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Van Nuys High School (VNHS) is a public high school in the
Van Nuys Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Van Nuys City Hall, Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. ...
district of Los Angeles, belonging to 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 ...
: District 2. The school is home to a Residential Program and three Magnet Programs—Math/Science, Performing Arts, and Medical. Several neighborhoods, including much of Van Nuys, portions of
Sherman Oaks Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density tha ...
, Magnolia Woods, and Victory Park, are zoned to this school.


History

Van Nuys High School opened in 1914, four years after
Van Nuys Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Van Nuys City Hall, Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. ...
was established. For years the only high schools in the
San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ...
were Van Nuys, Owensmouth (now Canoga Park), San Fernando, and North Hollywood. The main buildings and auditorium were built in 1933, incorporating remnants of the 1915 building which had been destroyed in the
Long Beach earthquake The 1933 Long Beach earthquake took place on March 10 at south of downtown Los Angeles. The epicenter was offshore, southeast of Long Beach, California, on the Newport–Inglewood Fault. The earthquake had a magnitude estimated at 6.4 , and a ...
. The football and track stadium, originally built at the same time as the current high school, is named for
Bob Waterfield Robert Stanton Waterfield (July 26, 1920 – March 25, 1983) was an American professional football player and coach. He played quarterback for the UCLA Bruins and Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame ...
, and the baseball field for
Don Drysdale Donald Scott Drysdale (July 23, 1936 – July 3, 1993) was an American professional baseball player and television sports commentator. A right-handed pitcher for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers for his entire career in Major League Baseball, D ...
, the two most famous athletes to have played for VNHS. 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 distri ...
until 1961, when it merged into LAUSD. For the 1998–1999 Scholastic Assessment Test (
SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...
), Van Nuys high had a 537 average on the verbal portion and a 568 on the mathematics portion, giving it the highest SAT scores in the LAUSD that year. 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 ...
ordered Van Nuys High School to convert to year-round scheduling in 2001, due to such reasons as overcrowding. Even though this relieved the overcrowding at the school, the magnet programs separated tracks, along with the residential students. The Performing Arts Magnet and the Medical Magnet were available only on the A-Track Schedule, while the Math and Science Magnet was available only on the C-Track Schedule. B-Trackers could not take the same classes as C-Trackers, while C-Trackers could take only certain A-Track classes. Teachers that had both A-Track and C-Track students were frustrated because the curriculum had to be synchronized with both tracks. Van Nuys High School returned to the traditional school calendar in 2005. The switch was caused by a decline in the school population and by a new district policy to eliminate year-round schools whenever possible. The opening of
Panorama High School Panorama Senior High School is a public high school located on Van Nuys Boulevard in the Panorama City district of Los Angeles, California, United States. Designed by architect DLR Group WWCOT, Panorama High School opened in 2006 to students i ...
in October 2006, relieved overcrowding at Van Nuys High School. Van Nuys High School had the highest AP passing rate in the LAUSD for two consecutive years. Van Nuys High School was indeed established in 1915, although the first graduating ceremony was held in 1914 for a small group of students who had previously attended different schools, legitimately making the class of 2014 The Centennials. The issue was discussed between high authority figures of the school, and they decided that even though the first graduating ceremony that took place for students who did attend Van Nuys High School was in the year 1915, the first graduating ceremony to take place in the school took place back in 1914.


Extracurricular activities

Van Nuys has a range of extracurricular teams. Its
Science Olympiad Science Olympiad is an American team competition in which students compete in 23 events pertaining to various fields of science, including earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. Over 7,800 middle school and high school team ...
team has consistently placed in the top 6 in regional competitions, from 2014 to 2019, even advancing to state competitions several times, such as in 2018. Its
Science Bowl The National Science Bowl (NSB) is a high school and middle school science knowledge competition, using a quiz bowl format, held in the United States. A buzzer system similar to those seen on popular television game shows is used to signal an an ...
team won the national competition in 1995, and has placed highly in regional competitions in the years since. Van Nuys has a newly created history bowl team , and has placed in playoffs in its first year of competing.


Community Adult School

The Adult School is on the same campus as Van Nuys High School. It allows adults as well as high school students to take classes. Most Van Nuys High School students take courses in the Adult School for academic remediation. However, some take classes for Counselor-Identified High School Credit Deficiencies, while others take classes for personal necessities of flexible scheduling. The Adult School is considered a work-at-your-own-pace program. A student can finish an entire course in just 2–3 weeks, but can take longer depending on the work effort of the student.


Athletics

In baseball Van Nuys High qualified for postseason play. The following time the school's team qualified was in 1989, after a 9–7 victory over
Birmingham High School Birmingham Community Charter High School (formerly Birmingham High School) is a charter coeducational high school in the neighborhood/district of Lake Balboa in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was fo ...
at the Van Nuys-Sherman Oaks Recreation Center. Van Nuys High has a variety of sports including: basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, football, soccer, golf, wrestling, water polo, swimming and tennis. It has had longtime rivalries with John H. Francis Polytechnic High School and
Hollywood High School Hollywood High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. Hist ...
. The Van Nuys High wrestling team won the Los Angeles City Championship in 1976. In 2015, the Van Nuys Wolves be Chavez High School to win the inaugural LA CIF Division II Championships. For the first time in school history, the Boys Volleyball team won the CIF- L.A. City Section Division 1 championship in 2021. The Wolves beat the Sylmar Spartans 3-1.


Notable alumni

*
Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...
(born 1962), entertainer * George O. Abell (1927-1983)
astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...
, professor at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
*
Diane Baker Diane Carol Baker is an American actress, producer and educator who has appeared in motion pictures and on television since 1959. Early life Baker was born in 1938 at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California a ...
(born 1938), actress *
Harry Browne Harry Edson Browne (June 17, 1933 – March 1, 2006) was an American writer, politician, and investment advisor. He was the Libertarian Party's Presidential nominee in the U.S. elections of 1996 and 2000. He authored 12 books that in total have ...
(attended Van Nuys 1946), best-selling author and Libertarian presidential nominee in 1996 and 2000 *
Julie Brown Julie Ann Brown (born August 31, 1958) is an American actress, comedian, screen/television writer, singer-songwriter, and television director. Brown is known for her work in the 1980s, where she often played a quintessential valley girl charac ...
(born 1958), actress/comedian/producer/singer/writer * Chuck Cecil (1922-2019), disc jockey *
Vint Cerf Vinton Gray Cerf (; born June 23, 1943) is an American Internet pioneer and is recognized as one of " the fathers of the Internet", sharing this title with TCP/IP co-developer Bob Kahn. He has received honorary degrees and awards that include ...
(born 1943), computer scientist, one of the "fathers of the Internet" * Stephen M. Cohen (born 1948), controversial internet entrepreneur * José Cortez (born 1975), NFL football player *
Steve Crocker Stephen D. Crocker (born October 15, 1944) is the inventor of the Request for Comments series, authoring the first RFC and many more. He attended Van Nuys High School, as did Vint Cerf and Jon Postel. Crocker received his bachelor's degree (19 ...
(born 1944), computer scientist, inventor of the RFC series *
Kim Darby Kim Darby (born Deborah Zerby; July 8, 1947) is an American actress best known for her role as Mattie Ross in the film '' True Grit'' (1969). Early life and film career Darby was born Deborah Zerby in Los Angeles, the daughter of professional d ...
(born 1948), co-star of ''True Grit'' * Dorothy DeBorba (1925-2010), actress who appeared in
Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...
* Larry Dixon (born 1966), NHRA drag car champion *
Tony Dow Anthony Lee Dow (April 13, 1945 – July 27, 2022) was an American actor, film producer, director and sculptor. He portrayed Wally Cleaver in the iconic television sitcom '' Leave It to Beaver'' from 1957 to 1963. From 1983 to 1989, Dow repri ...
(born 1945), actor *
Don Drysdale Donald Scott Drysdale (July 23, 1936 – July 3, 1993) was an American professional baseball player and television sports commentator. A right-handed pitcher for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers for his entire career in Major League Baseball, D ...
(1936-1993), National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher * Erika Eleniak (born 1969), actress *
David Gerrold David Gerrold (born Jerrold David Friedman; January 24, 1944)Reginald, R. (September 12, 2010)''Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Volume 2'' Borgo Press p. 911. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved June 23, 2013. is an American science fic ...
(born 1944), writer *
Joseph Gordon-Levitt Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt (; born February 17, 1981) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his leading performances ...
(born 1981), actor * Jack Hirsch (born c. 1941), basketball player * Al Hoisington (born 1933), NFL football player * Dennis Holt (born 1942), linguist and poet *
Steve Kanaly Steven Francis Kanaly (; born March 14, 1946) is an American actor, best known for his role as Ray Krebbs on the CBS primetime soap opera ''Dallas''. Early life and career Kanaly was born in Burbank, California, and grew up in the San Fernando ...
(born 1946), actor *
Stacy Keach Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor and narrator. He has played mainly dramatic roles throughout his career, often in law enforcement or as a private detective. His most prominent role was as Mickey Spillane's fiction ...
(born 1941), actor * David Klein, creator of Jelly Belly jelly beans, subject of the 2010 film ''Candyman'' *
Bruce Kovner Bruce Stanley Kovner (born 1945) is an American billionaire hedge fund manager and philanthropist. He is chairman of CAM Capital, which he established in January 2012 to manage his investment, trading and business activities. From 1983 through 2 ...
(born 1945), financier, former hedge fund manager * Scott Mason (1959-2015), Los Angeles disc jockey * Bob McChesney (1926-2002), NFL football player *
Geri McGee Geraldine "Geri" McGee (May 16, 1936 – November 9, 1982) was an American model and Las Vegas showgirl. Her involvement with casinos and criminal activity in Las Vegas, along with that of her husband Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, was chronicled in M ...
(1936-1982), model, showgirl, wife of mobster Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal * Norm Miller (born 1946), Major League baseball player * Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962), actress *
Jon Postel Jonathan Bruce Postel (; August 6, 1943 – October 16, 1998) was an American computer scientist who made many significant contributions to the development of the Internet, particularly with respect to standards. He is known principally for bein ...
(1943-1998), computer scientist, known as "the god of the internet" *
Don Prudhomme Don Prudhomme (born April 6, 1941 in San Fernando, California), nicknamed "The Snake", is an American drag racer. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1991. Racing career Prudhomme crewed for "TV Tommy" Ivo on Ivo's ...
(born 1941), drag racer * Al Qöyawayma (born 1938), Hopi sculptor and co-founder of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society *
Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award from four nominations, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, the Cec ...
(born 1936), actor * Ricardo Rodriguez (born 1986), professional wrestler and ring announcer * Ted Robbins (born 1952), NPR reporter and supervising editor *
Jane Russell Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell (June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011) was an American actress, singer, and model. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. She starred in more than 20 films. Russell moved from th ...
(1921-2011), actress * Johnny Sanders (1922–1990), NFL general manager * John K. Singlaub (1921-2022), Major General, US Army * David J. Skorton (born 1949), Secretary (CEO) of Smithsonian Institution; previously President of Cornell University * Shawn Steel (born 1946), Republican National Committee member for California since 2008 *
Bob Waterfield Robert Stanton Waterfield (July 26, 1920 – March 25, 1983) was an American professional football player and coach. He played quarterback for the UCLA Bruins and Cleveland/Los Angeles Rams and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame ...
(1920-1983), Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback and punter *
Alice Waters Alice Louise Waters (born April 28, 1944) is an American chef, restaurateur, and author. In 1971 she opened Chez Panisse, a Berkeley, California restaurant famous for its role in creating the farm-to-table movement and for pioneering Californi ...
(born 1944), creator of "California cuisine" *
Natalie Wood Natalie Wood ( Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in film as a child and successfully transitioned to young adult roles. Wood started acting at age four and was given a co-starring r ...
(1938-1981), actress


Filming

The campus was used as a location for the 1982 movie ''
Fast Times at Ridgemont High ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' is a 1982 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling (in her feature directorial debut), from a screenplay by Cameron Crowe, based on his 1981 book ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Sto ...
''. Ridgemont High's mascot in the movie was the same as Van Nuys High School—a wolf, which remains VNHS's mascot today. The horror films '' Christine'' and '' Sleepwalkers'', both written by
Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high ...
, were filmed at Van Nuys High School. Some perhaps less well known movies filmed at Van Nuys High include ''
My Science Project ''My Science Project'' is a 1985 American teen science fiction comedy film directed by Jonathan R. Betuel. It followed on heels of other teen sci-fi/comedy films released the same year, such as ''Back to the Future'', ''Real Genius'', and '' Weir ...
'',
Kid 'n Play Kid 'n Play is an American hip-hop duo from New York City that was most popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The duo was composed of Christopher Reid ("Kid") and Christopher Martin ("Play") working alongside their DJ, Mark "DJ Wiz" Eas ...
's ''
Class Act ''Class Act'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Randall Miller and starring hip-hop duo Kid 'n Play. An urban retelling of Mark Twain's ''The Prince and the Pauper'', the film was written by Cynthia Friedlob and John Semper from a s ...
'' and ''
My Stepmother Is an Alien ''My Stepmother Is an Alien'' is a 1988 American science fiction comedy film directed by Richard Benjamin, and starring Dan Aykroyd, Kim Basinger, Jon Lovitz, and Alyson Hannigan. Its plot follows Celeste, an extraterrestrial woman sent on a sec ...
'' (featuring
Kim Basinger Kimila Ann Basinger ( ; born December 8, 1953) is an American actress and former fashion model. She has garnered acclaim for her work in film and television, for which she has received various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Glo ...
) were also filmed at VNHS, as were scenes in the Disney film '' Starstruck''. In addition, the pilot episode of ''
The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy/drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Super ...
'' and several episodes of ''
Highway to Heaven ''Highway to Heaven'' is an American fantasy drama television series that ran on NBC from September 19, 1984, to August 4, 1989. The series starred Michael Landon as Jonathan Smith, an angel sent to Earth in order to help people in need. Victor ...
'' were filmed there, as was
The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...
' punk-rock movie classic ''
Rock 'n' Roll High School ''Rock 'n' Roll High School'' is a 1979 American musical comedy film directed by Allan Arkush, produced by Michael Finnell, and starring P. J. Soles, Vince Van Patten, Clint Howard, and Dey Young. The film featured the punk rock group Ra ...
''. The music video of
Vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) ...
's Graduation song was filmed at Van Nuys High School. An episode of ''
Apple's Way ''Apple's Way'' is an American drama television series that aired on CBS from February 10, 1974, to January 12, 1975. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr. Premise The Apples of Los Angeles—architect George, his wife Barbara, their children Paul ...
'' 1974–1975 Vince Van Patten was filmed on the football field. An episode of '' Scrubs'' was filmed on the track field. An episode of '' 7th Heaven'' was filmed there as well, as was an episode of ''
Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cancellation in 1991. The show returned in 2017 for ...
''. The 2009 film '' Love at First Hiccup'' was also filmed at the front of the school and in the school's quad. A 2009 music video "About a Girl" by The Academy Is... was also filmed in Van Nuys High School. Also, several episodes of the 2010 series '' Parenthood'' were shot in the school's library and quad area. VNHS was used as the location for many of the scenes in the '80s TV series '' The White Shadow''. The 2014 music video for the song "Unlimited" made by the clothing company
Old Navy Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of the Old Navy stores are ...
was filmed at Van Nuys High School. From 2015 to 2017, the sitcom television series ''
Those Who Can't ''Those Who Can't'' is an American sitcom that premiered February 11, 2016 on truTV. On December 1, 2015, the show was renewed for a second season before the first season aired. The pre-launch renewal is a first for the cable net, which ordered 12 ...
'' filmed at Van Nuys High School, using the campus as the location of Smoot High School, a fictional school in Denver, Colorado. ''
Young Sheldon ''Young Sheldon'' is an American coming-of-age sitcom television series created by Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro for CBS. The series, set in the late 1980s and early 1990s, is a spin-off prequel to ''The Big Bang Theory'' and begins with the ...
'' is filmed at Van Nuys High School. The 2018 adaptation of the film ''
Valley Girl A valley girl is a socioeconomic, linguistic, and youth subcultural stereotype and stock character originating during the 1980s: any materialistic upper-middle-class young woman, associated with unique vocal and California dialect features, fr ...
'' was filmed at Van Nuys High School. In 2022, The HBO limited series ''Winning Time'' introduced dancer Paula Abdul on the football field of Van Nuys High School.


References


External links

* {{authority control Educational institutions established in 1914 High schools in Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles Unified School District schools Magnet schools in California High schools in the San Fernando Valley Public high schools in California 1914 establishments in California