Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets

Last updated

Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets
Address
Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets
7400 West Manchester Avenue

,
90045

United States
Coordinates 33°57′30″N118°25′43″W / 33.95833°N 118.42861°W / 33.95833; -118.42861
Information
Type Public school
MottoThe Future of Scientific Thought... Today
Established1957
School district Los Angeles Unified School District
PrincipalJanet Mack [1]
Faculty100
Teaching staff43.96 (FTE) [2]
Enrollment899 (2018-19) [2]
Student to teacher ratio20.45 [2]
CampusSuburban Los Angeles International Airport
Color(s)Red, Black, and White
   
Athletics conference CIF Los Angeles City Section
Western League
MascotChester the Comet & Chester the Dog
Nickname Comets
Website www.westchestercomets.org

Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets (WESM) is a magnet high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, West Region. [3] It is located in Westchester (Los Angeles), a neighborhood adjacent to Los Angeles International Airport and bordered by Playa Vista to the north, Inglewood to the east, El Segundo to the south, and Playa del Rey to the west. Until the 201011 school year, the school was a comprehensive high school known as Westchester High School.

Contents

History

Westchester High School opened to 500 students in September 1948 at what is now Orville Wright Middle School. During the 2010–2011 school year, Westchester High School became Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets (WESM). [4] There are three programs:

Magnet Programs
Aviation and Aerospace Magnet for Gifted & High Ability Students
Environmental and Natural Science Magnet
Health and Sports Medicine Magnet

On June 1, 2011, at least 400 students walked out to protest the school's displacement of 25 teachers in addition to 10 RIF'd teachers. [5] [6]

In 2011, rapper Tyler, The Creator was arrested in front of the school for promoting his album Goblin .

About the school

The Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets (WESM) are a trio of science-themed magnet schools, which provide individualized learning opportunities within their small, thematically-aligned programs. Together, the Westchester Magnets form one campus, providing a wide array of athletic and extra-curricular opportunities.

The Westchester Magnets embrace project-based learning. Students synthesize content from all of their classes to create projects and conduct experiments with real-world applications. They engage in hands-on learning as they experience instruction aligned to the themes of the three magnets: Aerospace & Aviation, Environmental & Natural Science, and Health & Sports Medicine.

WESM is able to offer these innovative programs through partnerships with local organizations and businesses like Loyola Marymount University, Boeing, Chevron, and the Team Heal Foundation. Because of the contributions of these partners, WESM offers opportunities for internships, field trips, guest lectures, and demonstrations by scientists and other professionals.

The school expects every student to be involved in at least one extra-curricular activity. Students participate in countless organizations, including clubs, student government, band, drama, cheerleading, drill team, and athletics.

Curriculum

In the WESM Aviation & Aerospace Magnet, students have the opportunity to participate in flight simulation. They also take a shop class where they learn applied physics by working on the engine of a real Cessna airplane, which is located on campus. In the WESM Environmental & Natural Science Magnet, students monitor renewable electricity generated by an on-campus photovoltaic facility. They also take courses focused on urban ecology and green construction. In the WESM Health & Sports Medicine Magnet, students take Athletic Training classes using a state-of-the-art athletic training room. They also study nutrition in a Culinary Arts kitchen.

Academic performance

In recent years, Westchester has shown a consistent trend of dramatically increased academic performance. Over each of the past 5 years, the school has posted significant gains in API (Academic Performance Index), going from a score of 589 in 2007 to a current API of 663. [7]

Athletics

The Westchester Comets have an extensive history of athletic prowess. The school's most prominent program, its boys' basketball team, has won 12 Los Angeles City titles and six Division I California State Championships under its head coach, Ed Azzam. One of its players, Amir Johnson, was drafted directly out of high school there, and was originally considered to be the last high school student to be drafted in the NBA draft until 2015 and 2016 with Satnam Singh Bhamara and Thon Maker, respectively.

The Comets' home football stadium is named in memory of Hank Gathers, who played basketball at Loyola Marymount.

Student body

A majority of the students are African-American, although the school draws students of all ethnic backgrounds from across the Los Angeles area.

Orville Wright Middle School is WESM's primary feeder, although WESM also draws many students from Marina del Rey Middle School, Palms Gifted Magnet, Mark Twain Middle School, and Audubon's Gifted Magnet, along with various charter and private middle schools.

Sharla Berry, a guest columnist for YES! Magazine who attended Westchester from fall 2002 to summer 2006, stated that the school's different ethnic groups interacted with each other frequently. [8]

Demographics

Since its reconfiguration in 2010, Westchester's enrollment has begun to gradually increase. However, this is a reversal of prior enrollment trends. Beginning in the 2004–05 school year, Westchester experienced a dramatic decline in enrollment, reaching a low point in 2010, with a total enrollment of approximately 1300 students.

During the 2004–2005 school year, Westchester had 2726 students. [9]

For the 2005-2006 school year, LAUSD opened new schools to relieve overcrowding in the district. LAUSD opened two high schools, Southeast High School in South Gate, California [10] and the Santee Education Complex in Los Angeles. [11] As a result, Westchester's student population dropped to about 1,938 – close to the level of previous years. [12] This was a welcome change for many parents who complained of the overcrowding and disruption caused by busing more students from central Los Angeles to the Westside school.[ citation needed ]

During the 2005–2006 school year, Westchester had 1938 students.

The Westchester campus also houses an Aerospace Magnet School that enrolled an additional 362 students in the 2005-2006 school year. [13]

For 2005–2006, Westchester Aerospace Magnet had 361 students.

Four additional high schools, Arleta, [14] East Valley, [15] Panorama, [16] and Miguel Contreras Learning Complex, opened in fall 2006, again decreasing the number of transfer students in many schools.

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of Westchester High School/WESM include:

David Bluthenthal David Bluthenthal.JPG
David Bluthenthal
Brandon Bowman Brandon Bowman.jpg
Brandon Bowman
Nia Long Nia Long 2012.jpg
Nia Long

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">View Park–Windsor Hills, California</span> Unincorporated community in California, United States

View Park−Windsor Hills is an unincorporated community in Los Angeles County, California. The View Park neighborhood is the community surrounding Angeles Vista Boulevard and the Windsor Hills neighborhood is on the southern end to the north of Slauson Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westchester, Los Angeles</span> Neighborhood of Los Angeles in the United States

Westchester is a neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles and the South Bay Region of Los Angeles County, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Hollywood High School</span> Public school in North Hollywood, California, United States

North Hollywood High School (NHHS) is a public high school in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is in the San Fernando Valley and enrolls approximately 2,500 students. Several neighborhoods, including most of North Hollywood, Valley Village, Studio City and Sun Valley, send students to it. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Its principal is Ricardo Rosales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venice High School (Los Angeles)</span> School in Venice, Los Angeles, California, United States

Venice High School (VHS) is a public school located in the Westside area of Los Angeles, California and within the Local District West area of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van Nuys High School</span> Public comprehensive high school in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, United States

Van Nuys High School (VNHS) is a public high school in the Van Nuys district of Los Angeles, belonging to the Los Angeles Unified School District: District 2. The school is home to a Residential Program and three Magnet Programs—Math/Science, Performing Arts, and Medical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairfax High School (Los Angeles)</span> High school in Los Angeles, California

Fairfax High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located in Los Angeles, California, near the border of West Hollywood in the Fairfax District. The school is located on a 24.2-acre (98,000 m2) campus at the intersection of Fairfax Avenue and Melrose Avenue.

Palisades Charter High School is an independent charter secondary school in Los Angeles, United States. The high school serves the neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades, Palisades Highlands, Kenter Canyon, and portions of Brentwood. Residents in Topanga, an unincorporated section of Los Angeles County, may attend Palisades or William Howard Taft Charter High School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crenshaw High School</span> Public school in Los Angeles, California, United States

Crenshaw High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located on 11th Avenue in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grant High School (Los Angeles)</span> Public high school in Valley Glen, California, United States

Ulysses S. Grant High School is a public high school located in the Valley Glen neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States, in the east central San Fernando Valley. It is located adjacent to Los Angeles Valley College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John C. Fremont High School</span> Public school located in Los Angeles, California

John C. Fremont High School is a Title 1 co-educational public high school located in South Los Angeles, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reseda Charter High School</span> Charter school

Reseda Charter High School (RCHS), established in 1955, is located in the Reseda section of the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States. In the fall of 2018, the school became a charter and is now Reseda Charter High School. In the fall of 2020, the school added middle grades becoming 6-12. It is in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school's Police Academy Magnet and Science Magnet were named a national Magnet School of Distinction by the Magnet Schools of America in 2017, 2018, and 2019. As of July 2017, the school was issued a full six-year term of accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges' accreditation process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manual Arts High School</span> Secondary public school in Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Manual Arts High School is a secondary public school in Los Angeles, California, United States.

South East High School is a comprehensive four-year high school located in the southeast area of South Gate, California.

James Monroe High School (JMHS), at 9229 Haskell Avenue in North Hills, California, is a public high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District. It is home to Small Learning Communities (SLCs) and two magnet schools. Its mascot is the Viking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Magnets High School</span> School in Los Angeles, California, United States

Downtown Magnets High School (DMHS) is an alternate magnet high school located in the Temple-Beaudry neighborhood near Downtown Los Angeles. The school belongs to the Downtown/MacArthur Park Community of Schools and houses three magnet programs: Business (DBM), and Electronic Information (EIM), and the International Baccalaureate (IB). The three magnets combined hold a total student population of approximately 1,000 students.

King/Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science is a magnet high school of the Los Angeles Unified School District, located in Willowbrook, unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies</span> Public, magnet, college-prep school in Los Angeles, California, United States

The Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies is a public university preparatory secondary school located on 18th Street between La Cienega Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in the Faircrest Heights district of Los Angeles, California, on the former site of Louis Pasteur Middle School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles Unified School District</span> California school district serving almost all of Los Angeles and surrounding areas

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district in the United States, with only the New York City Department of Education having a larger student population. During the 2022–2023 school year, LAUSD served 565,479 students, including 11,795 early childhood education students and 27,740 adult students. During the same school year, it had 24,769 teachers and 49,231 other employees. It is the second largest employer in Los Angeles County after the county government. The school district's budget for the 2021–2022 school year was $10.7 billion, increasing to $12.6 billion for the 2022–2023 school year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orthopaedic Hospital Medical Magnet High School</span> Magnet, public school in Los Angeles, California, United States

Orthopaedic Hospital Medical Magnet High School is an alternate magnet high school located in the Historic South Central neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. The school is located near the Los Angeles Orthopedic Hospital on the property donated by the hospital. The school houses approximately 800 students.

References

  1. "WESM home page" . Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "WESM Health/Sports Medicine". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  3. Sandra Poindexter and Ben Welsh (April 13, 2011). "Westchester High to become magnet school amid cost, ethnicity concerns". LA Times. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  4. "Home of Scholars and Champions" . Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  5. Pamer, Melissa (June 1, 2011). "Westchester High students walk out in protest over loss of teachers". The Daily Breeze . Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  6. Blume, Howard (June 1, 2011). "Westchester High students walk out, apparently to protest conversion of school to magnet". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  7. "Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnet". Loyola Marymount University. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  8. Berry, Sharla (October 24, 2006). "Westchester High Story by Sharla Berry". Yesmagazine.org. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
  9. "Student Teacher Ratio Westchester Senior High School – Los Angeles, California – CA". Greatschools.net. September 7, 2010. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
  10. "Project Details". Laschools.org. February 26, 2010. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
  11. "Project Details". Laschools.org. February 26, 2010. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
  12. "LAUSD School Profile". Search.lausd.k12.ca.us. September 16, 2009. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
  13. "LAUSD School Profile". Search.lausd.k12.ca.us. September 16, 2009. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
  14. "Project Details". Laschools.org. February 26, 2010. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
  15. "Project Details". Laschools.org. February 26, 2010. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
  16. "Project Details". Laschools.org. February 26, 2010. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
  17. "Hassan Adams". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
  18. "Westchester High School, Los Angeles, CA". Nndb.com. Retrieved January 17, 2011.