San Fernando High School (SFHS) is a

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 ...

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 ...

. It is located in the Pacoima 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 ...

, in the northeastern

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 ...

, California. It is near and also serves the City of San Fernando.Auditorium to Be Named for Chavez
" ''

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 ...

''. June 10, 2000. Retrieved on April 27, 2014.

History

San Fernando High School—SFHS—was established in 1896, and was originally known as the San Fernando Union High School (SFUHS). It is one of the oldest high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. SFHS was originally located at Fifth and Hagar streets in the City of San Fernando. In 1906, the school moved to a new campus on North Brand Boulevard. San Fernando High School moved again in 1952, to its present location. 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. The auditorium was renamed after

Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merg ...

in a dedication ceremony on June 11, 2000, seven years after Chavez's death.

Description

The San Fernando High School colors are black and gold.

School attendance boundaries

Students in the City of San Fernando are assigned to the school. Originally more of the Pacoima neighborhood was zoned to the school, but much of it was reassigned to

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 du ...

upon that school's opening in 2006. Students in the

San Fernando Gardens San Fernando Gardens is a housing project located in the Pacoima, Los Angeles, California, Pacoima district of the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. San Fernando Gardens was built in 1955, with a low-rise, garden apartment d ...

public housing complex in Pacoima are still assigned to San Fernando High School. San Fernando High School's attendance boundary changed numerous times as well as new high schools opening in the area. In the fall of 2006, 9th and 10th grade students in a portion of San Fernando High School's 2005-2006 school year zone attended

instead of San Fernand

Arleta will phase in grades 11 through 1

SFHS was further relieved of overcrowding when César Chávez Learning Academies (Valley Region High School 5) opened in 2011.

Demographics

During 2020-2021, the school had 2,044 students and 110 faculty members. In 2000, 10% of faculty had attended San Fernando High School as students. At the time the school was actively seeking alumni to be teachers. Many of the teachers who were alumni of San Fernando High were bilingual and could offer assistance to Spanish-speaking students.Sandoval, Eric.
For San Fernando High Students, Future May Be in Front of Class
" ''

''. July 23, 2000. Retrieved on April 27, 2014.

School programs

In 2008 it was announced that San Fernando High School would start on a traditional academic calendar, rather than the "year-round" staggered calendar to accommodate overcrowding, in the fall of that year. The traditional calendar allows all three tracks (A, B, and C-track; roughly 3300 students in total) to join as one academic class. It also made it impossible for the city's planned charter middle school to take campus facilities from San Fernando High School. SFHS was the only high school in California with Project G.R.A.D. (Graduation Really Achieves Dreams), which has now expanded to Arleta and Sylmar High School, Sylmar high schools and César Chávez Learning Academies.

Athletics

Football

Operating the wishbone offense (a rarity in California) with future USC stars Charles White and Kevin Williams, San Fernando High won the L.A. City Football title in 1974 and 1975, repeating the 1934, 1937, 1953 and 1967 season championships. Prior to the 1975 season, they were ranked #1 in the country. In 1976 they lost their first game of the season to

Gardena High School Gardena High School (GHS) is a public high school in Harbor Gateway, Los Angeles, California, United States, adjacent to the City of Gardena. It serves grades 9 through 12 and is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Small Learning C ...

by a score of 41-0. The team rebounded, losing only one more game (and defeating John Elway's

Granada Hills High School Granada Hills Charter (often abbreviated to GHCHS/GHC or simply Granada) is an independent charter school consisting of over 4,600 students in grades K–12, located in the Granada Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It i ...

team along the way) to earn a spot in the city playoffs. They went on to defeat Banning High School to win the city title. In 2012 the team lost to

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 Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, ...

and Sylmar High School, Sylmar high schools out of their ten games making them 8-2, leading them to the Division 2 Championship against

Canoga Park High School Canoga Park High School is a high school located in Canoga Park in the western San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is in the Los Angeles Unified School District. It is located at the start of the ...

. They repeated in 2013, becoming back-to-back champions. In 2017 SFHS defeated

Dorsey High School Susan Miller Dorsey High School is a high school located in the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles, California. It is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school serves Baldwin Hills, Baldwin Village, Jefferson Park, West Adams a ...

for the Division 1 Championship with a score of 28-21. San Fernando High's football stadium is named for Charles White.

Wrestling

The San Fernando High School wrestling team currently holds the largest number of city championships in Los Angeles. They have been the City Wrestling Champions in 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1991, 2001—2003, 2006—2009, 2012—2015, and 2017. During the 2006 season, the Tiger wrestling team had an undefeated season, with a record of 21-0. The 2006 wrestling team took first place at the C.I.F. championship, with five of their wrestlers qualifying for the State championship. In 2013, Johnny Parada became the first ever CIF wrestling state champion from the Los Angeles City Section when he defeated Wyatt Wyckoff of Paradise High School 13-6 for the 126 lbs. title.

Baseball

1988 City Championship runners-up; lost to Monroe High School. 1991, 2011 & 2013 City Baseball Team Champions. In 1991, the Tigers beat Banning High School 3-2 at Dodger Stadium. In 2011, the Tigers beat El Camino Real Charter High School 2-0 at USC in the semifinals and beat Chatsworth High School 8-6 at

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...

in the final. In 2013, the Tigers beat Cleveland High School 2-1 in the final, again at Dodger Stadium.

Soccer

1973 City Soccer Team Champions. When LAUSD offered soccer as an official sport, the Tigers won the first-ever championship against Franklin High School, 2 to 1. 2010 City Soccer Team Champions. Played in the Southern California Regional Playoffs up to semi-finals.

Basketball

1981 Basketball League Champions; 1988 Varsity Basketball League Champions.

Notable alumni

Sev Aszkenazy Sev Aszkenazy is an American real estate developer in San Fernando, California. Early life Sev Askenazy was born in 1961. He was brought up by his lone parent Mexican American mother, who had an affair with Severyn Ashkenazy whilst he was a stu ...

, real estate developer *

Ivan Becerra Jorge Ivan Becerra (born May 22, 1984) is a Mexican former professional soccer player. Early life and education Becerra was born May 22, 1984, in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. He and his family would move to the United States before Becerra's 6 ...

, former professional soccer player * Raul Bocanegra, California State Assemblyman *

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, former

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player *

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, U.S. Congressman *

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‘60, actress *

Bobby Chacon Bobby Chacon (November 28, 1951 – September 7, 2016) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1972 to 1988. He held titles in two weight classes, including the WBC featherweight title from September 1974 to June 1975 and the WBC su ...

, boxer * Anthony Davis, NFL and Canadian Football League player *

Felipe Fuentes Felipe Fuentes (born May 25, 1971) is an American lobbyist and former Democratic politician and businessman from the San Fernando Valley in the U.S. state of California, formerly a member of the Los Angeles City Council from the 7th district. ...

, former California State Assemblyman, Los Angeles City Councilmember *

Mike Glyer Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

, Hugo-winning fanzine publisher * Miguel Gonzalez,

player *

Jack Hiatt Jack E. Hiatt (born July 27, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player and minor league manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1964 to 1972, most prominently as a member of the San Francisco Giants. After his ...

, former

player *

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, U.S. Congresswoman *

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, actor, comedian * Cheech Marin, actor, comedian *

Nury Martinez Nury Martinez (born July 9, 1973) is a Mexican-American politician who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 6th district from 2013 until her resignation in 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Martinez became president ...

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Gary Matthews Gary Nathaniel Matthews Sr. (born July 5, 1950), nicknamed Sarge, is an American former professional baseball left fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through for the San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phill ...

, former

player *

Natasha Melnick Natasha Melnick (born April 10, 1984) is an American television and film actress, best known for her role as Cindy Sanders on the short-lived 1999 NBC comedy drama ''Freaks and Geeks''. Career Melnick was born in Los Angeles, California. She gr ...

, actress, musician *

Cindy Montañez Cindy Montañez (born January 19, 1974) is a former Democratic Assemblywoman from California's 39th State Assembly district serving for four years, from 2002 until 2006. Family Montañez was raised in the city of San Fernando, California al ...

, former California State Assemblywoman * Malcolm Moore, former NFL and

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, U.S. Senator from California; former California Secretary of State, State Senator, and Los Angeles City Councilmember * Rashaad Reynolds, footballer *

Monica Rodriguez Monica Rodriguez is an American politician in California. She currently serves as a Los Angeles City Council member, and represents the 7th district. The district is located in the San Fernando Valley, and includes the neighborhoods of Pacoima ...

, Los Angeles City Councilmember *

Herschel Curry Smith Herschel Curry Smith (1903–1983) was an American athletic coach in the sport of track and field at Compton Community College, Compton Jr. College. He is also popularly known as the founder of the Compton Invitational, and the co-founder of the ...

, track coach *

Ritchie Valens Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed i ...

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Jacob Vargas Jacob Vargas (born August 18, 1971) is a Mexican-American actor and performer. Early life Vargas was born in Michoacán, Mexico, and raised in Pacoima, Los Angeles, California. He was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family. He attended high sc ...

, actor and producer * Charles White, football player

References

External links

* {{authority control Los Angeles Unified School District schools High schools in the San Fernando Valley High schools in Los Angeles Public high schools in California Educational institutions established in 1896 1896 establishments in California Pacoima, Los Angeles San Fernando, California