Granada Hills Charter High School

Granada Hills Charter High School
Address
10535 Zelzah Avenue
Los Angeles, California 91344
United States
Coordinates 34°15′40″N 118°31′31″W / 34.2611°N 118.5254°W / 34.2611; -118.5254Coordinates: 34°15′40″N 118°31′31″W / 34.2611°N 118.5254°W / 34.2611; -118.5254
Information
Type Charter school
Motto Home of the Highlanders
Established 1960
School district LAUSD
Principal Brian Bauer
Grades 9–12
Enrollment 4,410[1] (2014-15)
Color(s)      Green,
     Black and
     White
Athletics conference CIF Los Angeles
Mascot The Highlander
Accreditation WASC[2]
Website http://www.ghchs.com/

Granada Hills Charter High School (often abbreviated to GHCHS or simply Granada) is an independent charter school consisting of over 4,200 students in grades 9–12, located in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Granada Hills. It is the largest charter school in the nation. Granada also has a high Academic Performance Index (API) score of 878, which greatly exceeds the target API score of 800 for all schools in California.[3] On April 12, 2011, Granada was named a 2011 California Distinguished School.[4] On December 22, 2011, Granada became an International Baccalaureate World School.[5] Since 2011, the school has won five National Academic Decathlon Championships.

History

Granada Hills High School is a comprehensive public high school, founded in 1960.[6] Bryce Schurr was the first acting principal of the school.[7]

In the 1970-1971 and 1971-72 school years, Granada Hills High had the largest student body of any high school in the United States.[8] The school was relieved by the 1971 opening of Kennedy High School.[9]

In 1994, the school opened a LAUSD magnet school with emphasis in math, science and technology in conjunction with the California State University at Northridge. In 2003, the school was awarded charter status which granted it fiscal and instructional autonomy.[10]

In 2003 the Los Angeles Board of Education voted to allow the school to become a charter, making it the largest school in the United States to convert to a charter school.[11] The school administration asked for a charter status since being directly operated the district limited its fundraising opportunities, and it also was against LAUSD funding cuts.[12]

In mid 2013, Granada Hills Charter High School purchased the nearby Pinecrest Northridge Elementary School campus for $5.6M,[13] using funds obtained from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Granada Hills Charter High School used this new land to create iGranada, a campus specializing in digital arts and sciences. This campus opened for the first time for the Fall 2015 school year.[14]

As part of their Charter Renewal Petition, GHCHS has applied to increase their enrollment from 4,300 students up to 5,500 students. This includes adding approximately 200 additional grades 9-12 seats to the existing GHCHS campus, through a Charter Augmentation Grant, and adding up to 1,000 additional seats at the Pinecrest site (or at another possible property acquisition).[15]

Technology

On campus, there are six computer labs, each with more than 35 computers. There are also laptop carts, which house many laptop computers and can be transported around the campus for enrichment activities. Science classrooms are updated with new lab technology often. Most classrooms have Smart Boards and projectors, increasing the overall student interaction in class.

Beginning in the 2015-2016 school year, Chromebooks are given to every student. Teachers may use Google Classroom to post assignments, online teaching materials, and give instant feedback to the students. Additionally, the school has wifi networks campuswide, and can provide wifi at a student's home if they cannot afford it.[16]

Demographics

WhiteLatinoAsianAfrican AmericanPacific IslanderAmerican IndianTwo or More Races
18%49%27%4%0.1%0.2%2%

According to US News and World Report, 72% of Granada's student body is "of color," with 52% of the student body coming from an economically disadvantaged household, determined by student eligibility for California's Reduced-price meal program. [17]

The school is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.[2]

Facilities

The school's sports stadium, the John Elway Stadium, is used by the Los Angeles Rampage women's soccer team and is the former home ground of the San Fernando Valley Quakes United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League soccer team.

Athletics

In 1964, Granada Hills High School won the L.A. City Basketball Championship.

In 1970, Granada Hills High School won the L.A. City Football Championship with the five-receiver passing attack innovated by Coach Jack Neumeier later known as the spread offense that a few years later attracted John Elway's father, Jack Elway's attention, after the Elway family moved to Los Angeles when Jack Elway assumed the head football coaching position at California State University, Northridge.[18]

In 1987, in a highly publicized rematch, Granada Hills High School upset the Carson Colts (at the time the #2 rated high school football team in the United States), 27-14, to win their second L.A. City Football Championship. Head coach Darryl Stroh, offensive coordinator Tom Harp, and line coach Bill Lake were instrumental in developing a successful new game plan that countered Carson's offensive juggernaut and ferocious pass rush. Carson had clobbered Granada, 42-14, earlier in the season. It is still regarded as one of the biggest upsets in the history of L.A. high school football.

Ryan Braun was a four-year letterman on the Granada Hills High School baseball team, and three-year team captain and Most Valuable Player (MVP). In 2002, he batted .451 as a senior, with an OBP of .675, and broke the school record for career home runs with 25.[19]

Activities

In 2011 won Standford Junior Varsity LD tournament[20] (Yellow River)It was also the 2008 CHSSA State Champion in Thematic Interpretation.[21] In 2011 took 13th at the CHSSA State tournament in Original Prose and Poetry

The Academic Decathlon team won back-to-back-to-back National championships in 2011, 2012 and 2013. The 2015 team also secured another national championship.[22] Granada again won the 2017 National Academic Decathlon Championship for another back-to-back championship win, its sixth championship win so far.

Notable alumni

Ryan Braun
John Elway

References

  1. ↑ "Granada Hills Charter High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Western Association of Schools & Colleges – WASC ACS – Directory of Schools". Acswasc.org. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Granada Hills Charter High School API Rockets to 874" (Press release). Granada Hills Charter High School. 2011. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Granada Hills Charter High School named California Distinguished School" (PDF) (Press release). Granada Hills Charter High School. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 9, 2013.
  5. ↑ "GHCHS now an International Baccalaureate World School" (Press release). Granada Hills Charter High School. 2011. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012.
  6. ↑ "About Us - Miscellaneous - Granada Hills Charter High School". www.ghchs.com. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  7. ↑ LA, Times. "LA Times".
  8. ↑ Hier, Jim. Granada Hills (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing, 2007. ISBN 0738547719, 9780738547718. p. 9.
  9. ↑ Hier, Jim. Granada Hills (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing, 2007. ISBN 0738547719, 9780738547718. p. 10.
  10. ↑ "Charter School FAQs". ghchs.com. Granada Hills Charter High School. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  11. ↑ DiMassa, Cara Mia. "Granada Hills Gets Charter OK." Los Angeles Times. May 14, 2003. Retrieved on January 8, 2016.
  12. ↑ Corwin, Ronald G. and Joe Schneider. The School Choice Hoax: Fixing America's Schools. Greenwood Publishing Group, January 1, 2005. ISBN 0275986950, 9780275986957. p. 221.
  13. ↑ "Granada Hills Charter High buys Pinecrest Northridge campus for $5.6M". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  14. ↑ "IGRANADA DIGITAL ARTS & SCIENCES". Archived from the original on September 27, 2015.
  15. ↑ Granada Hills Charter High School: A Charter School Petition for Renewal (PDF), retrieved July 8, 2014
  16. ↑ "Technology - Granada Hills Charter High School". ghchs.com. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  17. ↑ https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/california/districts/los-angeles-unified-school-district/granada-hills-charter-high-2542/student-body
  18. ↑ Sondheimer, Eric (September 3, 2004). "Jack Neumeier, 85; High School Football Coach Inspired Elway". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
  19. ↑ Mulhern, Tom, "Brewers: Braun's start a smashing success", Wisconsin State Journal, July 21, 2007. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  20. ↑ https://docs.google.com/a/snfi.org/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=c25maS5vcmd8MjAxMS1zdGFuZm9yZC1pbnZpdGF0aW9uYWwtcmVzdWx0c3xneDo3NzRmZjI5NGEzZmE3YmM2 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. ↑ "CHHSA State Results For Members of the TVFL". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2008.
  22. ↑ "Granada Hills H.S. Wins U.S. Academic Decathlon". nbclosangeles.com. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  23. ↑ "WWE Diva Cameron starts right cause with 'Wrong #'". The Miami Herald. September 8, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 "Granada Hills: High School Alumni". The Baseball Cube. Archived from the original on August 21, 2007. Retrieved August 29, 2007.
  25. ↑ "Colorado State Football".
  26. ↑ "Vacations in California travel Guide". things-to-do granada-hillsl. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  27. ↑ Englund, Robert. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000387/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  28. ↑ "Barry Kerzin, About". GHDonline. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Blanchard Montgomery". DatabaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved August 29, 2007.
  30. ↑ "Granada Hills High School Tartan Yearbook". p. 130.
  31. ↑ "Biography". www.jeffreyleepierce.com. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  32. ↑

Further reading

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