South High School is a public high school in Torrance,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. 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 Un ...

''. 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 ''Skaterdater'' is a 1965 American short student film. It was produced by Marshal Backlar, and written and directed by Noel Black. Summary The film tells a story with no dialogue. The group of boy skaters are suddenly at a point when one of the b ...

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 referred t ...

, 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

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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 Gillian Dewey Boxx (born September 1, 1973) is an American, former collegiate four-time All-American, Gold Medal winning 1996 Olympian, right-handed softball catcher, originally from Torrance, California. She won an Olympic gold medal as a catc ...

: 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 Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

) *

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 Juan Croucier (born August 22, 1959) is a Cuban-born American musician. He is best known as the bassist for the hard rock/glam metal band Ratt. Career Croucier attended Torrance High School in Torrance, California, and played in various ban ...

: 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 st ...

: 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 American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

and kick/punt returner * Greg Popovich: Founder & Owner of Castle Rock Winery *

Johnnie Morton Johnnie James Morton, Jr. (born October 7, 1971) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1990s and 2000s. He played college football for the University of Southern California (USC), and was ...

: 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, incorp ...

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

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Aaron North Aaron Wright North (born March 22, 1979) is an American musician. He was the co-founder and guitarist of punk band The Icarus Line, a touring lead guitarist of industrial rock group Nine Inch Nails, and vocalist/guitarist for Jubilee. North is ...

: lead guitarist for

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* 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 Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...

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 ...

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, etc. * David Patterson: professor of computer science at

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and winner of the ACM AM

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, 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

Chauncey Washington Chauncey Jamal Tolbert Washington (born April 29, 1985) is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the New York Jets, St. Louis Rams, and Dallas Cowboys. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the sevent ...

: former NFL running back * John White:

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running back *

Alejandro Daniel Wolff Alejandro Daniel Wolff (born 1956) is an American diplomat who served as the US Ambassador to Chile from 2010 to 2013. He was the acting U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations until Zalmay Khalilzad was appointed as permanent repres ...

: American diplomat, former US Ambassador to

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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 Gary Harvey is a British retired professional wrestler better known as Gary Steele, who has competed in European, North American and Japanese promotions and has been a popular longtime mainstay of NWA UK Hammerlock since the mid-1990s. A forme ...

: 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