Carson High School (Carson, California)

Carson Senior High School
Address
22328 South Main Street Carson , California 90745
Coordinates	33°49′21″N118°16′30″W / 33.822497°N 118.274919°W / 33.822497; -118.274919
Information
School type	Public, high school
Motto	"Where Excellence Is the Expectation"
Founded	1963
School district	Los Angeles Unified School District
Principal	Diana Faatai
Staff	141 [1]
Teaching staff	72.68 (FTE) [2]
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1,378 (2023-2024) [2]
Student to teacher ratio	18.96 [2]
Language	English
Color(s)	Black & Powder Blue
Athletics conference	Marine League CIF Los Angeles City Section
Mascot	️Colt
Team name	Colts
Rival	Banning High School [3]
Newspaper	The Trailblazer
Feeder schools	Carnegie Middle School, Stephen White Middle School, Caroldale Learning Community (K-8)
Affiliation	District 8
Website	https://carsonhighschool.org/

Carson High School is a four-year public high school in Carson, California, United States. It is situated in the District South area of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Carson High is located on the corner of 223rd Street and Main Street. Carson's rivalry with Banning High School in Wilmington, Los Angeles, California is one of the top high school rivalries in the South Bay region of Los Angeles. ^{[4] [5]} Enrollment at Carson High School for the 2018–2019 academic year was 1,499 students. ^[6]

History

In 1964, Carson High admitted students from any location who wanted to attend if they provided their own transportation. This contributed to an enrollment increase to the point where The Daily Breeze stated that it was "one of the most rapidly growing schools" in LAUSD. ^[7]

Academies

Carson High School is made up of four learning academies: ^[8]

• Environmental Science, Engineering & Technology (ESET)
• Global Business, Law & Government Academy (GBLG)
• Performing Arts & Media Academy (PAMA)
• The Musical Arts and Digital Arts Magnet (M.E.DI.A)

The school offers 10 Advanced Placement (AP) courses, as well as several extracurricular programs, which include MCJROTC (Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps), Marching Blue Thunder (a combined color guard, marching band, and dance team ^[9] ), cheerleading, and drama.

School profile

According to the California Department of Education, in the 2019–2020 school year, there were a total of 1,499 students attending Carson High Steam School, comprising the following ethnic origins. ^[10]

• 54.7% Hispanic or Latino
• 17.2% African American
• 16.8% Filipino
• 3.9% Pacific Islander
• 2.9% White
• 2.7% Asian
• 0.1% Native American
• Teachers: 65
• Student-teacher ratio: 1:23

Most recent SAT participation rate is 63%, with an average score of 1065 (2019) ^[11]

Sports

• Quarterback Perry Klein helped the Colts win the 1988 City Section 4-A Division championship, as he was named California State Player of the Year, Parade Magazine High School All-America, and a Campbell Soup All-American. ^{[12] [13]}
• The Carson High School 'Marching Blue Thunder', consisting of Carson's marching band, drill team, color guard (tall flags), flaggies (short flags), and banner girls, won 6 consecutive LAUSD Band & Drill Team Championships in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1988.^{[ citation needed ]}
• The Carson Flaggies were featured in Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" video in 2005. ^[14]

Notable alumni

• Tony Caldwell, former NFL player
• Dave Canales, NFL head coach and former college football coach and player
• Ekene Ibekwe, professional overseas basketball player
• Ray J, singer, television personality ^[15]
• Perry Klein, former NFL quarterback
• Ralph Mann, former Olympic athlete and world record holder ^[16]
• Brian Treggs, former NFL player

References

1. "An Annual Report to the Community". Los Angeles Unified School District. February 2006. Retrieved January 24, 2007.
2. "Carson Senior High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved June 1, 2025.
3. Mario Villegas , A 'Classic' for many reasons, ESPN Los Angeles, November 4, 2010
4. "The best rivalry in the South Bay ..."
5. "Carson-Banning Rivalry" Archived March 18, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
6. "EdData - School Profile - Carson Senior High". www.ed-data.org. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
7. "High School Enrollment Increases". The Daily Breeze . Torrance, California. March 26, 1964. p.  19 (Schools) – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Carson High STEAM School". carsonhighschool.org. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
9. "Marching Blue Thunder (MBT)" . Retrieved December 16, 2022.
10. "Enrollment by Ethnicity - Carson Senior High (CA Dept of Education)". dq.cde.ca.gov. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
11. Cheng, Allen. "Average SAT Scores by State (Most Recent)". blog.prepscholar.com. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
12. Rob Fernas (June 30, 1994). "Scramblin' Man : Quarterback Perry Klein Has Been Vilified for Switching Schools--But That Was Before the NFL Called". Los Angeles Times.
13. Rob Fernas (November 10, 1988). "Winning Acceptance: Football Star Perry Klein Wasn't Used to the Tough Time He Got From Carson Team, But He Won That Game, Too". Los Angeles Times.
14. Nguyen, Vivian (March 1, 2005). "FVHS Band films with Gwen Stefani". Fountain Valley High School. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
15. Smith, Jay Scott (November 12, 2018). "Never Too Late: Ray J decides to pursue a college degree at HBCU". TheGrio. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
16. Calhoun, Damian (November 12, 2019). "Carson High to hold inaugural Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday". Daily Breeze.