Schurr High School is a secondary school in the
Montebello Unified School DistrictMontebello Unified School District is a school district based in Montebello, California, United States.Montebello USD serves the city of Montebello, portions of the cities of Bell Gardens, Commerce, Rosemead, Pico Rivera, and Monterey Park, and a part of the unincorporated community of East Los...
, located at 820 North Wilcox Avenue,
MontebelloMontebello is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 62,150.-History:...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, 90640. Students attending this school live in the
MontebelloMontebello is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 62,150.-History:...
-
Monterey ParkMonterey Park is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2005 estimate, the city had a total population of 63,928. The city's motto is "Pride in the past, Faith in the future".-History:...
area.
- The school was previously a junior high school. Because of the growing population of students in the area, the school became a high school in 1971.
- The school colors are officially green and white. Contrary to popular belief, gold is an accent color, not a school color.
- Band director, Barry Ulrich (1973-86)http://sterlingcreekmusic.com/, composed the official "unofficial" fight song, "Taco Mambo"
Schurr High School was originally built to accommodate 1,700 students.
Schurr High School is a secondary school in the
Montebello Unified School DistrictMontebello Unified School District is a school district based in Montebello, California, United States.Montebello USD serves the city of Montebello, portions of the cities of Bell Gardens, Commerce, Rosemead, Pico Rivera, and Monterey Park, and a part of the unincorporated community of East Los...
, located at 820 North Wilcox Avenue,
MontebelloMontebello is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 62,150.-History:...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, 90640. Students attending this school live in the
MontebelloMontebello is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 62,150.-History:...
-
Monterey ParkMonterey Park is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2005 estimate, the city had a total population of 63,928. The city's motto is "Pride in the past, Faith in the future".-History:...
area.
History
- The school was previously a junior high school. Because of the growing population of students in the area, the school became a high school in 1971.
- The school colors are officially green and white. Contrary to popular belief, gold is an accent color, not a school color.
- Band director, Barry Ulrich (1973-86)http://sterlingcreekmusic.com/, composed the official "unofficial" fight song, "Taco Mambo"
Population
Schurr High School was originally built to accommodate 1,700 students. Today, Schurr's population is nearly doubled - 3,352 students. Of those 3,352 students, 950 are freshman. School officials expect more students to enroll throughout the school year. In the 2005-2006 school year, Schurr's population totaled 4,726. Due to overpopulation, school officials brought back two lunches for the 2005-2006 school year.
Academics
The Department of Education reported Schurr High School's
Academic Performance IndexThe Academic Performance Index is a measurement in California of academic performance and progress of individual schools in California. It is one of the main components of the Public Schools Accountability Act passed by the California legislature in 1999....
(API) rose 47 points in 2005 from 630 to 677 in the 2004-2005 school year. In the following year, the API rose 9 points, totaling to 686. Although it was not large improvement, Schurr High School has the highest API in the
Montebello Unified School DistrictMontebello Unified School District is a school district based in Montebello, California, United States.Montebello USD serves the city of Montebello, portions of the cities of Bell Gardens, Commerce, Rosemead, Pico Rivera, and Monterey Park, and a part of the unincorporated community of East Los...
, followed by
Montebello High SchoolMontebello High School is a four year high school located within the Montebello Unified School District, located at 2100 West Cleveland Ave., Montebello, California, 90640...
with 645, and
Bell Gardens High SchoolBell Gardens High School is a High School in Bell Gardens, California.BGHS, located at 6119 Agra Street, Bell Gardens, CA 90201, is part of the Montebello Unified School District....
with 610.
Advanced Placement classes include:
- American Government
- Art History
- Biology
- Calculus AB
- Calculus BC
- Chemistry
- Economics
- English Language & Composition
- English Literature & Composition
- Psychology
- Environmental Science
- Spanish Language
- Spanish Literature
- Statistics
- U.S. History
- World History
In 2007, Schurr was ranked among Newsweek Magazine's "Top Public High Schools" list for the third time in the school's history at 1093. In 2006, the school was ranked 1018, and in 2003, it was ranked 506.
Also, Schurr has the Spartan speech and debate team, the only competitive academic organization on campus and one with a history of success on both local, state and national levels.
Music Program
- The Mighty Spartan Marching Band
A marching band is, in the broadest terms, a group of performers that consist of instrumental musicians and sometimes dance teams / color guard who generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds,...
has been an award winning band for well over 20 years.
- In 2005, the Band attended SCSBOA
The Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association provides a number of services for elementary through college level music groups in Southern California, including providing clinics for educators and students and hosting festivals for soloists and ensembles, including marching band...
Field Band Championships for the first time in the school's history.
- In December 2007, the Mighty Spartan Marching Band won the Division V title at California State Band Championships.
Spartan Scroll
- Schurr High School's nationally recognized student-run newspaper is the Spartan Scroll.
- Among many other recognitions, the publication has been recognized by The Los Angeles Times as one of the best high school publications in Southern California.
- The Spartan Scroll is also a member of the National Scholastic Press Association(NSPA) Hall of Fame and is a recipient of the Columbia Student Press Association(CSPA) Gold Medal.
- In 2008, NSPA nominated the Spartan Scroll as a Pacemaker Finalist for the 2007-2008 version of the publication. The Spartan Scroll was also a Pacemaker Finalist in early 2004.
Sports
Schurr also has been known to have a strong football, track and wrestling programs.
Schurr High School sports include:
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Cross Country
- Football
- Golf
- Soccer
- Softball
- Swimming
- Tennis
- Track and Field
- Water Polo
- Wrestling:
- Volleyball
- Folklorico
NOTABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Football: Schurr secured its first CIF Football Championship in 1980. The football team recently won the CIF Football Championship again, beating Santa Fe High School Chiefs 40-22 on December 8th, 2006 at Cal State Fullerton.
Wrestling: Under the direction of Coach Mike Garcia the Spartan Wrestling team placed 2nd in CIF in 1993 and 5th in State that same year, producing two California State Wrestling Champions, Sean Kim at 103 lbs and David Wakisaka at 160 lbs. Kim went on to win All American honors by placing 3rd at the Senior High School National Wrestling Championships. In 1997 Schurr placed second in CIF once again under the direction of Coach Joe "Gonzo" Gonzales, a US Olympian and three time World Cup Champion. In 1999 The Spartan Wrestling team produced another All American in Steve Martinez, a California State Runner Up, who under the direction of Coach Henry K. Priest, eventually went on to place 3rd at Senior High School National Wrestling Championships. Another accomplishment of note is that the junior varsity wrestling team secured 20 consecutive undefeated junior varsity league championship from 1980-1999.
Notable alumni
- Bob Logan (Class of 1973, Schurr's first graduating class) is the writer and directing of many comedy feature films, including the cult "Exorcist" spoof "Repossessed" starring Leslie Nielson and Linda Blair, and "Meatballs 4" starring Corey Feldman. Previous to that he had written, produced and directed many network TV programs, and also wrote for comedians such as Garry Shandling, Joan Rivers, Rodney Dangerfield and Sam Kinison among many others. Currently, he is working on a feature film version of the classic 1960s ABC comedy-western TV series "F TROOP."
- Ada Maris
Ada Maris is a Mexican-American actress. She was born Ada Marentes and has been married to actor Tony Plana since 1988. They have two children.-Career:...
Class of 1975, Movie and Television actress.
- Catherine J. K. Sandovalhttp://hightechlaw.scu.edu/law/hightech/faculty/fulltime/fcty_1316.html, first Latina Rhodes Scholar (Master's degree in Politics at Oxford University in Oxford, England), graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and J.D. from Stanford Law School. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Law at Santa Clara University.
- Sergio Mora
Sergio "The Latin Snake" Mora is a Mexican American professional boxer trained by Dean Campos. Dean is the young trainer behind Sergio's unorthodox style of fighting...
, class of 1997, won the television boxing show, The Contender.
- Todd Spitzer
Todd Allan Spitzer is a United States politician. A Republican, he represented the 71st district in the California State Assembly from 2002 to 2008 and served in the Assembly Republican leadership as Chief Republican Whip....
(Class of 1978) Orange County, California politician
- Daryn Okada (Class of 1978) Cinematographer/ Director of Photography
- Myles Kovacs (Class of 1991) Founder/President of DUB
- Pablo Castillo (class of 2002)Professional Musician Played bass guitar for Brandy, Beyonce Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often referred to mononymously as Beyoncé , is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and model. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
, Brian McKnightBrian McKnight is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, producer, and pop and R&B musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who can play nine instruments: piano, guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussions, trombone, tuba, French horn and trumpet.-Biography:McKnight's musical career began with a...
, Sin BanderaSin Bandera was a Latin pop duo based in Mexico that consisted of Leonel García, and Noel Schajris. They became one of the most popular artists after their debut album "Sin Bandera" was released in 2001.-Biography:...
, and Joseph Cabanilla
- Loren Sklamberg (Class of 1974) is a member of the Klezmatics and is the winner of a Grammy Award.
- Henry K. Priest (Class of 1988) An actor and producer of film, TV and Live events. Acting debut in the Walt Disney movie SPOONER. Director of the Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles. Mr. Priest produced a film titled "American Identity" which received a standing ovation at the prestigious Festival De Cannes in France. His latest project NEARFALL was shot at various schools in the Los Angeles area including Schurr High School.
External links