Marshall Fundamental Secondary School

Last updated

Thurgood Marshall Secondary School
Location
Marshall Fundamental Secondary School
990 North Allen Avenue, Pasadena, California
Coordinates 34°09′47″N118°06′45″W / 34.16316°N 118.1125°W / 34.16316; -118.1125
Information
Type Public school, secondary school, high school, middle school
MottoSoaring to Success [1]
Established1925 (John Marshall Junior High School)
1973 (John Marshall Fundamental Junior and Senior High School)
1985 (John Marshall Fundamental Secondary School)
2025 (Thurgood Marshall Secondary School)
School district Pasadena Unified School District
PrincipalLori Touloumian
Faculty77.42 (FTE) [2]
Grades6–12
Enrollment1,987 (2018–19) [2]
Student to teacher ratio25.67:1 [2]
Color(s)Red, white, and blue    
AthleticsCIF Southern Section
Athletics conferenceMission Valley League
Mascot Bald eagle
Website marshall.pusd.us

Thurgood Marshall Secondary School (formerly "Marshall Fundamental", [3] often referred to as "Marshall" [4] ) is a secondary school located in Pasadena, California, United States, at 990 North Allen Avenue, and is part of the Pasadena Unified School District. [5]

Contents

History

Construction of Thurgood Marshall Secondary School broke ground in 1924, and the primary building was completed in 1925. The building was severely damaged in the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake, causing extensive reconstruction, not opening again until the 1940 school year, with the addition of the North Building. [6] Several expansions occurred in the following decades; in the 1950s (Cafeteria), 1970s (Bungalows—demolished in 2015), 2000s (Science Building) and 2010s (Gymnasium/"M" Building).

Marshall was a junior high school for nearly fifty years, from its opening until the 1971–1972 school year, when it was closed briefly. For the 1973–1974 school year, it reopened as a secondary school (K-12). In 1976, grades kindergarten through sixth were moved to other Pasadena campuses Longfellow Elementary and Washington Elementary, but the sixth grade level was reinstated during the 1985–1986 year.

In late 2024, the school issued a proposal to the Governing Board of the Pasadena Unified School District for approval in changing its name from "John Marshall Fundamental Secondary School" to "Thurgood Marshall Secondary School." [7] John Marshall, the school's former namesake, was a known slave owner.[ citation needed ] Thurgood Marshall, the namesake of the proposed name change, was the first African-American Supreme Court Justice [8] . On April 16th, 2025, the Governing Board approved the renaming, [9] and Thurgood Marshall Secondary School unveiled and celebrated the name change at a celebration of the school's centennial on May 9, 2025. [10]

Curriculum

Marshall offers the following Advanced Placement courses.

Extracurricular activities

Marshall offers many extracurricular activities such as clubs, sports, dances, and music programs. Clubs include:

High School Athletics: Football, Baseball, Boys & Girls Basketball, Cheerleading, Cross Country, Diving, Girls Golf, Boys & Girls Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Boys & Girls Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball, Wrestling

Music courses include orchestra, band, and choir. Each type of music can be taken in a beginning, intermediate, or advanced class. The award-winning Thurgood Marshall Marching Band is regarded as the best music program in the Pasadena Unified School District. It won 3rd place in the 2014 SCSBOA Field Tournament Championships in the 1A division.[ citation needed ]

Sports

The teams are named the Marshall Eagles, after the school's mascot, and their uniforms beat the school's colors of white, blue, and red. Some teams use different colors for away games.

The sports at Marshall include:

Academic performance

Jay Mathews, an educator and education reporter for the Washington Post , listed Thurgood Marshall Secondary School as the 130th best high school as of 2007, chiefly due to its vast number of underprivileged students, high graduation rate, and 70% free and reduced lunch program. It was featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine, indicated as one of America's best schools. Marshall was first posted in 2003 as 119th, but fell in the following years to 255 in 2005, and 286 in 2006. It saw a jump in the 2012 school year, rising 156 places, back into the top 10%. Marshall in 2017 was ranked 897 overall in the nation and 152 in California.[ citation needed ]

As of 2022, Marshall is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as being the 190th-ranked high school in California and the 1,303rd ranked high school in the nation. [11]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ https://marshall.pusd.us/about/about-us/our-mission-vision-and-values
  2. 1 2 3 "Thurgood Marshall". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  3. ↑ https://pusd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=15&event_id=569&meta_id=154844
  4. ↑ https://marshall.pusd.us/
  5. ↑ Mathews, Jay. "The Role of the Principle". Newsweek. Retrieved October 15, 2007.[ dead link ]
  6. ↑ "John Marshall Junior High School - Pasadena CA". Living New Deal. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  7. ↑ https://pusd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=15&event_id=569&meta_id=154844
  8. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurgood_Marshall
  9. ↑ https://www.coloradoboulevard.net/marshall-fundamental-renamed-thurgood-marshall-secondary-school/
  10. ↑ https://pusd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=15&event_id=569&meta_id=154844
  11. ↑ "Thurgood Marshall in Pasadena, CA - US News Best High Schools". U.S. News & World Report . Archived from the original on April 26, 2022.
  12. ↑ Dick Railsback
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