Verdugo Hills High School
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| Verdugo Hills High School | |
| Victory with Honor | |
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| School type | Public |
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| Established | 1937 |
| District | Los Angeles Unified School District |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Principal | Diane Klewitz |
| Students | 2226 (2005-2006) |
| Colors | red, black (often with white) |
| Mascot | Don and Donette |
| Newspaper | La Yuca |
| Location | 10625 Plainview Avenue Tujunga, Los Angeles, California |
| Website | Official website |
Verdugo Hills High School (VHHS) is a public school located in Tujunga, Los Angeles, California within the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The school serves the communities of Sunland and Tujunga.
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The school officially opened for classes for the first time on September 13, 1937, with 437 students enrolled in grades 7 through 11. Verdugo Hills High School was built on the site of a lemon orchard next to the original Plainview Avenue Elementary School.
The school district was going to name the new school Calvin Coolidge High School, but Congressman John Steven McGroarty and others lobbied successfully to have the name changed to reflect the "green Verdugo hills" which the campus overlooks to the south.
Verdugo Hills is the only public school in LAUSD to host the Copernican Block Schedule. Implemented in the fall of 1998, VHHS has found numerous success with this schedule. Most students have 3 classes per 10 weeks terms, each class lasting for 90 minutes. Semester courses are now 10 weeks in length and previous year-long courses are now 20 weeks. Athletics, band, and other activities have been moved to an optional 4th period. This gives an opportunity for a student to accomplish more before graduation. This schedule has had some positive outcomes over the years. Test scores have risen, attendance has improven, and graduation rates have risen as well. The school's pass rate for the CAHSEE is third in the district behind El Camino Real High School and Granada Hills Charter High School, despite very different student populations. In addition, students taking the optional fourth period every semester can graduate a semester or more early. Students not opting to take a fourth period are released at 1:12 every day, allowing more time to complete homework or to work an afterschool job.
In proximity to the Hollywood movie industry, the school website claims that VHHS has been "the location of choice for more movies, television shows and commercials than any other school in the world".
- John Ingle, Actor
- A Martinez, Actor
- Michael J. Kouri, Psychic Medium, T.V. Host
- Howard McKeon, US Congressman
- Jaye P. Morgan, Singer
- Dick Smothers, Entertainer, Smothers Brothers
- Tom Smothers, Entertainer, Smothers Brothers
- Ryan Starr, Singer, American Idol Contestant
- Verdugo Hills High School website
- Verdugo Hills High School Multimedia Communications Magnet Program
- Movies, TV Shows and Commercials shot at VHHS
- Collection of Photos from VHHS shot in the late 1970's
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District 2 |
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| High schools | Arleta | East Valley | Grant | North Hollywood | Polytechnic | San Fernando | Sylmar | Van Nuys | Verdugo Hills |
| Middle schools | Reed | Sun Valley |