Gahr High School

Richard Gahr High School, often simply known as Gahr High School, is a public, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) magnet high school in Cerritos, California, serving grades 9- 12. Gahr High is one of three comprehensive high schools in the ABC Unified School District.

At Gahr, the plan for all students is graduation and on to college and career, and the teachers and staff believe “ALL STUDENTS CAN and WILL LEARN.” Classes and programs offered at Gahr include English Second Language; College Preparatory; 37 Advanced Placement/Honors Courses; Arts Technology Academy (ATA); AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination); Project Lead the Way – Biomedical Sciences, Computer Science, or Engineering Pathways; and variety of Career Technical Education (CTE) such as Automotive, International Business, Multimedia Communications, Theater Production, and Video Production. Moreover, there are 25 student club/organization and 20 Competitive Sports Programs.

Though it has a comparatively small student population at around 1,900, Gahr is known as a very ethnically diverse campus, (located in "the most ethnically diverse place in America", according to a California State University, Northridge study, as Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Filipino Americans and African Americans together constitute a large majority at more than 70%. The school's graduation rate is also 16% higher than the county average.

History

Gahr High School opened in 1965 as the first high school in both the newly unified ABC Unified School District, and the recently incorporated City of Dairy Valley (the city would be renamed to its current state two years later). Indeed, the originally proposed name for the school was "Dairy Valley High School". The school was officially named after Richard Gahr, who had served as the school district's Superintendent. During the 1970s, as the student population in Cerritos rapidly grew, Cerritos High School was created for district expansion, and during its construction the latter used part of the Gahr campus.

In 2006, Gahr High School was invited to apply to be a California Distinguished School, and early in 2007, it was readily inspected. Now it has "California Distinguished School" to add to its resume.

During 2017–2018 school year, Gahr High School is a Gold Ribbon School and California Distinguished School with a 99.6% graduation rate and a 97% college attendance rate.

Statistics

Student population racial makeup (2006)

California Standardized Testing Rankings for 2006

Data reported are the percent of students achieving at the Proficient or Advanced level (meeting or exceeding the state standards).

Expenditure per student for 2002-2003

Data reported in dollars per student is as follows:

Notable alumni

* Bret Barberie (1985) - Major League Baseball player (1991–1996)
* Morris Chestnut (1986) - actor (boyz in the hood)
* Chris Devenski (2008) Major League Baseball player, Pitcher, Houston Astros (2016 -)
* Jacob Faria (2011) Major League Baseball player, Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) (2017 - 2019), Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) (2019 - )
* Shane Mack (1981) - Major League Baseball player (1990–1994)
* Kris Medlen (2003) - MLB pitcher for the Atlanta Braves
* Tom Nieto (1978) - Major League Baseball player (1984–1990)
* Al Osuna (1983) - Major League Baseball player (1990–1994, 1996)
* Valentino Pascucci (1996) - Major League Baseball player.
* Nicolle Payne (1994) - UCLA water polo goalie; Silver medalist in 2000 Sydney Olympics; Bronze medalist in 2004 Athens Olympics.
* Steve Shak (1996) - Pro Soccer player and first round draft pick of MLS Superdraft in 2000, played for the NY Metro-Stars and the Colorado Rapids.
* Broderick Thompson (1978) - NFL player (1984, 1986 -1996)
* Casper Ware (2008) - NCAA basketball player for the Long Beach State 49ers.
* Joshua Perkins (2012) - National Football League tight end, Joshua Perkins (2016- )
* Dwayne Washington (2012) - National Football League running back
New Orleans Saints
(2018- )
* Jim Zorn (1971) - Seattle Seahawks Quarterback (1976–1987); Head Coach of the Washington Redskins (2008–2009).

References

External links

*

Gahr Marching Gladiators Website

Gahr High School Athletics

Gahr High School at Greatschools.net

School Wise Press school profileGahr High School US NewsGahr High School Niche

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Cerritos, California
Educational institutions established in 1965
ABC Unified School District
High schools in Los Angeles County, California
Public high schools in California
1965 establishments in California