San Pedro High School is a

public high school State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools ( Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in ...

in the

Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district in ...

and is located in the San Pedro portion of the city of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

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 ...

. The school serves the entirety of San Pedro as well as most of the Eastview neighborhood of

Rancho Palos Verdes Rancho Palos Verdes (Spanish for "Green Sticks Ranch") is a coastal city located in Los Angeles County, California atop the bluffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, neighboring other cities in the Palos Verdes Hills, including Palos Verdes Esta ...

. In 2003, the school celebrated its 100th Anniversary.

History

It was in the

Los Angeles City High School District Los Angeles City High School District (known in its last year as West County Union High School District) was a school district that served high school-aged residents of western Los Angeles County, California from 1890 to 1962. At times the distr ...

until 1961, when it merged into LAUSD. Renovations for most of the campus are expected to be finished by 2023.

Facilities

San Pedro High School is home to two protected landmarks, the Administration Building and Language Arts Building. Both were constructed in 1936 under mandate from the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

. San Pedro High School also has a Mathematics and Sciences Building, a Vocational Arts Building, a cafeteria, numerous bungalow-style classrooms, and three gymnasiums. The school and its surroundings were the area where much of the filming for the movie '' Some Kind of Wonderful'' was shot.

Demographics

As of the school year 2008-09, the racial breakdown included: *67.1%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

*19.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

*9.8%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

*0.7% Native American *3.5% Asian *0.5%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

Athletics

San Pedro High School is also home to the Golden Pirate Regiment (Band and Colorguard), 2015 and 2016 Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA) and LAUSD city division 1A Field Champions. In 2017 the Golden Pirate Regiment won its third straight championship for SCSBOA And LAUSD City in the 2A Division. In 2018 the Golden Pirate Regiment won the 2018 SCSBOA and LAUSD championships for the 2A Division. In 2019, the regiment won its fifth straight SCSBOA and LAUSD championship, but this time in the 3A Division. The School's Comprehensive Modernization Project is beginning in 2018. The sports programs at San Pedro High School have won over 60 CIF-Los Angeles City Section championships, with softball leading the way capturing 17 crowns. The swimming and diving team won the high school’s most recent championship in 2022, its first ever title.

Notable alumni

Alan Ashby Alan Dean Ashby (born July 8, 1951) is an American former professional baseball catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) and current radio and television sports commentator. A switch hitter, he played for the Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, ...

, 1969, former catcher in the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

, now a sportscaster. *

John Bettis John Gregory Bettis (born October 24, 1946) is an American lyricist. He was originally part of the band Spectrum, which also featured Richard and Karen Carpenter. He wrote the lyrics for " Top of the World", a hit for both Lynn Anderson and Th ...

, lyricist *

Mario Danelo Mario Danelo (July 3, 1985 – January 6, 2007) was an American college football placekicker for the University of Southern California. High school career Danelo was an all–Los Angeles linebacker at San Pedro High School in San Pedro, Californ ...

, 2003, NCAA placekicker * Eric Erlandson, 1981, co-founder and lead guitarist for 1990s rock/grunge band Hole. *

Anna Lee Fisher Anna Lee Fisher (née Sims; born August 24, 1949) is an American chemist, emergency physician and a former NASA astronaut. Formerly married to fellow astronaut Bill Fisher, and the mother of two children, in 1984, she became the first mother t ...

, 1967, first mother in space, 1984 crew member of

Space Shuttle Discovery Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' ( Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. Its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from August 30 to ...

Brian Harper Brian David Harper (born October 16, 1959) is an American former catcher in Major League Baseball who played for teams in both the American and National Leagues during his 16-year career (-). He most recently served as the hitting coach of the D ...

, 1977, former

Major League Baseball 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 (A ...

Player. *

Art Pepper Arthur Edward Pepper Jr. (September 1, 1925 – June 15, 1982) was an American alto saxophonist and very occasional tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. Active in West Coast jazz, Pepper came to prominence in Stan Kenton's big band. He was know ...

, jazz alto saxophonist * D. L. Hughley, actor and comedian *

Otis Livingston Otis Livingston is a weekday sports anchor at WCBS-TV in New York City and is a sideline reporter on CBS Sports. He has won numerous Emmy Awards. Biography Livingston has been with WCBS since 2010. In New York, he also worked with WNBC-TV. He rep ...

, 1985, sportscaster and sideline reporter *

Garry Maddox Garry Lee Maddox (born September 1, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and business entrepreneur. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from to . Maddox began his career with the San Francisco Giants but, ...

, 1968, former MLB player *

Haven Moses Haven Christopher Moses (born July 27, 1946) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 14 seasons in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Moses initially played college fo ...

, NFL wide receiver * Willie Naulls, 1952, former NBA player *

John Olguin John Main Olguin (February 18, 1921 – January 1, 2011) was an American aquarium official who served as the museum director of the Cabrillo Marine Museum, which has since been renamed the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, from 1949 until 1987, when he b ...

, 1941, director of the

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is an aquarium in Los Angeles at San Pedro, California. The aquarium interprets both the physical processes of oceanography and marine biology of Southern California by use of displays and educational programs for the pu ...

* Miguel Jontel Pimentel, 2003, singer, won the Grammy for best R&B song in 2013. *

Mike Watt Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. Watt co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ...

, D. Boon and

George Hurley George Hurley (born September 4, 1958) is a drummer noted for his work with Minutemen and fIREHOSE. Music career Early years Originally from the East Coast, Hurley and his family moved to San Pedro, California, when he was six years old. ...

, 1976, members of punk band

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

. *

Brenton Wood Alfred Jesse Smith (born July 26, 1941), better known as Brenton Wood, is an American singer and songwriter known for his two 1967 hit singles, "The Oogum Boogum Song" (peaking at No. 34 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100) and "Gimme Little Sign" ...

, 1963, Songwriter, singer, "Gimme Little Sign", "The Oogum Boogum Song". *

Misty Copeland Misty Danielle Copeland (born September 10, 1982) is an American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African Amer ...

, Principal Ballet Dancer for the American Ballet Theatre *

Ed Jurak Edward James Jurak (born October 24, 1957) is an American retired baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball for parts of six seasons, from 1982 through 1989. Jurak played for the Boston Red Sox from 1982 to 1985, the Oakland Athletics in ...

, MLB utility infielder for the Red Sox, Giants and Athletics 1982-1989 *

Yuri Kochiyama was an American civil rights activist. Influenced by her Japanese-American family's experience in an American internment camp, her association with Malcolm X, and her Maoist beliefs, she advocated for many causes, including black separatism, ...

, human rights activist

References

External links

* {{authority control High schools in Los Angeles San Pedro, Los Angeles Los Angeles Unified School District schools Public high schools in California Educational institutions established in 1903 1903 establishments in California PWA Moderne architecture in California Works Progress Administration in California