Glendale High School is a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

, United States. The school is part of the Glendale Unified School District.

History

Glendale High School was founded as Glendale Union High School in 1901 by the residents of the villages of Glendale, La Crescenta,

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, Eagle Rock,

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' ( ) by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in December 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. It marked a shift away from Scott's prior practice of setting stories in Scotland and in the more ...

, Tropico and West Glendale. The first classes were held at the Glendale Hotel. The first principal was Mr. Llewellyn Evans and the school had two teachers and 29 students. The next year, a new school building was built at the corner of what is today Brand Boulevard and Broadway. George Moyse was appointed principal and continued in his role for 35 years until 1937. The school continued to grow rapidly, and the school moved several times, in 1907 to Harvard Street and in 1914 to Maryland Street. The school continued to grow, as enrollment reached 800 in 1920 and 1,050 in 1921. During the 20's Women Right's activist Ella Lillian Wall Van Leer would help create and manage various Art and Architecture departments. It was decided then to move the Grade 10, 11 and 12 classes to a new campus at the corner of the present-day Broadway and Verdugo Road (Grade 9 students remained at the Maryland Street campus, and were later integrated into area Middle Schools). The school has remained in this location (1440 East Broadway, at the southeast corner of Verdugo) since 1924. The Class of 1960 was Glendale's largest, with 903 graduates. Crescenta Valley High School opened in September 1960, taking a sizable portion of Glendale's students. The school suffered extensive damage during spring break on March 22, 1964, when a student who was concerned about his grades set fire to the room in which he thought the grade information was stored. The fire quickly spread throughout the administration building and to adjacent buildings on the campus. The decision was made to reconstruct the campus, leaving the swimming pool, baseball field, tennis courts, and football stadium as the only remnants of the old campus. In 1966, Captain Max Schumacher, an aerial traffic reporter for a local radio station KMPC, landed his helicopter on the football field during a school assembly and spoke about traffic safety. He was later killed in a crash with a police helicopter near

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a ballpark in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a ...

. In the early 1990s, the decision was made by the School Board to reintegrate ninth graders into the Glendale Unified School District high schools (with the exception of Crescenta Valley High School, which had already transitioned to a four-year high school in September 1983). As a result, the 'J' building was constructed in 1994–1995, opening in September 1995. In 2001, Glendale High School celebrated its centenary. The student population was then 3,500 and there were over 100 teachers. In 2001, the Glendale High School Visual and Performing Arts Program (VAPA) was awarded the BRAVO Award for excellence in arts education by the Los Angeles County Music Center. In 2003, the program won another award, the Creative Ticket National School of Distinction Award from the

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Glendale High School was the only public high school to be awarded this honor. On July 1, 2005, Katherine Fundukian replaced LeRoy Sherman and Lou Stewart as co-principals, as part of a School District decision to move Glendale High School back to a "traditional" one-principal system from the two-principal system that had been in place. In 2006, eight students from Glendale High School represented the United States at the Junior G8 summit in

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where they discussed world issues and met with the leaders of the G8 nations. Glendale High's mathematics department received the highest average AP scores in the United States in 2012.

Dance/Drill Team

Since 1999, the dance/drill team program has won over 50 National Championship titles. The Glendale High School Junior Varsity and Varsity dance/drill team competes annually at the United Spirit Association Nationals competition and starting in the 2018 Season now competes annually at the West Coast Elite Dance Nationals competition. This is held at the Anaheim Convention Center and Long Beach Convention Center, respectively. The Glendale High School dance/drill team consists of more than 80 dancers with ten coaches and a director. List of USA National Championship titles since 1999:
:1999: Co-Ed Dance :2000: Co-Ed Dance, Large All Male :2001: Co-Ed Dance, Small All Male, Large All Male, Championship Small Military :2002: Co-Ed Dance, Large All Male, Championship Small Military, Open Small Lyrical :2003: Co-Ed Dance, Large All Male, Open Medium Military :2004: Co-Ed Dance, Championship Small Military :2005: Co-Ed Dance, Pom, Championship Small Military :2006: Co-Ed Dance, Large All Male :2007: Co-Ed Dance, Large All Male, Championship Large Military, Open Large Military :2008: Co-Ed Dance, Championship Small Military, Open Medium Military :2009: Co-Ed Dance, Championship Small Military, Open Large Military, Championship Large Hip-Hop :2010: Open Small Military :2011: Co-Ed Dance, Championship Small Military, Championship Large Military, Open Large Military :2012: Co-Ed Dance, Championship Small Military, Championship Large Military, Open Small Military, Open Large Military :2013: Co-Ed Dance, Championship Large Military, Championship Large Hip-Hop :2014: Co-Ed Dance, Large All Male, Championship Small Military, Championship Large Military, Large Dance/Drill, Open Small Military :2015: Co-Ed Dance, Large Dance/Drill, Championship Small Military :2016: Co-Ed Dance, Large Dance/Drill, Small Dance/Drill :2017: Co-Ed Dance, Large Dance/Drill, Small Dance/Drill :2018: Co-Ed Dance, Large Dance/Drill, Small Dance/Drill :2019: Co-Ed Dance, Large Dance/Drill, Small Dance/Drill, Championship Small Military :2023: Co-Ed Dance USA Nationals Drill Down Wins: 2001, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 Number of Co-Ed Dance National Championships: 18 - 1999–2009, 2011–2018 List of WCE National Championship titles since 2018:
:2018: Co-Ed Dance*, Large Hip-Hop, JV Large Dance/Drill (*This routine also received the "Best Showmanship" award out of the entire Nationals competition) :2019: Co-Ed Dance**, Small Dance/Drill, Large Military (**This routine also received the "Judges Choice" award) :2022: Co-Ed Dance, Small Dance/Drill, X-Small Dance :2023: Co-Ed Dance, Small Dance/Drill, Large Contemporary

Sport

Glendale High School was among the first schools in Southern California to offer athletic sports, and the school's sport program continues to be a major source of pride. Its two mascots are the ''Dynamiters'' for the American football program and the ''Nitros'' for all other sports. The large weights and sizes of the players in the 1924-1925 American football team, with all 11 starting players weighing 170 pounds or more, and with almost all of them six or more feet tall, made them, in the words of the authors of ''Duke: The Life and Times of John Wayne,'' "a high school phenomenon."Shepherd, Donald, Robert Slatzer, and Dave Grayson. ''Duke: The Life and Times of John Wayne''.

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, 2002. , 9780806523408. p
49
That team was directed by coach Normal C. Hayhurst, with

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

student Vic Francy serving as one of the assistants. During that year, the first team to score against them did so in one of the postseason semifinal games.

Fall season (September–November)

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

*Girls'

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

* Cross country *Girls'

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

*Boys

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

Winter season (December–February)

*Girls'

*Boys'

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

*Girls' basketball *Boys'

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

*Girls' soccer

Spring season (March–May)

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

Softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

*Boys'

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

*Girls' track and field *Boys'

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

*Girls' swimming *Boys'

*Boys'

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

*Girls' lacrosse

Traditions

Oratorical

Every March, the school holds its annual "Oratorical" event. Students from each class (Grades 9, 10, 11, and 12) are judged on: *Discipline *Spirit * Tableau *Speech The tradition was started in 1910, at a time of heightened interest in public speaking in Southern California. It has continued through the years, demonstrating to the community the pride that students have in the school. The event is judged by a combination of alumni, community members and members of the military. As of 2023, only five classes have ever won all four categories, the classes of 1999, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2023.

Newspaper and yearbook

The school newspaper, the ''Explosion'', was first published in 1917 and has continued to be published semi-quarterly. The school yearbook, the ''Stylus'', was started in 1909 as a monthly publication. In 1910, it became a quarterly publication, being published each quarter by a different grade level. Later, it became an annual publication.

Pat Navolanic Memorial Award

The Pat Navolanic Memorial Award was established in 1966 in honor of Patrick Navolanic, student body president and Valedictorian of the Class of 1963, who is remembered for being extremely active in school activities, and who died of asphyxiation in December 1965 while studying abroad in France. The award is given to the graduating senior who best exemplifies Navolanic's leadership traits, scholarship skills and athletic prowess, as decided by a council of electors representing all student organizations and sports teams on campus. The winner receives a scholarship in the amount of $2,500 and finalists receive $300. The scholarship money is made possible by a financial endowment, as well as generous donations from students, teachers, alumni and the community.

Demographics

GHS is noted for its diversity. Hispanic/Latino students comprise 33.6% of the student population. Additionally, total minority enrollment is 47%, and 61% of students are economically disadvantaged. ''Statistics based on 2022-2023 enrollment'' ; Students by grade *Grade 9 – 447 *Grade 10 – 525 *Grade 11 – 493 *Grade 12 – 513 ; Sex *Female – 949 (48%) *Male – 1,029 (52%) ; Ethnicity *American Indian/Alaskan Native – 20 (1%) *Asian – 68 (3.4%) *Pacific Islander – 2 (0.1%) *Filipino – 154 (7.8%) *Hispanic/Latino – 665 (33.6%) *African-American – 56 (1.8%) *White – 1,038 (52.5%) *Two or More Races – 30 (1.5%)

Notable alumni

* Frankie Albert – 3-time All-American quarterback at Stanford, member College Football Hall of Fame * Leslie Banning - actress * Kimberly Beck - actress * Duane Bickett – CIF Player of the Year in basketball; all-American linebacker at USC, 12 seasons in NFL * Mike Black - NFL punter * Alyce Canfield - journalist * Mary Costa – actress *

Gary Sutherland Gary Lynn Sutherland (September 27, 1944 – December 16, 2024), nicknamed "Sudsy", was an American professional baseball middle infielder. He player 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1966 to 1978 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Mo ...

- former Major League Baseball player * Vic Dana – top 40 singer and popular vocalist of the 1960s * Michael Davis - NFL defensive back * Emilio Delgado – actor, Luis from ''

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'' * Marian Cleeves Diamond - Professor Emeritus of Anatomy and Neuroanatomy at

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, one of the founders of modern neuroscience * Bob Dillinger – .306 career batting average in MLB; led American League 1948 in hits with 207 * Yvonne Lime Fedderson (class of 1953) - actress, philanthropist *

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– Former manager of the

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* Leland H. Hartwell - co-recipient of the 2001

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* Babe Herman – 13-year Major League Baseball career, .324 lifetime batting average * Donald Leslie – inventor of the

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* Gene Mako – tennis player, 1937 and 1938 Wimbledon doubles champion * Daron Malakian – guitarist, vocalist System of a Down and Scars on Broadway * Terry Moore - Academy Award-nominated actress and secret wife of

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* Bob Reinhard – AAFC and NFL player, played college football at

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– 1949 Wimbledon singles tennis champion * Bob Siebenberg – drummer in Supertramp * Guinn Smith - 1948 Olympic gold medalist in pole vault * Dwight Stones – 3-time Olympic high jumper (1972, 1976, 1984), 10-time world record holder (2.34 m best) * Madeleine Stowe – actress, star of films and TV series ''

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'' * Gloria Talbott – actress *

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– Academy Award-winning actor and director * Loyce Whiteman - big band singer * Bob Wian – founder of the Bob's Big Boy chain of restaurants * Ralph Winter – film producer (''X-Men'' trilogy, ''Fantastic Four'' 1 & 2) *

Frank Wykoff Frank Clifford Wykoff (October 29, 1909 – January 1, 1980) was an American athletics (sport), athlete, a triple gold medal winner in 4 × 100 m Relay race, relay at the Olympic Games. Career Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Frank Wykoff ha ...

– world record sprinter, 3-time Olympic gold medalist (1928, 1932, 1936)

References

External links

*
A Pictorial History of Glendale High School
''Glendale High School'', retrieved July 22, 2006
"GLENDALE HIGH SCHOOL 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY"
''Congressional Record Online'', May 15, 2001, retrieved February 15, 2006
Enrollment Data – 2006–07
''California Department of Education'', retrieved April 29, 2006 {{authority control Educational institutions established in 1901 High schools in the San Fernando Valley Public high schools in Los Angeles County, California Education in Glendale, California Buildings and structures in Glendale, California 1901 establishments in California