South High School is a public high school in
Torrance,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. It is one of five high schools in the
Torrance Unified School District
Torrance Unified School District (TUSD) is a school district in Los Angeles County, California, with its headquarters in Torrance.
The district board of education has a president, a vice president, a clerk, and two members. As of 2021, the D ...
.
History
South High School opened in September 1957 and moved to a new campus in January, 1958 with 20 buildings and 106 classrooms. It currently serves children south of Sepulveda, west of Hawthorne and north of Lomita Boulevard.
In 1980
Asahi Gakuen
Asahi Gakuen (あさひ学園 "School of the Rising Sun"), or the Los Angeles Japanese School (ロス・アンジェルス補習授業校 ''Rosu Anjerusu Hoshū Jugyō Kō''), is a part-time Japanese school in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. ...
, a
weekend Japanese-language education institution, began renting space in South Torrance High School.
[Rainey, James.]
Children of Japanese Executives Flock to Special Classrooms
" ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
''. December 31, 1987. Retrieved on March 6, 2014. The school continues to use the school for its Torrance Campus (トーランス校 ''Tōransu-kō'').
Since 2004, South High has been under refurbishment. Renovations include improved handicapped accessibility, improved lighting, and new signage.
''
American Beauty'' was filmed on the South High School campus during the winter break of 1998/1999. Many contemporary South High students were featured as extras in the scenes set on campus.
The short movie
Skaterdater was filmed using the Imperial Skateboard Club whose members went to South High.
Demographics
In the 2014–15 school year, South High had an enrollment of 2,132 students.
*African-American - 2.4%
*American Indian - 0.50%
*Asian - 30.4%
*Filipino - 3%
*Hispanic or Latino - 14.7%
*Pacific Islander - 0.60%
*Caucasian - 41.70%%
*Multi-Racial - 5.10%
*Other - 1.6%
The average household income of South High's ZIP code (90505) is $105,771.
Athletics
South High's mascot is the
Spartan
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta refe ...
, and their colors are green and white.
Fall Sports:
* Cheer(F/S, JV, V)
* Boys' Cross Country(F/S, JV, V)
* Girls' Cross Country(F/S, JV, V)
* Football(F/S, JV, V)
* Girls' Golf
* Marching Band
* Boys' Surf
* Girls' Surf
* Girls' Tennis(F/S, JV, V)
* Girls' Volleyball(F/S, JV, V)
* Boys' Water Polo(JV, V)
* Esports (JV, V)
Winter Sports:
* Boys' Basketball(F/S, JV, V)
* Girls' Basketball(F/S, JV, V)
* Boys' Soccer(F/S, JV, V)
* Girls' Soccer(F/S, JV, V)
* Girls' Water Polo(JV, V)
* Wrestling(JV, V)
* Esports (JV, V)
Spring Sports:
* Baseball(F/S, JV, V)
* Boys' Golf
* Softball(JV, V)
* Boys' Swimming(F/S, JV, V)
* Girls' Swimming(F/S, JV, V)
* Boys' Tennis(JV, V)
* Boys' Track(F/S, JV, V)
* Girls' Track(F/S, JV, V)
* Boys' Volleyball(F/S, JV, V)
* Beach Volleyball
* Esports (JV, V)
Activities
The Marching Band won West High Invitationals Sweepstakes 2009, 2010 Percussion State Champs, and the 2011 & 2013 SCJA Division 5A State Champions. The South High 2014-15 Advanced Dance Team were the 2015 USA Dance National Champions in the category "Novelty." In 2017, the 2016-17 Advanced Dance Team became state champions at the USA State Championship, while also placing first in several divisions at USA Regionals. The 2016-17 Athletic Training Program placed first in the small school division at the St. Francis Sports Medical Competition.
CIF Championships
*2015 - Girls' Basketball, Division II
*2014 & 2017 - Girls' Soccer, Division IV & Division III
*2017 - Girls' Softball, Division V
*2014 & 2015 - Girls' Tennis, Division IV
*2012 - Boys' Volleyball, Division III
*2004 & 2014 - Women's Volleyball, Division II
*1962 - Boys' Wrestling, Open Division, First CIF Title
Notable alumni
*
Mike Andrews
Michael Jay Andrews (born July 9, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. After his playing career, he served fo ...
: former
MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
second baseman, currently Chair of
The Jimmy Fund
The Jimmy Fund, established in Boston in 1948, is made up of community-based fundraising events and other programs that benefit Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Since 1948, millions of people have given money to the Jimmy Fund to help save lives an ...
*
Rob Andrews
Robert Ernest Andrews (born August 4, 1957) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative for from 1990 to 2014. The district included most of Camden County and parts of Burlington County and Gloucester County.
Early life, ...
: former MLB second baseman
*
Greg Bargar: former MLB
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
*
Gillian Boxx: 1996 Olympic gold medalist (
Softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
)
*
Shannon Boxx
Shannon Leigh Boxx Spearman (; born June 29, 1977) is an American retired soccer player and former member of the United States women's national soccer team, playing the defensive midfielder position. She last played club soccer for the Chicago Re ...
: 2004, 2008 Olympic gold medallist (
Soccer)
*
Chuck Codd
Chuck Codd (born in Torrance, California) is a former U.S. soccer defender who played one season in the Western Soccer Alliance, six in the National Professional Soccer League, two in the USISL and two in the USL PDL. He is currently the assista ...
: former professional soccer player
*
Juan Croucier: former bassist for
Ratt
Ratt is an American glam metal band formed in San Diego, California, in the 1970s, that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum, and multi-platinum by the RIAA. The group is bes ...
*
Michael B. Donley: former
US Secretary of the Air Force
*
Chris Donnels: former MLB
third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
*
Tim Drevno: former offensive line coach for the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
*
Jason Farol
Jason Roger Farol (born April 3, 1993) is an American singer from Torrance, California, United States, who placed third in the American television series '' Duets'', alongside mentor Kelly Clarkson. In August 2012, Farol signed with Viva Reco ...
: singer on
Duets (TV series)
''Duets'' is a singing competition reality television show that premiered on May 24, 2012 on ABC. The show starred Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Robin Thicke, and Jennifer Nettles as mentors who search for singers to duet with them as they perfor ...
*
Steven Roger Fischer
Steven Roger Fischer (born 1947) is a New Zealand linguist. He is the former Director of the Institute of Polynesian Languages and Literatures in Auckland, New Zealand. Fischer is the author of more than 150 books and articles on linguistics, man ...
: prominent academician, writer and preeminent Polynesian historian, ethnographer, and linguist
*
Ryo Fujii
Ryo Fujii ( ja, 藤井 亮; born 7 August 1996) is a Hong Kong-born Japanese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Liga 1 club PSIS Semarang.
Early life and education
Fujii was born 7 August 1996 in Hong Kong to a J ...
: professional soccer player
*
Chad Morton
Chad Akio Morton (born April 4, 1977) is a former American football running back and kick/ punt returner in the National Football League. He was drafted from USC late in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. After a s ...
: former
NFL running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball,
and block. Ther ...
and kick/punt returner
*
Greg Popovich: Founder & Owner of
Castle Rock Winery
*
Johnnie Morton: former NFL
wide receiver,
mixed martial artist
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...
*
Sendhil Mullainathan
Sendhil Mullainathan () (born c. 1973) is an American professor of Computation and Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the author of '' Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much'' (with Eldar Sha ...
: professor of economics at
The University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the be ...
*
Aaron North: lead guitarist for
Nine Inch Nails
*
Bob Anderson (wrestler): USA Teams, AAU and College Champion Wrestler
*
Carroll Bubs Davis: guitarist singer songwriter composer: several famous bands guest appearance with
Peter Frampton,
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...
,
Green Day, etc.
*
David Patterson: professor of computer science at
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
and winner of the ACM AM
Turing Award
The ACM A. M. Turing Award is an annual prize given by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for contributions of lasting and major technical importance to computer science. It is generally recognized as the highest distinction in comput ...
, the Nobel Prize of Computer Science
*
Steve Smith Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to:
Academics
* Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager
* Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...
: former world record holder in the indoor pole vault
*
Ken Turner: former MLB
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
*
Chauncey Washington: former NFL running back
*
John White:
CFL running back
*
Alejandro Daniel Wolff: American diplomat, former US Ambassador to
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
and acting
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the permanent representative of the United States of America to the United Nations ...
*
Gary Steele: Intramural Basketball champions 1969; Gold trunks 1967–1970;Co-photographer and double of Blythe movie
*
Mike Song
Kaba Modern is a dance group originating in Irvine, California. Kaba Modern is a spin-off of the University of California, Irvine Filipino cultural club, Kababayan, which means "countrymen" in Tagalog. Created by Arnel Calvario in 1992, Kaba Mode ...
: Professional dancer for Kinjaz
*
Kimmy Maxine Shields: Actress; Insatiable 2018 - ; Big Little Lies 2017; Girlboss 2017
*
Fred Goss
Fred Goss (born March 25, 1961, in Orchard Lake, Michigan) is an American TV actor, director, writer, producer and comedian.
As writer
Goss began writing and staging his own plays in his twenties. He wrote sketch comedy during his thirties, pri ...
: TV director, actor, producer and writer
References
External links
Official South High School website
{{authority control
Public high schools in Los Angeles County, California
Education in Torrance, California
Buildings and structures in Torrance, California
Educational institutions established in 1957
1957 establishments in California