John H. Francis Polytechnic High School is a secondary school located in the Sun Valley neighborhood 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 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 ...

, United States. It serves grades 9 through 12 and is a 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 ...

. Despite its name, Polytechnic is a

comprehensive high school Comprehensive high schools are the most popular form of state school, public Secondary school, high schools around the world, designed to provide a well-rounded education to its students, as opposed to the practice in some places in which examinati ...

History

Polytechnic High School opened in 1897 as a "commercial branch" of the only high school at that time in the city, the Los Angeles High School. As such, Polytechnic is the second oldest high school in the city. The school's original campus was located in downtown Los Angeles on South Beaudry Avenue, the present location of the

(LAUSD) Board of Education headquarters. In 1905, Metropolitan Polytechnic moved to the south side of Washington Boulevard at the corner of Flower Street in

downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

, across Washington from old St. Vincent's College. Poly was the first school to offer studies in multiple class subjects, which is now modeled by many high schools, as “periods.” In 1935, its name was changed to “John H. Francis Polytechnic” to honor the founding principal. In February 1957, Polytechnic moved to its present site in the San Fernando Valley and opened its doors to new students for the then fast growing suburb. Since Poly's relocation, the former site has been the campus of

Los Angeles Trade–Technical College Los Angeles Trade–Technical College (L.A. Trade–Tech, LATTC) is a public community college in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Los Angeles Community College District and is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and ...

. The school mascot is a parrot named Joe Parrot, and he now has a female companion named Josie. 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. In 2006, the establishment of

Arleta High School Arleta High School (AHS) is a secondary school located on Van Nuys Boulevard in the Arleta section of Los Angeles, California, United States in the San Fernando Valley. History The school opened on October 3, 2006, serving grades 9 through 10 dur ...

and

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 in g ...

relieved much of the overcrowding at Polytechnic. The 2009 opening of

Sun Valley High School Sun Valley High School can refer to: * Sun Valley High School (Arizona), Mesa, Arizona * Sun Valley High School (California), Los Angeles, California * Sun Valley High School (North Carolina), Monroe, North Carolina * Sun Valley High School (Pennsy ...

additionally relieved overcrowding. Poly's football and track stadium is named for NBA Hall-of-Famer

Gail Goodrich Gail Charles Goodrich Jr. (born April 23, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is best known for scoring a then record 42 points for UCLA in the 1965 NCAA championship game vs ...

, a Poly alumnus. The Parrots have had a longtime rivalry with both

Van Nuys High School Van Nuys High School (VNHS) is a public high school in the Van Nuys district of Los Angeles, belonging to the Los Angeles Unified School District: District 2. The school is home to a Residential Program and three Magnet Programs—Math/Science, ...

and

North Hollywood High School North Hollywood High School (NHHS) is a public high school in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is located in the San Fernando Valley and enrolls approximately 2,500 students. Several neighborhoods, inc ...

Notable alumni

* Bessie Bruington Burke (1918), first Black principal in Los Angeles Public Schools *

Carl David Anderson Carl David Anderson (September 3, 1905 – January 11, 1991) was an American physicist. He is best known for his discovery of the positron in 1932, an achievement for which he received the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physics, and of the muon in 1936. ...

, recipient of the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physics * Tom Bradley (1937), 38th Mayor of Los Angeles (1973–1993) *

Helen Gurley Brown Helen Gurley Brown ( Helen Marie Gurley; February 18, 1922 – August 13, 2012) was an American author, publisher, and businesswoman. She was the editor-in-chief of ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine for 32 years. Garner 2009. Early life Helen Mar ...

(1939), author, publisher, and businesswoman; founded ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

'' magazine and was its

editor in chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

1965–1997 * Ike Danning, Major League Baseball player * Bill Davila: first Mexican-American to preside over a supermarket chain *

Marcellite Garner Edna Marcellite Garner ( ; July 3, 1910 – July 26, 1993) was an American artist and voice actress. She is most remembered as the first regular voice of Minnie Mouse during her time working at Walt Disney Productions and has been partially c ...

(1928), voice actress of

Minnie Mouse Minnie Mouse is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As the longtime sweetheart of Mickey Mouse, she is an anthropomorphic mouse with white gloves, a bow, polka-dotted dress, white bloomers, and low-heeled shoes occasionally w ...

* D. J. Gay (2007), basketball player * J. Paul Getty, international petroleum businessman, "World's Richest Man". *

(1961), basketball player in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, attended

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 ...

William Hung William Hing Cheung Hung (; born January 13, 1983) is a Hong Kong motivational speaker and former singer who gained fame in 2004 as a result of his unsuccessful audition singing Ricky Martin's hit song "She Bangs" on the third season of the ...

(2001), "American Idol" singer * Fay M. Jackson (1920), African-American journalist and publicistLibby Clark, "Collection on View in USC's Louis Hall: Fay M. Jackson, Hollywood's First African American Publicist/Film Specialist" ''Los Angeles Sentinel'' (March 8, 2000): C9. via

ProQuest ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...

George A. Kasem George Albert Kasem (April 6, 1919 – February 11, 2002) was a U.S. Representative from California's 25th congressional district. He was of Lebanese descent and was the first Arab American elected to the United States Congress, serving one term ...

(1938), Democratic

US Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for

California's 25th congressional district 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 mo ...

(1959–1961) *

Joseph Thomas McGucken Joseph Thomas McGucken (March 13, 1902 – October 6, 1983) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (1941–1955), coadjutor bishop and bishop of the Diocese of Sa ...

, Archbishop of San Francisco from 1962-1977 *

Tanya Neiman Tanya Marie Neiman (June 28, 1949 – February 27, 2006) was an American lawyer and activist based in San Francisco. For over 20 years, she was director of the Volunteer Legal Services Program of the Bar Association of San Francisco, now known a ...

(1966), lawyer in San Francisco *

John W. Olmsted John W. Olmsted (1903–1986) was an American Rhodes scholar and historian of early modern Europe. He taught history at University of California, Los Angeles for 24 years and served as faculty representative to the Pacific Coast Conference for se ...

(1915), Professor Emeritus at

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

Stephen Paddock Stephen Craig Paddock (April 9, 1953 – October 1, 2017) was an American mass murderer who perpetrated the 2017 Las Vegas shooting. Paddock opened fire into a crowd of about 22,000 concertgoers attending a country music festival on the Las ...

(1971), perpetrator of the

2017 Las Vegas shooting On October 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old man from Mesquite, Nevada, opened fire on the crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in . From his 32nd-floor suites in the Mandalay Bay hotel, he fired ...

Greg Palast Gregory Allyn Palast (born June 26, 1952) is an author and a freelance journalist who often worked for the BBC and ''The Guardian''. His work frequently focuses on corporate malfeasance but he has also worked with labour unions and consumer advoc ...

(left for college in 1969), investigative journalist * Bruce Pardo (1981), perpetrator of the 2008 Covina massacre *

Milton Quon Milton Quon (August 22, 1913 – June 18, 2019) was an American animator, artist and actor. Early life Milton Quon was born in Los Angeles, California to Ng Quan Ying and Wong Shee Quon, Chinese immigrants. He was the eldest and only son, with sev ...

(1932), animator, artist and actor * Stanley Mark Rifkin (born in 1946), convicted criminal in the United States responsible for stealing $10.2 million through wire transfer via telephone in the autumn of 1978. At the time, it was the largest bank theft in U.S. history. *

Peter Senge Peter Michael Senge (born 1947) is an American systems scientist who is a senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, co-faculty at the New England Complex Systems Institute, and the founder of the Society for Organizational Learning. ...

(1965), author, scientist, and director of the Center for Organizational Learning at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

* Vaino Spencer (1938), judge * Herbert R. Temple Jr. (1947),

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

and

Chief of the National Guard Bureau The chief of the National Guard Bureau (CNGB) is the highest-ranking officer of the National Guard and the head of the National Guard Bureau. The position is a statutory office (), held by a federally recognized commissioned officer who has serv ...

, 1986–1990 *

Sloppy Thurston Hollis John "Sloppy" Thurston (June 2, 1899 – September 14, 1973) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators, and Brooklyn Robins/D ...

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

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Danny Trejo Danny Trejo ( ; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. He has appeared in films including ''Desperado'', ''Heat'', and the ''From Dusk Till Dawn'' film series. With frequent collaborator and his second cousin Robert Rodriguez, he portrayed ...

, actor * Paul R. Williams, architect * Alan K.Lohr, Los Angeles DJ & Talk show host, former KROQ 106.7 in the late 70s'

Notable faculty

Arthur E. Briggs Arthur Elbert Briggs (April 26, 1881 – July 25, 1969) was a teacher and law school dean who was a Los Angeles City Council member from 1939 to 1941 and the leader of the Ethical Society of Los Angeles in 1953. Biography Briggs was born on Ap ...

: Los Angeles City Council member, 1939–1941, taught law at night * Ralph Jesson: football coach at Polytechnic (1924–1928)

References

External links

John H. Francis Polytechnic High School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis Polytechnic Educational institutions established in 1897 Los Angeles Unified School District schools High schools in the San Fernando Valley

Polytechnic Polytechnic is most commonly used to refer to schools, colleges, or universities that qualify as an institute of technology or vocational university also sometimes called universities of applied sciences. Polytechnic may also refer to: Educatio ...

Public high schools in California Sun Valley, Los Angeles 1897 establishments in California