Pius X High School (Pius X) is a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

, four year (grade levels 9-12)

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., ...

located at 7851 Gardendale Street, in the city of

Downey, California Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program and Taco Bell. It is ...

. The school was founded in 1953, and named for St. Pope Pius X.

History

From 1968 to 1975, Pius X entered into a revolutionary concept of modern teaching, the "Model School Project." Pius employed an educational model called "non-gradedness," which places a student in a class where his or her present achievement is the deciding factor. His success or difficulty throughout the year will enable his or her teachers to place him or her in a phase according to the student's learning capacity. Emphasis is put on progress and learning by the individual, and not a group of thirty or forty students. The student is recognized as being unique and is able to decide for himself or herself which subjects he or she wants to learn, where, from whom, and why. The student was able to enlarge his or her spectrum of learning with greater ease and efficiency, benefiting more from education. In March 1995 the Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced a school realignment transforming Pius X, a co-ed school, into a co-institutional high school with all-girl St. Matthias High School. St. Matthias, founded in 1960, was located on Stafford Avenue and Belgrade Street in

Huntington Park Huntington Park is a city located in the South Central region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The area includes the separate communities of Florence, California, Florence, Firestone Park, California, Firestone Park, Graham, ...

. The Pius X program was phased out over a three-year period. In 2011, the St. Matthias Advisory Board and the Archdiocese asked Loyola Marymount University's ("LMU") Center for Catholic Education to conduct a detailed study on options for St. Matthias. The Center for Catholic Education study looked at how the school is achieving their Catholic education mission on this campus, with this school, at this time. Together with the Archdiocese, it was decided the best choice is to become a co-ed school once again. The school hopes to admit 25 freshman boys along with 75 freshman girls in the 2013-14 school year and change the school name to St. Pius X - St. Matthias Academy. The official change took place on July 1, 2013. Enrollment for the 2019-2020 school year is 424. From 2017-2019, PMA has recently completed numerous campus renovations made possible through the generosity of Shea Family Charities and the John H. & Cynthia Lee Smet Foundation. These projects include the re-landscaping of the main building facade, the installation of a new marquee, the addition of the new PMA softball field and renovation of the baseball field, the renovation of the campus residence for Loyola Marymount University's PLACE Corps, the installation of a new athletic turf field, stadium restrooms, bleachers, concession stand and all weather track, the renovation of student restrooms, installation of HVAC system in all classrooms, and installation of new windows in the main building. In addition, the gym was renovated with new bleacher seats, new AV sound system, new scoreboards, new stage floor and curtains, and floor covering made possible through the generosity of the Dan Murphy Foundation. These projects began in the Fall of 2017 and continued through Fall of 2019. Over the past four years at the school there has been tremendous growth on campus.

Notable alumni

Rick Adelman Richard Leonard Adelman (born June 16, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He coached 23 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Adelman served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden S ...

, former NBA player head coach and Member, NBA Hall of Fame * Mike Ernst, former NFL player * Lamont Hollinquest, former NFL player with the Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers * Dave Lombardo, two-time

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winning drummer and co-founding member of

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

Darrin Nelson Darrin Milo Nelson (born January 2, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a running back and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings and San Diego Chargers. He played college ...

, former NFL player with the Minnesota Vikings and San Diego Chargers * Mike Paul, former MLB player * Phillip Ward, former NFL player * Phil Alvin, Lead singer/guitarist of The Blasters * John Bazz, Bass guitarist of The Blasters *

Lorenzo Romar Lorenzo Romar (born November 13, 1958) is an American basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball, Loyola Marymount Lions, a position he has held since 2024. He pre ...

, former NBA player; head coach, University of Washington

References

External links

St. Pius X - St. Matthias Academy Alumni Web Site
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1954 Educational institutions disestablished in 2013 High schools in Los Angeles County, California Defunct Catholic secondary schools in California Defunct schools in California Downey, California 1954 establishments in California 2013 disestablishments in California

History

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links