Walter Reed Middle School

Walter Reed Middle School
Walter Reed Middle School
Location
4525 Irvine Avenue Studio City, California 91602 Los Angeles , California United States
Information
Type	Public
Motto	Be safe, Be responsible, Be respectful.
Established	September 1939
School district	Los Angeles Unified School District
President	Maribel Garcia
Dean	Edward Torres
Principal	Robyn Friedman [1]
Staff	61.83 (FTE) [2]
Faculty	70
Grades	6 - 8
Enrollment	1,584 (2017-18) [2]
Student to teacher ratio	25.62 [2]
Campus size	Medium
Campus type	Urban
Color(s)	Grey, blue
Mascot	Wolf
Website	Official website

Walter Reed Middle School is in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. ^[3] Originally called North Hollywood Junior High School, it was renamed in honor of U.S. Army Major Walter Reed.

The school is a part of Local District North East of the Los Angeles Unified School District and feeds into North Hollywood High School. Several areas, including parts of North Hollywood, Valley Village, Studio City and Woodbridge Park are zoned to it. ^[4]

History

In 2017, the school received budget cuts since the percentage of non-Hispanic/Latino white students reached 30%; this occurred because of a state law established in the 1970s stating that schools with populations of white students below 30% get extra funding. ^[5]

Academies and electives

The school offers a variety of special academic programs: the Individualized Honors Program (IHP), the Humanities Academy, the Media Arts and Technology Academy, the S.T.E.A.M. Academy, the Environmental Sciences Academy, and the Global Leadership Academy. IHP was described by Time magazine as "perhaps the most successful junior-high curriculum in the U.S.". ^[6] Founded in 1971 by William Fitz-Gibbon, the IHP's purpose is to serve the needs of highly gifted children. IHP students are usually one or two levels above average grade math classes. There is also an Honors program for every academy for Gifted and Talented children, which is one year above the regular curriculum (on average). Each academy brings something different, and specializes it’s learning to the way their students enjoy the most. Despite the disproportionate amount of IHP information, the Walter Reed Middle School website includes information about every academy. When selecting an academy, take time to make your decision, but you can also transfer academies at the end of each semester if you change your mind.

Electives- There is a large variety of electives at Walter Reed. It ranges from Spanish, to Choir, Show Choir, to Jazz Band, to Cartooning and Animation, Architecture and Design, to the Cadet Corp, to Computers, Creative Writing, Environmental Studies, Robotics, Library TA and Office TA.

The school has a very active parent body organized under its PTSA.

Gifted program

In 1971, the school established the Individualized Honors Program (IHP) co-founded by William Fitz-Gibbon. ^[7] The parents who place their children in the program want them to be social peers; the students would otherwise be able to skip middle school and enroll directly in high school or in some cases tertiary education. ^[8]

Filming

Television shows filmed at Walter Reed include Head of the Class , Growing Pains , 7th Heaven , Parks and Recreation , Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In , CSI , Malcolm in the Middle , Parenthood, The West Wing , ^[9] Tell Me You Love Me , Just Add Magic , ^[10] Grey's Anatomy, ^[10] Pen15 , and Young Sheldon .

Scenes from movies including Primary Colors , ^[10] License to Drive , ^[11] The Shaggy Dog , Joe Dirt, Role Models , Accepted and Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster ^{[ citation needed ]} were also filmed there. In 2006, the fee for one day of filming at an LAUSD school was $2,500. ^[12]

In the news

On May 26, 1998, a student brought a kitchen knife to school and stabbed and seriously injured another boy during an eighth-grade “Fun Day” event. ^[13]

At the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the façade of Walter Reed Middle School was displayed behind the GOP nominee John McCain as a backdrop to his acceptance speech, leading to speculation that the campaign had intended to display a picture of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Army's leading medical institution and a facility widely associated with care for Iraq war veterans. ^[14] Others speculated that it may have been used as a reference to the TV show The West Wing , which featured the character Matt Santos announcing his candidacy for president in front of the school. ^{[15] [9]}

The then principal of Walter Reed Middle School, Donna Tobin, placed a statement on the school's website saying that the school had not given permission for the footage to be used, "nor is the use of our school’s picture an endorsement of any political party or view." ^[16]

On October 17, 2024, 17 students were reportedly medically evaluated for consuming a banned substance. Although it was not disclosed what the substance was, 2 of the 17 students were transported to a hospital via the Los Angeles Fire Department. All the students, as of October 2024, are expected to recover. The principal of Walter Reed Middle School released a statement regarding the safety of students and asking parents to educate their children about the dangers of substance abuse. ^{[17] [18]}

References

1. "Welcome Principal Robyn Friedman".
2. "Walter Reed Middle". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
3. "Studio City Neighborhood Council Bylaws" (PDF). Studio City Neighborhood Council. 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
   - Location map
4. Nola Sarkisian-Mille (24 September 2006). "Bradys put this Valley niche on the map". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 6 September 2008.
5. Gregory, John (2017-03-26). "NoHo school budget cuts due to high white student percentage sparks outrage". ABC 7. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
6. Bowen (24 September 2001), "Launchpad for Superachievers", Time
7. Hardy, Terry. "Top of the Class", Los Angeles magazine (education section), Emmis Communications, October 1998, vol. 43, no. 10. ISSN   1522-9149. Start: p. 52 Archived August 17, 2016, at the Wayback Machine . CITED: p. 52 .
8. Hardy, Terry. "Top of the Class", Los Angeles magazine (education section), Emmis Communications, October 1998, vol. 43, no. 10. ISSN   1522-9149. Start: p. 52 Archived August 17, 2016, at the Wayback Machine . CITED: p. 62 Archived April 27, 2016, at the Wayback Machine .
9. Sargent, Greg (5 September 2008). "McCain's Speech Backdrop Was Used In Matt Santos' West Wing Presidential Announcement". TPM Election Central. Talking Points Memo. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
10. Federico, Tiffiny. "WRMS Library - About the Library". www.wrmslibrary.org. Walter Reed Middle School, LAUSD. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
11. "AFI CATALOG OF FEATURE FILMS". catalog.afi.com. AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
12. Kandel, Jason (10 July 2006). "Burbank gives new meaning to 'Film School'" (PDF). Daily News. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2007. A text version
13. "Student Injured in Knife Attack During Class". Los Angeles Times. 1998-05-27. ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved 2019-06-14.
14. "McCain Uses Walter Reed Middle School, Not Army Hospital, as Backdrop". September 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
15. "John McCain's Walter Reed puzzle". Top of the Ticket. Los Angeles Times. 5 September 2008. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
16. "Republican National Convention". September 2008. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
17. "17 middle school students in Studio City medically evaluated for possibly consuming banned substance". ABC7 Los Angeles. 2024-10-17. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
18. Reporter, Rachel Dobkin Weekend (2024-10-17). "17 students from Walter Reed Middle School tested for unknown drug". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-10-18.

External links

• Official website

34°09′09″N118°23′12″W / 34.152611°N 118.386570°W / 34.152611; -118.386570