George Washington Preparatory High School is a public four-year

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 ...

in the Westmont section of unincorporated

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

. Founded in 1926, the school has a

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 ...

address but is not located in the city limits of Los Angeles. The mascot is the General, a reference to the school's namesake

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

. The school colors are red and blue. The school serves many areas in South Los Angeles and unincorporated areas around South Los Angeles, including

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

, West Athens and Westmont. In addition it serves the LAUSD section of Hawthorne. It was the location for a 1986 TV movie ''

Hard Lessons ''Hard Lessons: Senior Year at Beverly Hills High School'' is a 1988 nonfiction book by Michael Leahy. Plot overview The book follows the lives of six Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills High School (usually abbreviated as Beverly or ...

,'' depicting

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

as the new principal, who sets out to rid the school of gang violence and drugs and restore educational values to the school. The current principal is Tony Booker. Two famous former principals are George McKenna, whom Denzel Washington portrayed in the movie ''Hard Lessons;'' and past LAUSD Board Member Marguerite LaMotte.

History

George Washington Preparatory High School was founded in 1927 as a six-year high school that slowly developed into a four-year school. The first graduating class was 1928 with 5 seniors. The school was badly damaged by the

1933 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 ...

and the students went to school in tents for a year or two. In 1935 Washington High began accepting 11th and 12th graders only, and before 1950, Washington Senior High School had expanded to include grades 10 through 12. 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. In January 1983, a new founder, the famed George McKenna, redefined Washington High School as a college preparatory school, and George Washington Preparatory High School, "The Prep," became an academic institution for grades 9–12.

Background

The reorganization of Washington Preparatory High School into Small Learning Communities (SLCs) began in 2006. The purpose of the SLC is to develop a sense of unity and cohesiveness and to foster the individual needs of students. The SLCs that were established as a result of this effort are: Etech (Engineering and Technology); ELMS (Ethics, Leadership, and Mediation Scholars); S.T.A.R.S (Visual and Performing Arts); BIZ (Business); SHAPE (Health and Fitness); and Law and Justice. The three Magnet programs have remained intact. During subsequent years, Washington added Performing Arts, Math/Science, and Communication Arts Magnets and achieved honors in scholastic, athletic and extra-curricular competition. As of 2009, in order to graduate and participate in senior activities such as prom, senior picnic, and grad night seniors must earn 230 credits, pass the California High School Exit Exam, and maintain 95% attendance.HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL
. ''Washingtonprep.org''.

Demographics

During the 2008–09 school year, there were a total of 2,440 students attending the high school. *46.7%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

, 0.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 52.4%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.3%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

Notable alumni

Art Laboe Art Laboe (born Arthur Egnoian; August 7, 1925 – October 7, 2022) was an American disc jockey, songwriter, record producer, and radio station owner. He was generally credited with coining the term "Oldies but Goodies". Early life and educatio ...

, Disc Jockey * Estes Banks, NFL running back * Barbara Billingsley, television and film actress * Eddie Bressoud, Major League Baseball * Steve Bryant, National Football League * Raphel Cherry, NFL defensive back * Don Clark, NFL offensive guard *

Dick Dale Richard Anthony Monsour (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019), known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scales and experimenting with reverb. Dale was known a ...

, surf guitarist *

Clarence Davis Clarence Eugene Davis (born June 28, 1949) is a former American football running back who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Oakland Raiders from 1971 to 1978, having earlier played college football f ...

, NFL running back * Kori Dickerson, NFL tight end * Drakeo the Ruler, rapper * Karl Farmer, NFL wide receiver * Mark Fields, NFL linebacker *

Gil Garcetti Gilbert Salvador Iberri Garcetti (born August 5, 1941) is an American politician and lawyer. He served as Los Angeles County's 40th district attorney for two terms, from 1992 until November 7, 2000. He is the father of the 42nd mayor of the city ...

, L.A. County DA * Teresa Graves, American actress and singer. *

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be p ...

, rapper and actor *

Robert Illes Robert Illes (born May 17, 1948 in Downey, California) is an American award-winning screenwriter, television producer, playwright and author. Early life Robert Illes was born in Downey, California to immigrant parents. His father Peter Illes ( ...

, (television), Emmy winning Writer/producer *

James Lofton James David Lofton (born July 5, 1956) is an American former professional football player and coach. He is a former coach for the San Diego Chargers but is best known for his years in the National Football League as a wide receiver for the ...

, NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver * Hugh McElhenny, class of 1947, professional football player * Jerry Norman, college basketball coach * Eva Pigford, model and actress * Oliver Ross, NFL offensive lineman * Ernie Shelton, NCAA champion high jumper, 1955–56 * Raymond Washington, American gangster *

Esther Williams Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Ol ...

, actress *

Stanley Williams Stanley Tookie Williams III (December 29, 1953 – December 13, 2005) was an American gang member and spree killer who co-founded and led the Crips gang in Los Angeles. He and Raymond Washington formed an alliance in 1971 that established th ...

, founder of the Crips * Murry Wilson, songwriter, talent manager, record producer

References

External links

Washington Preparatory High School
{{authority control High schools in Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles Unified School District schools Educational institutions established in 1926 Public high schools in California 1926 establishments in California