Woodrow Wilson Classical High School is a secondary school in Long Beach, California. It is part of the Long Beach Unified School District and opened in 1926.
Woodrow Wilson Classical High School was established in 1925 as the second school in the city, and ultimately opened for classes in 1926.
In 2007 Gina Piccalo of the Los Angeles Times described it as "one of the school district's jewels."
In 2005 Woodrow Wilson High School was recognized as a California Distinguished School for the second time. The school is a "classical" high school, in that it exceeds LBUSD standards and requires additional credits in order to graduate. Former Wilson students and their teacher Erin Gruwell also inspired the movie Freedom Writers, that was made of the collected diaries of the students; the film takes place in the years 1993 through 1998.
Some Long Beach community members accused the film of misrepresenting the school as being lower performing and more dangerous than it was and misrepresenting the makeup of the students by excluding those who were middle class and non-Hispanic/Latino Whites. According to Gruwell the middle class and non-Hispanic/Latino White students joined her classes after they became well-known, and she added that the film accurately portrayed her initial classes as being low income and made of ethnic minorities. Piccalo stated that during the years the film was set in, the school and Long Beach itself "were much tougher" compared to their states in 2007.
In April 2009, the Wilson Engineering Club received a $100,000.000 grant from the Lemelson–MIT InvenTeam program. They invented a wind power generation system for semi-tractor trailer trucks. The wind turbine, installed on the roof of the truck's cab, will generate electricity while the truck is in motion, and then store that electricity in a battery system for use when the truck is parked. The goal of the project is to provide truck drivers the ability to meet the parked power needs of their cabs without having to idle their engines and burn fossil fuels.
Erin Gruwell, a teacher who worked from 1994–1998, known for compiling The Freedom Writers Diary.Millicent Borges Accardi, poet, NEA award, California Arts CouncilTony Azevedo, driver for the Men's US Olympic Water Polo team and Stanford University.Bob Bailey, MLB third baseman. 1961 CIF Baseball Player of the Year.Cynthia Barboza, Stanford graduate; USA volleyball elite athleteEddie Bockman, former MLB player with the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and the Pittsburgh PiratesRaymond D. Bowman, classical and jazz music critic and a survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack in Hawaii on December 7, 1941.Al Brightman, former NBA player with the Boston CelticsJeff Burroughs, former MLB player and father of Sean Burroughs. 1974 American League Most Valuable Player. 1969 CIF 4-A Baseball Player of the Year.Sean Burroughs, MLB player and son of Jeff Burroughs. 1998 CIF Division 1 Baseball Player of the Year.Jody Campbell, All-American & Olympian water polo star.Don Coscarelli, motion picture director, best known for the "Phantasm" series of horror films.Bud Daley, former MLB player with the Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Athletics and the New York YankeesLashinda Demus, 2012 Summer Olympics Silver Medalist in the 400 Meter Hurdles, National high school record 300 hurdlesBruce Fraser, NBA basketball coachPaul Goydos, PGA golf pro. In 2007 he scored three birdies in the last four holes at the Sony Open in Hawaii to claim victory. Captured the 1996 *Bay Hill Invitational. Second Masters appearance in 2007.Bobby Grich, former MLB player with the California Angels from 1977–1986.Jessica Hardy, world record holder in 100 meter breast stroke, member of USA National Team (2005–2015). Won gold medal at 2012 London Olympic Games; 2006 Pan Pacific Championships; Cal Berkeley swimmer who won 2 NCAA Championships.Aaron Hicks, MLB player for New York Yankees.Gabriel Iglesias, comedian, associated with three specials on Comedy Central.Bob Lemon, MLB pitcher (15 seasons), MLB manager (8 seasons). World Series winner as a player with the Cleveland Indians in 1948 and as a manager in 1978 with the New York Yankees. Seven time 20-game winner. CIF & State Player of the Year in 1938.Camryn Manheim, television and film actress, best known as co-star of The Practice.Bruce McCandless II, NASA astronautPat McCormick, two-time Olympic platform and springboard gold medal diver (1952 & 1956).John Merrick, PGA professional golferBradley Nowell, lead singer of Sublime.Maureen O’Toole, American water polo player and coach, won a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.Jim Pagliaroni, former MLB playerCamilla Poindexter, reality TV star, known for Bad Girls ClubLisa Dean Ryan, actress. Most notably on Doogie Howser M.D. as Wanda, Doogie's girlfriend.Jeff Severson, former CSULB football star who had an eight-year NFL career with Washington, St. Louis, Houston and the Rams.Tim Shaw, Olympic swimmer (1976) and member of water polo team (1984)Lauren Wenger, defender for USC women's water polo team, and 2006 winner of the top individual honor in collegiate water polo, the Peter J. Cutino Award.
