students come from Boyle Heights, South Central, East Los Angeles, and City Terrace.

Roosevelt participates in the annual "East L.A. Classic" against Garfield High School. It is the homecoming game for both schools and attracts over 20,000 people every year.

History

Roosevelt was founded in 1922, but opened in 1923 in Boyle Heights to the east of the Los Angeles River.

During World War II the Japanese were removed to internment camps. Many returned after the war. A Japanese garden that had been destroyed was restored in 1996 with funds raised by alumni and students.

As the population grew in the area, Roosevelt sought expansion. The R-Building (R for Roosevelt) was the main building and faced Fickett Street. The street was vacated and a new administration (A-Building for administration) was constructed. Many new buildings were created and added to campus. The R-building has an interesting history and distinct architecture. There was a fourth floor to the building which had to be closed due to damage from a fire. The basement was built with a shooting range for the Junior ROTC (JROTC), although only air rifles may be used now.

Roosevelt was one of the five schools to initiate the student walkouts in 1968, and contributed to the walkouts in 2006, in protest to the HR 4437 bill. The school has partnered with Planned Parenthood, which operates a clinic at the school providing birth control, pregnancy testing, screening for sexually transmitted diseases and counseling, in an effort to reduce the area's high incidence of teenage pregnancies.

In 2009 the opening of the Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez Learning Centers helped to expand Roosevelt.

Academic Performance Index (API)

API for High Schools in the LAUSD District 5 and local small public charter high schools in the East Los Angeles region.

The East LA Classic

The East L.A. Classic is the homecoming game for Roosevelt High School and Garfield High School, . The classic has taken place since a few years after the opening of the two schools, with the exception of the Depression and World War II. The classic brings out alumni from all parts of the world, usually fielding 20,000 people per game and has been held at the East Los Angeles College at the Weingart Stadium although it has been held at the The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Artwork

The artist Nelyollotl Toltecatl painted a 400 feet (120 m) mural, known as the Anahuac Mural, on two outside walls of Roosevelt depicting murder, rape, and enslavement of Native Americans by European colonizers. In 1996 Toltecatl, who was previously known under a Spanish name, began to work on a mural intended to depict Chicano history and assimilation. After about a year of work on the project, the tone of his mural changed after attending a lecture by Olin Tezcatlipoca.

The Sixth Street Viaduct, also known as the Sixth Street Bridge was demolish. Prior to the demolition, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti recorded the rap song "101SlowJam", backed by musicians from Roosevelt High School, and issued it via a video on his own YouTube channel. The public service announcement video advertised the closure of parts of the 101 Freeway to accommodate the demolition of the viaduct.

Notable alumni

  • Leo Buscaglia - Writer and professor
  • Chris Arreola - Professional heavyweight boxer
  • Lou Adler – Music Grammy Award winner and film Producer; noted for the Rocky Horror Picture Show and Up in Smoke
  • Sam Balter – All American basketball player UCLA; gold medal winner basketball 1936 Summer Olympics; member of the SCSBA Hall of Fame
  • Paul Bannai – First Japanese American assemblyman in California
  • Lynn Cain – USC running back, played for Atlanta Falcons and the Los Angeles Rams
  • Phil Carreón (1923–1920), big band leader who gave Lennie Niehaus his first job as arranger and alto saxophonist
  • Gil Cedillo – California state senator
  • Willie Davis – MLB 18 years; LA Dodgers 1960–72; 2 time all-star
  • Michael Galitzen (Mickey Riley) – 1932 Summer Olympics gold medal springboard diving
  • Mike Garrett – Heisman Trophy winner USC 1966; Former USC AD
  • Joe Gold – Founder of Gold's Gym
  • Paul Gonzales – First Mexican-American winner of the boxing gold medal 1984 Summer Olympics
  • Frances Hashimoto - Former president and CEO of Mikawaya, credited as the creator and inventor of mochi ice cream and introducing the dessert to the American consumer market.
  • Genaro Hernandez – World junior lightweight champion 1991–1994
  • Robert Kinoshita – an artist, art director, and set and production designer who worked in the American film and television industries from the 1950s through the early 1980s.
  • Herbert G. Klein President Richard Milhous Nixon's communications director for the executive branch
  • Lennie Niehaus – Emmy winner and Clint Eastwood's musical director
  • Eugene Obregon – Medal of Honor in Korean War
  • Harry Pregerson – First Jewish American appointed federal circuit judge, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Ricky Romero – All City Player of the Year; pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays
  • Edward R. Roybal – LA city councilman 1949–62; U.S. House of Representatives 1963–1993
  • Andy Russell - Born as "Andrés Rábago" in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. 1940s Mexican-American crooner of bilingual hits "Bésame Mucho and "What a Diff'rence a Day Made." Later, an international singing star in Mexico, Latin America, and Spain.
  • Shirlee Smith
  • Donald Sterling - Former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers
  • A. Wallace Tashima – First Japanese American appointed federal circuit judge, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Bobbi Trout – Record-setting aviator of the 1930s and 1940s, contemporary of Amelia Earhart and Pancho Barnes
  • Antonio Villaraigosa – Former Mayor of Los Angeles, 2005–13
  • Harold M. Williams – Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission during the Carter administration; president emeritus of the Getty Center
  • Howard Zieff – Director of Private Benjamin and My Girl
  • References

    Theodore Roosevelt High School (Los Angeles) Wikipedia