Belmont High School (Los Angeles)
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Belmont Senior High School is a public
high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
located at 1575 West 2nd Street in the Westlake community of
Los Angeles, California 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' ...
. The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is part of 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 ...
.


History

Belmont High School opened in 1923. The Hotel Belmont was the first noteworthy building to stand atop Crown Hill, the present site of Belmont High School. Eventually, the hotel was abandoned, and later it was transformed into the private Belmont School for Girls. After the school was destroyed by fire, the grounds were left vacant, except for five oil wells and a pumping plant for the
Los Angeles City Oil Field The Los Angeles City Oil Field is a large oil field north of Downtown Los Angeles. Long and narrow, it extends from immediately south of Dodger Stadium west to Vermont Avenue, encompassing an area of about four miles (6 km) long by a quarter ...
. On February 28, 1921, the Los Angeles Board of Education purchased the site for $100,000, for the purpose of constructing Belmont High School. Belmont opened its doors on September 11, 1923, to about 500 students, all sophomores, and 28 faculty members. Most of the school's traditions were created by those pioneer students during the first months of the school's existence. The school newspaper conducted an election to select its name, with "Sentinel" easily winning over "Progress." To this day, Belmont's students are known as Sentinels. Those first students favored “Sentinels" because they were able to oversee the entire city from their "lookout" on Crown Hill. In another election, the school's colors, green and black, were selected over brown and white. A mosaic mural by Joseph Young is located on the wall of the main building. The 1923 Beaux-Arts campus was designed by Stanton & Stockwell, who designed several large civic buildings at the
Civic Center, Los Angeles The Civic Center neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, is the administrative core of the City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, and a complex of city, county, state, and federal government offices, buildings, and courthouses. It is locat ...
. 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. Belmont High School was once the largest school in California, due to the density of the Westlake district, which it served. It was also considered the largest school in the United States, with 6,342 students. What was formerly the attendance area for Belmont High School has now become the Belmont Zone of Choice, where students have the option of attending one of nineteen small learning communities or pilot schools located on four different campuses within the zone: Belmont High School,
Miguel Contreras Learning Complex Miguel Contreras Learning Complex (MCLC) is a high school in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school is ...
, Edward Roybal Learning Center, and Ramon C. Cortinez School of Visual and Performing Arts. Of these, the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex was opened in 2006, sharing Belmont's attendance zone, after LAUSD had begun as early as 2000 to devise plans to relieve Belmont of many of its students. The
West Adams Preparatory High School West Adams Preparatory High School is a secondary school in the Pico-Union neighborhood of Central Los Angeles, California. The school is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District and is operated by a nonprofit organization working in c ...
opened in 2007, further relieving Belmont; a section of the
Manual Arts High School Manual Arts High School is a secondary public school in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Manual Arts High School was founded in 1910 in the middle of bean fields, one-half mile from the nearest bus stop. It was the third high sch ...
attendance zone was transferred to Belmont. The
High School for the Visual and Performing Arts High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift ...
(formerly known as Central Los Angeles Area High School 9) opened in 2008. Central Los Angeles High School 11 ( Edward R. Roybal (formerly Belmont) Learning Center), Central Los Angeles High School 12, and the
Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez Learning Centers Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez High School is a public high school in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is also known as Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez Learning Center. History The school is named after F ...
all opened in 2009. Belmont underwent a major modernization beginning around 2005. The school was renovated, and new paint, bathrooms, doors, walls, and ceiling tiles were added. Facilities were also updated throughout the school campus to accommodate those with special needs (for example, the addition of wheelchair ramps). From the 2010 school year, it became a 6th through 12th grade school, with
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Middle School being located on the campus. The Belmont football stadium was named for Dentler Erdmann, its long-time faculty member. In 2011 the school was restructured, with most teachers having to reapply for their jobs. The new academic program involves learning English, Spanish, and Mandarin.Song, Jason.
Struggling Belmont High to be restructured
" ''
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 ...
''. January 27, 2011. Retrieved on March 29, 2014.


Belmont High School Small Learning Communities

Belmont High School hosts three Small Learning Communities (SLC's; also called academies) which specialize in a career pathway: * LAAMPS (Los Angeles Academy of Medical and Public Service), with courses in first responders and medical terminology * SAGE (Science, Art and Green Engineering), with courses in automotive technology, drafting, and computer assisted design * Belmont Multimedia Academy, with courses in filmmaking, cartooning & animation, digital photography, digital imaging, and web page design


All Rankings

US News 2021 Rankings *100 in
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 ...
High Schools *379 in
Los Angeles metropolitan area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...
High Schools *1,122 in
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 ...
High Schools *9,907 in
National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
Rankins US News 2020 Rankings *153 in
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 ...
High Schools *353 in
Los Angeles metropolitan area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...
High Schools *1048 in
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 ...
High Schools *8,688 in
National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
Rankins


Demographics

the school had about 1,000 students, 25% of whom were of Central American origin. Some of those students immigrated without their parents. As of December 2013 the school had fewer than 1,000 students. The school was built for a capacity of 2,500 students, and when it opened in 1923 it had about 500 students. Due to an enrollment decline in the 1950s 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 ...
considered closing Belmont. By the 1990s the school had its peak enrollment, 5,500 students, making it California's largest high school and one of the largest in the United States. During that period many students were reassigned to and sent on buses to 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 ar ...
because there were too many students in Belmont. In the 1997-1998 school year the school had 5,160 students. At the time, the school's dropout rate was 65% and in terms of its four-year graduation rate it ranked lower than 96% of Los Angeles County high schools. 72% of the enrolled students took free lunches. The enrollment declined in the 2000s due to the opening of charter schools and LAUSD opening schools to relieve capacity. In 2001 the LAUSD began a building campaign to relieve the capacity of the school. Due to overcrowding, Belmont had a year-round schedule for 26 years, until the 2008 opening of the
Edward R. Roybal Learning Center Edward R. Roybal Learning Center (formerly known as Belmont Learning Center, Vista Hermosa Learning Center, and Central Los Angeles High School 11), is a secondary school located in the Westlake area of Los Angeles, California. Built to alleviate ...
. After the opening Belmont resumed having a traditional two-year school schedule.


Academic performance

In 2011 the school had an
Academic Performance Index The Academic Performance Index (API) was a measurement of academic performance and progress of individual schools in California, United States. The API was one of the main components of the Public Schools Accountability Act passed by the California ...
(API) of 639, an improvement of almost 100 points in a two-year period. Jason Song of the ''
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 ...
'' wrote that the score was "still poor". In 2013 its API was 668, an increase of over 175 points from the 2002 figure. The State of California API goal is 800.


Notable faculty

*
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(1933-2013), activist (faculty)


Notable alumni

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. *
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(1917–1996) (born Giovanni Berardino), actor, major league baseball playerBelmont Alumni
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Irwin Corey "Professor" Irwin Corey (July 29, 1914 – February 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comic, film actor and activist, often billed as "The World's Foremost Authority". He introduced his unscripted, improvisational style of stand-up comedy at th ...
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Richard Crenna Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 – January 17, 2003) was an American film, television and radio actor. Crenna starred in such motion pictures as ''The Sand Pebbles'', ''Wait Until Dark'', ''Un Flic'', ''Body Heat'', the first three ' ...
(1926–2003), actorRamos, Lydia.
Melting Pot of Belmont High Brims With Hopes and Plans Series: OUR SCHOOLS: A Closeup View; One of an occasional series
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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 ...
''. May 2, 1991. Nuestro Tiempo, Metro Desk. Page 4.
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(1909–1992), film producerThe Baseball Cube Belmont alumni
* Murray Fromson,
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correspondent and
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(1919–2005), highly decorated combat veteran; 1937 graduate *
Willa Kim Wullah Mei Ok Kim (Korean:; Hanja:; June 30, 1917 – December 23, 2016), known as Willa Kim, was an American costume designer for stage, dance, and film. Life and career Kim was born near Santa Ana, California in 1917 and graduated Belmont Hig ...
(1917–2016), 2007 Theatre Hall of Fame inductee, two time Tony and Emmy Award-winning costume designer and 1935 graduate of Belmont; the older sister of Young-Oak Kim. *
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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 ...
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References


External links


Belmont High School
{{authority control Los Angeles Unified School District schools High schools in Los Angeles Educational institutions established in 1923 Public high schools in California Westlake, Los Angeles 1923 establishments in California Stanton & Stockwell buildings Beaux-Arts architecture in California