- Downey High School is one of two senior high schools located in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey, California, and within the Downey Unified School District. It is located at 11040 Brookshire Ave. At the present time the school has an enrollment of about 3719 students, of a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds and socio-economic levels.
- Currently, Tom Houts is the principal. In addition, there are five other administrators, as well as seven full-time counselors. The instruction staff consists of 151 teachers and the operation functions with the assistance of a staff of 85 specialized employees (custodians, secretaries, nurses, security guards, etc.)
- History
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At the turn of the century, Downey was a small agricultural community. There were, however, enough boys and girls of high school age that a group of citizens got together and organized what was then called Los Nietos Valley Union High School. On August 16, 1901, Los Nietos Valley High School became the eleventh high school in the Los Angeles County School System.
- In 1903, the first building at Second and Church Streets, where Walker Hall now stands, was formed. The original cornerstone of this building is now preserved in front of the Viking Tower. Before the building was ready for use, classes were held for 45 students in the auditorium of a grammar school. The faculty consisted of one principal, A.E. Farlington and one teacher, Miss Gertrude Smith. The first graduating class of 1904 had four students who received their diplomas. The course of study for the first few years was a college prerequisite curriculum, but in 1911, a commercial course was offered for students which enabled them to work immediately after graduation.
- The name of the school was changed to Downey Union High School in 1919. The following year, the school got its first bus, since the only previous transportation had been supplied through Mrs. Van Matre, who used her car to bring students who lived within a mile of the school. In 1926-1927, the original building was condemned as a fire hazard and torn down. A gymnasium was built on the site. In turn, the gymnasium was demolished in 1957/1958, and Walker Hall constructed in its place. It was named in honor of William H Walker, a retired teacher and former superintendent. The first building for junior high school students was built in 1929-1930, which is the present “R” building. The senior and junior high schools were combined on a single campus in 1951-1952. Because agricultural lands were given away to [[Residential area|residential sub-divisions]], more schools were needed. The first separate junior high school was South Junior High School, dedicated on May 1, 1952, teaching about half the students in grades seven, eight, and nine. The remaining half of the students stayed in what was then called Central Junior High School. In 1953, these students moved away to become North Junior High School (Griffiths Middle School). In 1954, the third junior high school, East Junior High School was formed. In 1957, a second senior high school, Earl Warren Senior High School, and a fourth junior high school, West Junior High School opened their doors. A fifth junior high school, Woodruff Junior High School, opened in September, 1959. On July 1, 1961, the Downey Union High School District was merged with the four elementary districts to form the Downey Unified School District.
- Academics
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Downey High School offers a wide variety of AP (Advanced Placement) courses: AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Psychology, AP Calculus, AP Statistics, AP English, AP Spanish, AP European History, AP United States History, and AP Government/Economics.
- Demographics
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In terms of race and ethnicity, Hispanic and Latino students comprised the majority (75.5%) of the student body. Caucasian students were the second largest group; they make up 12.7% of the student body. African American students and Asian students made up 5.5 and 5.4% of the student body respectively. The remaining 0.9% of the student body are comprised of American Indian and multiracial students.
- Athletics
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Downey High School's Athletic Affiliation is the San Gabriel Valley League, which consists of the following: Downey High School Vikings, Dominguez High School Dons, Gahr High School Gladiators, Lynwood High School Knights, Paramount High School Pirates, and Warren High School Bears.
- The school has great athletic backgrounds in the fields of Wrestling and Girls Water Polo (two consecutive CIF Div. VI Championships in 2005 and 2006). Currently Volleyball (both boys and girls) is the second best (Girls Water Polo been the best) overall athletic program offered at the school and consistently making CIF semi-final/final appearances. The girls Soccer team have been San Gabriel Valley League Champs for years, and have made many CIF appearances. In 2008 they made their first appearance ever in CIF finals, since girls soccer was established. Downey High just started their new Girls Lacrosse team this year, the first game was March 7, 2009. Downey track and field are defending champs. Downey F/S Girls track and field undefeated league champs 2009. The Downey Boys Volleyball program won its first CIF title in 2009.
- The Allen Layne Stadium is one of the most advanced stadiums and training facilities in high school level in the Los Angeles area. It is a site for practice and it is also a sight for visiting lacrosse teams from universities, such as the University of Michigan.
- Student Activities
- Extracurricular
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Downey High School has over 30 active clubs and organizations on campus. These include Key Club, Kiwins, JSA (Junior State of America), Eco Club, Art Club, Twilight Club, just to name a few.
- Student Government
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ASB
- Recent Achievements
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During the 2005 - 2006 school year Downey High School raised over 50,000 dollars for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in their annual Pennies for Patients fundraiser. Downey High excelled over 17,000 schools from across the country under the leadership of Brandy Rodriguez, the community service chairman. The school is also ranked #1 in their region for most pints of bloods donated through the American Red Cross-oriented blood drives.
- The Downey High School Drumline and Percussion Ensemble were awarded a 1st place Championship in the Open Division and Concert Division from the American Drumline Association in 2005. The Downey High School Jazz Ensemble made history on June 23, 2006, when they were the first high school band to perform at the Hollywood Bowl.
- The Boys Volleyball program, coached by Mark Rand, won its first CIF title in 2009. The Downey High Dance Team, led under the supervision of Leslie Patterson and Cindy Foley, are currently the three times state champions in four categories, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Lyrical, & Novelty.
- Notable alumni
- The Carpenters, musical duo formed by siblings Karen Carpenter and Richard Carpenter.
- Robert Ballard, oceanographer, discoverer of the ruins of Titanic.
- George Horton, Head Baseball Coach at the University of Oregon, 2-time NCAA Baseball Championships.
- Jo Jo Starbuck, Won the US national pair skating title in 1970, 1971, and 1972.
- Ken Shelley, Won the US national pair skating title in 1970, 1971, and 1972.
- Ryan Hollweg, Professional Hockey Player who plays with the New York Rangers.
- Omar Garcia, Professional Football(Soccer) Player in England.
- James Hetfield, the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the American heavy metal band Metallica
- Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.
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