Verdugo Hills Senior High
From Wiki Directory & Information Resource Guide for Schools, Universities, Learning Acadamies
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Verdugo Hills High School, or simply VHHS, is a public secondary school located in Plainview Avenue, Tujunga, California. VHHS is part of Local District 2 of the Los Angeles Unified School District and serves grades 9 through 12 in the communities of Sunland and Tujunga. VHHS is a LEARN school, and is also distinguished for being the only public school in LAUSD to host the Copernican Block Schedule which was implemented back in the fall of 1998. Under this system, most students have 3 classes per 10 weeks terms, each class lasting for 90 minutes. Semester courses are now 10 weeks in length and previous year-long courses are now 20 weeks. Athletics, band, and other activities have been moved to an optional 4th period. This gives an opportunity for a student to accomplish more before graduation. This schedule has had some positive outcomes over the years. Test scores have risen, attendance has improven, and graduation rates have risen as well. The school's pass rate for the CAHSEE is third in the district behind El Camino Real High School and Granada Hills Charter High School, despite very different student populations. In addition, students taking the optional fourth period every semester can graduate a semester or more early. Students not opting to take a fourth period are released at 1:12 every day, allowing more time to complete homework or to work an afterschool job.
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Ranking
- State Rank: 4 (based on API...1 Being Lowest, 10 Being Highest)
- API Score: 658 (The API Score is a number between 200 and 1000 that reflects a school’s or school district’s performance)
From the 2006 California Academic Performance Index (API) Base report.
History
1937 - Verdugo Hills High officially opened for classes for the first time on September 13, with 437 students enrolled in grades 7 through 11.
- Verdugo Hills High School was built on the site of a lemon orchard next to the original Plainview Avenue Elementary School.
- The school district was going to name the new school Calvin Coolidge High School, but Congressman John Steven McGroarty and others lobbied successfully to have the name changed to reflect the "green Verdugo hills" which the campus overlooks to the south.
Map & Directions
<googlemap lat="34.261925" lon="-118.297927" type="map" zoom="17"> 34.261859, -118.297927, 10625 Plainview Ave
Tujunga, CA </googlemap>
1] Head west on Tujunga Canyon Blvd toward Pinewood Ave.
2] Turn left at Pinewood Ave.
3] Turn right at Foothill Blvd.
4] Slight right at Plainview Ave.
Faculty & Staff Information
- Diane Klewitz - School Principal
- Teachers with full credential: 86%
- Teachers with emergency credential: 5%
- Average teaching experience: 11 years
- Average teaching in district: 11 years
- First year teachers: 4%
Ethnic Diversity
- 54% Hispanic/Latino
- 32% White
- 6% Asian
- 5% Filipino
- 3% African American
- <1% American Indian/Alaskan
- <1% Pacific Islander
Parent & Staff Comments
(parents and staff members can post their comments about this school here)
About the Neighborhood
The Tujunga community is located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, about 14 miles north of the Los Angeles civic center. Generally thought to be a part of the San Fernando Valley, Sunland-Tujunga is actually located in a valley of its own — the Tujunga Valley — which opens into the northern edge of the larger San Fernando Valley.
Most of the area is located within the northernmost limits of the City of Los Angeles with general services provided by the municipality. Portions of Big Tujunga, Little Tujunga and Kagel canyons are in the unincorporated area served by the County of Los Angeles.
Major geographic features include Big Tujunga Canyon whose waters have spread out at its mouth over the centuries to form the Tujunga Wash, the largest natural flood plain in Southern California and a feature clearly visible from earth orbit. The Wash feeds into Hansen Lake which was created by the construction of Hansen Dam, one of the longest dams in the world when it was built.
Famous Alumni List
- John Ingle, Actor
- A Martinez, Actor
- Michael J. Kouri, Psychic Medium, T.V. Host
- Howard McKeon, US Congressman
- Jaye P. Morgan, Singer
- Dick Smothers, Entertainer, Smothers Brothers
- Tom Smothers, Entertainer, Smothers Brothers
- Ryan Starr, Singer, American Idol Contestant
School Trivia
In proximity to the Hollywood movie industry, the school website claims that VHHS has been "the location of choice for more movies, television shows and commercials than any other school in the world".
External Links
- Verdugo Hills High School LAUSD Profile Page
- Verdugo Hills High School Website
- Verdugo Hills High School Administration
- Verdugo Hills High School Faculty
- Verdugo Hills High School Community Profile
- Verdugo Hills High School @ Answers.com
- Verdugo Hills High School Statistics
- Verdugo Hills High School Rankings
