Lowell High School (San Francisco)

Lowell High School is a selective co-educational, public magnet school in San Francisco, California.

Lowell High School
Seal of Lowell High School
Address
1101 Eucalyptus Drive

San Francisco
,
California
94132

United States
Coordinates37°43′51″N 122°29′01″W
Information
TypePublic
MottoFiat Scientia
("Let there be knowledge")
Founded1856 (as Union Grammar School)
School boardSan Francisco Board of Education
School districtSan Francisco Unified School District
School number697
CEEB code052970
DeanDavid Beauvais
PrincipalDacotah Swett
Faculty125.57 (FTE)[1]
Number of students2,731 (2017–18)[1]
Student to teacher ratio21.75[1]
Campus typeUrban
Color(s)  Cardinal
  White
SongThe Lowell Hymn
MascotCardinal
Team nameCardinals
AccreditationWestern Association of Schools and Colleges
USNWR ranking54th[2]
Academic Performance Index average948
NewspaperThe Lowell
YearbookThe Red and White
Honor societyShield & Scroll Honor and Service Society
Websitebeta.sfusd.edu/school/lowell-high-school

History
Lowell High School in 1917 at Hayes & Masonic Streets

Lowell High School began in 1856 as the Union Grammar School. In 1853, Colonel Thomas J. Nevins, San Francisco's first superintendent of schools, had broached the idea of a free high school for boys and a seminary for girls. It took three years for Nevins to convince the Board of Education that a high school was necessary, and a resolution was passed on July 10, 1856 to establish the San Francisco High School and Ladies' Seminary. Six days later, however, the resolution was rescinded on the grounds that a high school could not legally be part of the San Francisco Common Schools; opponents in the City saw no need for an education beyond the eighth grade funded on public budgets. A simple name change from the proposed San Francisco High School and Ladies' Seminary to the Union Grammar School appeased those who had opposed the creation of the school. Thus was San Francisco's first public school that provided a secondary education established.

The Union Grammar School first opened on August 25, 1856 in rented quarters at the Wesleyan Methodist Church on Powell Street, between Clay and Sacramento. By 1860, the church was purchased and reconstructed as a school at the same location. The new two-storied school building had four classrooms, an assembly room, and two rooms for gymnastic exercises and calisthenics. Dedication ceremonies for the new structure took place on September 19, 1860. The school in the new building was already referred to as the San Francisco High School because by that time, it was generally recognized that the course of study was on the secondary level.

In May 1864, the Board of Education decided to form separate schools for boys and girls. Boys remained at the same campus at the Boys' High School, while girls were moved to their own school at Bush and Stockton Streets (Girls' High School), where they would remain until the return of coeducation (in practice) in the 1880s.

In 1894, the school was renamed to honor the distinguished poet James Russell Lowell, chiefly by Pelham W. Ames, a member of the school board and ardent admirer of James Russell Lowell. The school relocated in January 1913 to an entire block on Hayes Street between Ashbury and Masonic. Lowell remained there for 50 years and established its position as the city's college preparatory high school. In 1952, the school sought a new location near Lake Merced and moved there (its present address) in 1962.[3]

Throughout its history, Lowell has had unique and close relationships with the University of California and Stanford University. When the University of California first opened its first campus in Oakland in September 1869, Lowell (Boys' High School) began to evolve its curriculum to prepare students for the college. From its inception, the University was to have a special relationship with its unique secondary school feeder in San Francisco. Boys' High School quickly became seen as a stepping-stone to college. Of the University of California's first six graduating classes (1873-1878), over a third had attended Boys' High School. William T. Reid, the high school's fourth principal, later became the president of the University of California.

For much of its existence, the Lowell mascot was the Indian. In 1988, School Superintendent Ramon Cortines ordered that the name be changed to something less offensive.[4] Since 1989 Lowell's mascot has been the Cardinal. For a few years, the name Cardinal referred to the color cardinal, in homage to the Stanford Cardinal, but it has since come to refer to the bird.

Lowell High School was selected as one of the 44 SFUSD schools considered for renaming in 2020. The school's selection, by a committee formed by the San Francisco Board of Education, was due to James Russell Lowell's documented racist views. Opponents have said that evidence for Lowell's anti-war beliefs and abolitionist views far outweigh the negatives, citing his lasting influence on Martin Luther King Jr. and within the NAACP.[5][6]

San Francisco NAACP v. San Francisco Unified School District (1980s)

In 1983, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) attempted to ensure racial desegregation at Lowell and other schools by implementing a race-based admissions policy as a result of San Francisco NAACP v. San Francisco Unified School District and the 1983 Consent Decree settlement.

Because of the Consent Decree, SFUSD strived to create a more equal distribution of race at Lowell, which was predominantly Chinese American, particularly trying to introduce more African American and Hispanic students into the school's population. As a result of this policy, effective in 1985, Chinese-American freshman applicants needed to score 62 out of a possible total of 69 eligibility points, Caucasian and other East Asian candidates needed only 58 points, and others needed even fewer points.[7]

Ho v. San Francisco Unified School District (1990s)
Main article: Ho v. San Francisco Unified School District

In 1994, a group of Chinese-American community activists organized a lawsuit to challenge the 1983 Consent Decree race-based admissions policies used by SFUSD for its public schools. The lawsuit was led by Lowell alum, Lee Cheng.[8]

In 1999, both parties agreed to a settlement which modified the 1983 Consent Decree to create a new "diversity index" system which substituted race as a factor for admissions with a variety of factors such as socioeconomic background, mother's educational level, academic achievement, language spoken at home, and English Learner Status.

Critics of the diversity index created by Ho v. San Francisco Unified School District point out that many schools, including Lowell, have become even less racially diverse since it was enacted.

On November 15, 2005, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California denied a request to extend the Consent Decree, which was set to expire on December 31, 2005 after it had been extended once before to December 31, 2002. The ruling claimed "since the settlement of the Ho litigation [resulting in the institution of the "diversity index"], the consent decree has proven to be ineffective, if not counterproductive, in achieving diversity in San Francisco public schools" by making schools more racially segregated.[9]

Campus
Lowell High School's Main Entrance.

Lowell is located north of Lake Merced, south of San Francisco's Parkside District. The school spans several blocks between Sylvan Dr. in the west and 25th Ave. in the east, and Eucalyptus Drive in the north to Winston Drive and Lake Merced Blvd. in the south. The school is accessible via the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) K, M, 57, 18, 23, 28, 28R, and 29 lines. The campus is located next to Lakeshore Elementary School, a public school, and St. Stephen School, a private K-8 school.

Lowell High School
Location of Lowell High School in San Francisco

The campus of what was called the NEW Lowell High School opened in the early 1960s, and replaced the old brick campus building on Masonic Street that is still used by the district for offices and an adult school. The "new" Lowell campus itself consists of a main three-story academic building with two extensions, the easternmost extension being a single-story science building which was totally rebuilt and reopened on September 21, 2003, after the original building from the early 1960s was demolished because the labs were totally antiquated [10] The second extension consists of a single story free-standing world-language building, which replaced temporary classrooms.

The original single-story visual and performing arts building is the westernmost extension of the main campus and remains with the 1,000-seat Carol Channing auditorium, named for the famous actress who is an alumna. The main entrance to the theater and the school is below street level on Eucalyptus Drive and provides another area for students to read or congregate.

The campus also includes a library presently undergoing renovation to be completed in 2021, extensive arts and music classrooms, six computer labs, a foreign language lab, an indoor gymnasium, men's and women's locker rooms, a dance studio, a weight room, an American football field, a soccer/multipurpose field and baseball batting cage, ten tennis courts, eight basketball courts, four volleyball courts, and a 1/4 mile (400 m) all-weather running track.

There is an ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corp) facility built into the hill and located below the theater, accessed by a stairway down from the arts wing. The ROTC facility at one time included a rifle range where cadets practiced marksmanship with live ammunition.

The campus also has two parking lots, one for students and the other for faculty. There is also a central courtyard inside the school.

Academics, admissions, and demographics

Lowell is one of two public schools in the San Francisco Unified School District (the other being School of the Arts) that is permitted to admit only students who meet special admission requirements.[11] The Lowell admission process is competitive and based on a combination of standardized test scores, GPA, a writing sample, and extracurricular activities. Run by SFUSD, Lowell is open to all San Francisco residents and charges no tuition.

Lowell High School historically has test scores ranking among the Top 10 Public Schools in California, including Gretchen Whitney High School and Oxford Academy. Additionally, Lowell has been named a California Distinguished School seven times and a National Blue Ribbon School four times.[12][13] Lowell was named a California Distinguished School in 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994, 2001, 2009, and 2015 (as a California Gold Ribbon School), as well as a National Blue Ribbon School in 1982, 1994, 2001, and 2012.[14][15] Lowell is currently ranked 54th by U.S. News & World Report in its "Best High Schools in America" for 2019, making it the 2nd highest ranking school in California with over 2,000 students. Lowell was also ranked 49th by Newsweek's America's Best High Schools 2012 list and 66th by Newsweek's 2013 list.[2]

The school's modular scheduling system and self-scheduling "arena" program allow students freedom in course choice, unlike the rest of the high schools in the SFUSD. Students also have the opportunity to choose from a large number of Advanced Placement courses. Lowell has a graduation rate of nearly 100%, and it is the largest feeder school to the University of California system, particularly to the Berkeley and Davis campuses.

Arena scheduling system

Lowell uses an "arena" class scheduling system in which students are given a time slot and directed to a website to choose their classes and which allows students an extra degree of freedom in making their choices.

While scheduling classes for the 2006 spring semester, one of the students who had volunteered to assist the running of arena was caught abusing the scheduling system to use early scheduling privileges, granted to volunteers by the administration, to let friends schedule before others.[16][17]

This abuse proved to be a catalyst for anti-arena faculty in the school. Five of six department chairs and dozens of teachers at Lowell filed a union grievance demanding an end to class imbalances. Citing these imbalances, they called to eliminate arena scheduling and to replace it with computerized scheduling used in all other SFUSD schools. Critics characterized arena scheduling as an antiquated and inefficient system, one which promotes inequities and abuses, and creates weeks of unnecessary work for teachers and counselors (the system tends to produce "incomplete" schedules which must be dealt with after the scheduling period).[18][19]

Proponents of arena argued that the system distinguishes Lowell and gives students additional responsibility and flexibility with shaping their high school careers. Doing so, students can prepare for a similar selecting of courses in college. Students would be able to choose teachers whom they found to be compatible with their learning style. The rotating priority system of picking teachers and times would assure the fairest results for the greatest number of people.

After a student forum, committee meetings, several student petitions, and final deliberation by then-principal Paul Cheng and the administration, it was decided that arena would remain in place, with modifications to address concerns about inequities and class imbalance, including the abolishment of early scheduling for Shield and Scroll and "mini arena," which allowed people with incomplete schedules another chance to complete them by opening up all the classes again with a few slots.

Under pressure from faculty and students, in 2013 the Lowell administration decided on an "online arena"—very different from the previous arena.[20] In 2012, the Lowell administration began preliminary testing by requiring students to submit their proposed classes for the next school year through an online form, designed and maintained by a few students from the computer programming classes. The preliminary trials were a success as students were able to submit their schedules into a database by means of a computerized system, saving the faculty from having to input the information themselves. This new arena no longer required students to miss an entire day of district-funded schooling.

Statistics

Demographics

2015-2016[21] 2,685 students: 1,107 Male (41.2%), 1,578 Female (58.8%)

Asian White Hispanic Filipino Two or More Races African American Pacific Islander American Indian Not Reported
1,523 408 266 213 57 50 24 8 136
56.7% 15.2% 9.9% 7.9% 2.1% 1.9% 0.9% 0.3% 5.1%

Standardized testing
SAT Scores for 2014–2015[22]
Critical Reading AverageMath AverageWriting Average
Lowell High 595636594
District 482526477
Statewide 489500484
  • 2008–2009 Faculty Demographics:[23]
    • 147 certified staff; 49.6% male, 50.4% female
    • Certificated staff demographics
Latino White African-American Chinese Japanese Korean American Indian Filipino Other Non-White Declined to State
8.1% 56.4% 2.0% 13.6% 3.4% 0.6% 0.0% 2.7% 4.0% 8.8%

Student activities

The Cardinals are one of the most active student bodies in San Francisco, with over 84 academic organizations, teams and student interest clubs.

Lowell also has academic teams that are exempt from volunteer hours in exchange for not being publicized as well as the clubs.

Mock Trial

The Mock Trial team is very accomplished, representing San Francisco County at the State Competitions in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2012, 2014, and 2016. In 2007, 2012, and 2014 they finished in the top ten at State Finals, In 2014, the Lowell High School Mock Trial team placed 6th at the Empire Mock Trial San Francisco International Competition and in both 2015 and 2017 won 1st place beating out 21 teams from across the world.[24]

Lowell Forensic Society
Main article: Lowell Forensic Society

The Lowell Forensic Society, founded in 1892, is one of the oldest high school speech and debate teams in the nation and the largest student organization on campus, with over 200 members. The team travels regularly to prestigious national invitationals, including Harvard, UC Berkeley, Stanford, CSU Long Beach, and the Tournament of Champions in Kentucky. Lowell Forensics has also competed in the National Speech and Debate Tournament under the National Forensic League for 40 years, making it one of the longest running national championship teams in the nation. Forensics alumni include Yale University President Richard Levin, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, California Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, actress Carol Channing, actor Benjamin Bratt, writer Naomi Wolf, actor Bill Bixby, PG&E CEO Frederick Mielke, author Daniel Handler of Series of Unfortunate Events fame and numerous academics, writers, and judges.

The Lowell

The student-run publication, The Lowell, has won numerous national-level awards, including the CSPA Gold and Silver Crown awards, the NSPA Pacemaker (1993, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2012) and the Northern California Society for Professional Journalists' James Madison Award, in recognition of their 2006–2007 school year battle to protect free speech. The Lowell received the All-American ranking, with five marks of distinction, from the NSPA, the highest award.

Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC)
Lowell JROTC indoor review in May 2005.

Lowell has a Army Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps battalion consisting of nine special competition units (Drum Corps, Exhibition Drill Teams (boys and girls), Color Guard, Drill Platoon, Brigade Best Squad, Lowell Raider Challenge Team, Academic Bowl, and the Lowell Leadership Symposium Team) and 5 companies (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Foxtrot, (Echo was disbanded in 2018.)

The Lowell Cadet Corps was founded in 1882 and later became known as Lowell Army JROTC when it adopted the national JROTC curriculum. A photo of the Lowell Battalion's former rifle range, now converted into a classroom and indoor drill facility, was featured in the Army JROTC Cadet Reference Second Edition.[25] William "Bill" Hewlett was the Lowell Army JROTC Battalion Commander in the 1929–1930 school year.

Every fall, the Lowell Drill Platoon, Color Guard, Best Guidon Bearer, and Brigade Best Squad compete in the Annual Fall Liberty Bell Competition. In addition, every spring, Lowell's Exhibition Drill Teams and Drum Corps participate in the Spring 91st Infantry Memorial Drill Competition. The Lowell Raider Challenge Team also competes in the San Francisco JROTC Brigade Raider Challenge, which consists of a physical fitness test, first aid obstacle course, land navigation, and a three kilometer run.

Athletics

Many students participate in a variety of athletic leagues and competitions. Lowell has competitive football, cross-country, soccer, tennis, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, badminton, dragonboat, softball, swimming, track and field, fencing, flag football, golf, cheerleading, and baseball teams.

In 2004, the Lowell's Boys Varsity Basketball team won its first AAA Championship since 1952. Following a runner-up finish in 2005, the 2006 squad went undefeated in league play and finished with a 30–3 record and a city championship. The 2007 squad also won the championships, while the 2008 squad finished high in the playoffs. The 2009 team once again won the 2009 AAA championships over Lincoln. The basketball team engages in an annual rivalry with Washington High School in a game commonly known to those in the city as the "Battle of the Birds" game, named after the teams' cardinal and eagle mascots.

Lowell's Varsity Baseball team, led by coach John Donohue, won eight of ten championships from 1994 to 2004[26] while posting a regular season record of 185 wins and only 11 losses[27] during that span. Coach Donohue won his 300th AAA league game on March 7, 2003 and tallied his 450th win overall just two weeks later on March 21, 2003.[28]

In 2004, Lowell's track and field and cross-country teams won the city championship in all four divisions for the seventh year in a row.[29] The cross country team recently swept all three divisions at the city finals in Golden Gate Park, marking Lowell's 26th overall championship win in a row.[30] In recent years, the track and field team has attracted about 150 athletes each season, and the cross country Team has attracted nearly 100 runners each season.

Lowell's Girls' Varsity Volleyball team has dominated the sport since its creation with the most city championships amongst other San Francisco public schools, and from November 1996 to November 2008, went on a record streak of 13 consecutive volleyball city championships.[31] The girls' junior varsity volleyball team also owns 15 of the 18 city titles (as of November 2010).[31] In November 2019, the girls' varsity volleyball team won the CIF State Division 3 Championship.[32]

In April 2007, Lowell's varsity swim team won their 11th consecutive AAA Championship title, with an undefeated season and an undefeated girls' title, ever since girls have been admitted on the team. The close rivalry between the Cardinals' and the Washington Eagles ended with Lowell coming out on top of all the other SFUSD high schools participating, which included Balboa High, Lincoln High, and Wallenberg High School. In April 2008, Lowell's varsity swim team won their 12th consecutive AAA Championship title, with an undefeated season yet again. The rivalry between the Cardinals' and the Washington Eagles ended with Lowell coming on top with the varsity boys scoring 170-49 and the girls 122–62. The JV girls also were able to defeat Washington with a score of 104–67. However, the JV boys lost to their counterpart from Lincoln 93–69.

In April 2007, Lowell's dragonboat team competed in the California Dragonboat Association Youth Race at Lake Merced in San Francisco, California. They brought home three golds and two silvers. The Lowellitas, the girls' team, won their seventh consecutive gold medal. In the spring of 2010 the Lowell Dragonboat team won gold medals in the top division, breaking a five-year drought of golds for Lowell in the top division traced back to 2005.

Lowell's Varsity Girls' Soccer has won the AAA Championship title for the past 21[33] years in a row. In 2012, they ended their season without being scored on in league games, a record of 101–0. Their most recent defeat was two seasons ago, a forfeit to Balboa on April 6, 2010. Aside from forfeits, the girls have remained undefeated for the past 10 years in league play. There is no JV team.

Lowell's JV Girls' Gymnastics team placed first in the NCVAL JV Gymnastics Finals from 2007 to 2010. At the CCS Varsity Finals, Lowell's Varsity Girls' Gymnastics team placed third in 2009 and second in 2010. Lowell does not have a boys' gymnastics team.

The Lowell Varsity Cheer Squad placed 1st in stunts and received a runner up medal in dance in the 2009 AAA competition. They also went to USA Nationals (2010) and placed in the top half of their division (4 points away from 1st place). In 2015 Lowell Cheer attended USA Nationals and won 4th place in the Super Novice Show Cheer Division. Lowell Cheer also performs at school rallies for football and basketball games.

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of Lowell High School have been cataloged by the Lowell Alumni Association.[34] Alumni include:

Name Class year Notability Reference(s)
Albert Abraham Michelson 1868 Nobel Prize in Physics in 1907. First American Nobel laureate in a scientific field. [34][35][36]
Stephen Mather 1883 First Director of the National Park Service. [37]
Charles Lee Tilden 1874 Attorney & businessman, namesake of Tilden Regional Park in the East Bay. [34]
Joseph Erlanger 1892 Physician; Professor, Washington University in St. Louis. Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1945. [35][38]
Eugene Meyer 1892 First President of the World Bank; Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank.
G. Albert Lansburgh 1894 Notable architect of Broadway and Los Angeles theatres and cinemas. [39]
Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld 1894 Well-known legal theorist and law professor at Yale and Stanford.
Rube Goldberg 1900 Pulitzer Prize winner, creator of "Rube Goldberg" machines. [40]
Walter A. Haas 1905 Board Chairman, Levi Strauss & Co. [41]
Newton B. Drury 1908 Fourth Director of the National Park Service. [42]
Alexander Calder 1915 Renowned artist and inventor of the mobile. [35]
Cyril Magnin 1918 Former Chief Executive of the Joseph Magnin Co.. [3]
Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Sr. 1923 District Attorney of San Francisco; State Attorney General; Governor of California, 1959–1967. [3][43]
Robert Lees 1929 Television and screenwriter. [44]
William Hewlett 1930 Inventor, businessman, philanthropist. Co-founder, Hewlett-Packard Company; William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. [3][45]
Charles Ginsburg 1936 Developed first commercially viable Video Tape Recorder at Ampex. [46]
Carol Channing 1938 Tony Award-winning singer, actress and comedian. [47][48]
Richard Diebenkorn 1939 20th century painter. [3]
William G. Joslyn 1940 Marine Corps Major general, also drafted by Washington Redskins in 1944. [49]
Pierre Salinger 1941 Press secretary to US President John F. Kennedy; later, United States Senator from California. [3][40]
Art Hoppe 1942 Popular columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle for more than 40 years. [3]
Jerry Coleman 1942 Decorated Marine aviator, New York Yankee, Hall of Fame announcer [50]
Kenneth McLennan 1943 Marine Corps four-star general, Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. [51]
Harry Likas 1943 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship in Singles in 1948 (as a member of the University of San Francisco Dons); Collegiate Tennis Hall of Famer. [52]
Allen Newell 1945 Pioneer in artificial intelligence, the psychology of human cognition, and list processing. [53]
Donald Fisher 1946 Founder and Board Chairman of The GAP. [3][54]
Dian Fossey 1949 Primatologist and conservationist known for extensive study of the mountain gorillas in Rwanda. Subject of the book and film Gorillas in the Mist. [35]
Ed Mayer 1950 Major League Baseball player for the Chicago Cubs. [55]
Warren Hellman 1951 Private equity investor and co-founder of Hellman & Friedman. [3]
Bill Bixby 1952 Movie and TV actor: The Incredible Hulk, My Favorite Martian, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, and film director. [56]
Richard C. Blum 1953 Husband to Dianne Feinstein. Chairman and President of Blum Capital. Regent of the University of California. [3][57]
Stephen Breyer 1955 Associate Justice in the United States Supreme Court. [3][58]
William Ware Theiss 1948 Academy Award nominated Costume Designer for movies and TV, including Star Trek. [59]
Tom Meschery 1957 Played in the NBA for the Warriors and SuperSonics, 1961–1971. [34]
Charles R. Breyer 1959 Senior United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. [3]
Susie Tompkins Buell 1960 Entrepreneur and liberal political donor associated with the Democracy Alliance. [3]
Julia Chang Bloch 1960 U.S. Ambassador to Nepal.
Steve Silver 1962 Creator of Beach Blanket Babylon. [3]
Eric Albronda 1963 Founding member of the band Blue Cheer, often considered to be the first heavy metal band [60]
Richard Levin 1964 President of Yale University from 1993 to 2013. [34]
Dennis Marcellino 1965 Former member of Sly & The Family Stone, The Elvin Bishop Group, Rubicon, and The Tokens (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) [61]
Michael Bortin 1966 Member of the Symbionese Liberation Army. [62]
Stephen Suleyman Schwartz 1966 Journalist and author. [63]
Linda Tillery 1966 Singer, percussionist, music arranger, record producer; founder of The Cultural Heritage Choir. [64]
Charles H. Ferguson 1972 Software entrepreneur; Writer; Filmmaker. Film Inside Job won 2011 best documentary Academy Award. [65]
John Roos 1973 Attorney & U.S. Ambassador to Japan. [66]
Larry Baer 1975 President of the San Francisco Giants MLB team. [67][68]
Stefan Wever 1976 Major League Baseball Player for New York Yankees
John D. Trasviña 1976 President of MALDEF, HUD Assistant Secretary of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. [69]
Gill Byrd 1978 Played in the NFL for the San Diego Chargers, 1983–1992. [70]
Eric Allin Cornell 1980 Nobel Prize in Physics in 2001. [71]
Jennifer Egan 1980 Novelist and short story writer. [72]
Soji Kashiwagi 1980 Playwright, Executive Producer for Grateful Crane Ensemble theatre organization. [73]
Naomi Wolf 1980 Rhodes Scholar, Writer. [34]
Benjamin Bratt 1982 Movie and TV personality who starred in the television series, Law & Order. [74]
Paris 1985 Hip-hop artist. [75]
Margaret Cho 1986 Comedian, briefly attended Lowell before transferring to Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts. [76]
Daniel Handler 1988 Aka Lemony Snicket, bestselling author of a series of children's novels: A Series of Unfortunate Events, and a novel set in a fictional Lowell High School, The Basic Eight. [77]
Alex Tse 1994 Screenwriter of Sucker Free City (2004) and Watchmen (2009). [78]
Raina Telgemeier 1995 American cartoonist and author [79]
Jamie Chung 2001 Reality television personality who gained fame on The Real World: San Diego, and later, an actress known for her work in films such as Sorority Row and The Hangover Part II and in TV series such as Once Upon a Time. [80]
Anton Peterlin 2005 Soccer player [81][82]
Rita Volk 2008 (Born Margarita Volkovinskaya) Model and Actress. Star of Faking It (2014 TV series) [83]
Golden Landis von Jones (24kGoldn) 2018 Hip hop musician [84]
Adrian Lamo Computer hacker, key figure in WikiLeaks case, and journalist who attended Lowell along with two other high schools. [85][86]
Frank Kudelka Former NBA player [87]
John L. Heilbron Historian of science. [34]
William Coblentz California power broker, Lawyer, UC Regent [88]
Lisa Bielawa Composer and vocalist [89]
Katrina Lake CEO of Stitch Fix. [90]
Carter B. Smith Radio DJ KSFO, KNBR. [91]

See also
  • San Francisco County high schools

References
  1. "Lowell High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  2. "Lowell High School in San Francisco, CA | US News Best High Schools". U.S. News & World Report. 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  3. "Lowell Class of '62 reclaims building for reunion". San Francisco Chronicle. May 26, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2013. Graduates who became well-known politicians, judges, artists, clothiers, financiers, philanthropists and cultural fixtures were Cyril Magnin, Class of 1918, Edmund (Pat) Brown, '23, William Hewlett, '30, Carol Channing, '38 Richard Diebenkorn, '39, Pierre Salinger, '41, Art Hoppe, '42, Don Fisher, '46, Warren Hellman, '51, Richard Blum, '53, Stephen Breyer, '55, Charles Breyer, '59, Mark Buell and Susie Tompkins, both '60, and Sydney Goldstein, '62.
  4. Miller, Johnny (2013-12-06). "S.F. schools boss orders Lowell High mascot change". SFGATE. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  5. Tucker, Jill (2021-01-28). "Here's what you need to know about the San Francisco school renaming vote and what comes next". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  6. Wymer, Rae. "Lowell's potential renaming draws continued debate after Board announces extension for submitting new names". The Lowell. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  7. Woo, Elaine (13 July 1995). "COLUMN ONE : Caught on the Wrong Side of the Line? : Chinese Americans must outscore all other groups to enter elite Lowell High in San Francisco, sparking an ugly battle over diversity and the image of a 'model minority.'". Los Angeles times. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  8. Har, Janie (27 August 2018). "Race-based school criteria roils Asian-Americans - again". Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  9. The United States District Court of the Northern District of California. "110805order.pdf" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 12, 2007. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
  10. The official website of the Lowell Alumni Association Archived 2007-12-13 at the Wayback Machine
  11. San Francisco Unified School District. "Lowell High School Enrollment Information for 2008-09". ColdFusion. Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
  12. "California Distinguished School Honorees: 1986-2009" (Excel). California Department of Education. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  13. "Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002" (PDF). United States Department of Education. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 30, 2014. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  14. San Francisco Unified School District. "Lowell High School School Description". ColdFusion. Archived from the original on March 7, 2007. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
  15. Lowell High School wins third Blue Ribbon. Archived 2006-02-23 at the Wayback Machine From the Lowell Alumni Association.
  16. Honor society causes scheduling inequity. Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine From The Lowell.
  17. Shield and Scroll must maintain high moral standards. Archived 2006-08-19 at the Wayback Machine From The Lowell.
  18. Class scheduling methods put Lowell High in a tizzy. From the San Francisco Chronicle.
  19. Self-scheduling is fundamental to Lowell. Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine From The Lowell.
  20. Shift to online self-scheduling a success. From The Lowell.
  21. "Enrollment by Ethnicity for 2015-16: Lowell High". California Department of Education. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  22. "SAT Report - 2015-16 District Level Scores". California Department of Education. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  23. SFUSD Profile 2008-09: Lowell HS Archived 2011-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
  24. "Empire San Francisco Results". Empire Mock Trial. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  25. Author: US Army Cadet Command, Ft. Monroe, VA. Title: Army JROTC Cadet Reference Second Edition, ISBN 978-0-536-74189-9, Publisher: Pearson Custom Publishing, Boston, MA.
  26. AAA Baseball Annual Champions. Archived 2006-05-10 at the Wayback Machine
  27. 3 teams have caught Lowell in race for baseball supremacy. From the San Francisco Chronicle.
  28. Lowell baseball is amassing very big numbers. From the San Francisco Chronicle.
  29. AAA Track and Field Annual Champions. Archived 2005-05-29 at the Wayback Machine
  30. AAA Cross-country Annual Champions. Archived 2005-05-29 at the Wayback Machine
  31. AAA Volleyball Girls Annual Champions. Archived 2006-08-30 at the Wayback Machine
  32. "NorCal Division III - 2019 CIF State Girls Volleyball Championship". Scorebook Live. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  33. https://thelowell.org/varsity-girls-soccer-crowned-champions-75b3b8be97de
  34. "Famous Lowell Graduates". Lowell Alumni Association. 2011. Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  35. Woo, Elaine. "COLUMN ONE : Caught on the Wrong Side of the Line? : Chinese Americans must outscore all other groups to enter elite Lowell High in San Francisco, sparking an ugly battle over diversity and the image of a 'model minority.'", Los Angeles Times, July 13, 1995. Accessed June 12, 2013. "Lowell has produced a governor (Edmund G. Brown Sr.), scientists and artists (naturalist Dian Fossey, sculptor Alexander Calder), Nobel laureates (physicist Albert Michelson, physiologist Joseph Erlanger) and a United States Supreme Court justice (Stephen G. Breyer)."
  36. Guide to the Albert A. Michelson Papers 1891–1969 Archived 2019-09-07 at the Wayback Machine, University of Chicago Library. Accessed June 12, 2013. "Albert Abraham Michelson was born on December 19, 1852 in Strelno, Poland (then a part of Prussia) to Samuel and Rosalie Przlubska Michelson. Two years later the Michelson family left Strelno for Murphys, California where his father opened a dry goods store. Michelson attended Lincoln Grammar School in San Francisco, and graduated from Boys' High School in 1869."
  37. "San Francisco Resolution 212-17", San Francisco Board of Supervisors, October 11, 2019.
  38. Davis, Hallowell. "Joseph Erlanger: 1874–1964, National Academy of Sciences, 1970. Accessed June 12, 2013. "He tells of his early schooling at the San Francisco Boys' High School where he took the three-year 'classical' course."
  39. Lansburgh, Gustave Albert Archived 2009-07-19 at the Wayback Machine, Encyclopedia of San Francisco. Accessed June 12, 2013. "Graduating from Boys High School in 1894, Albert enrolled at U. C. Berkeley, the year Julia Morgan graduated."
  40. Elliott, Christopher. "Budget Cuts May Silence School's Voice", Los Angeles Times, April 30, 1991. Accessed June 12, 2013. "Famous Lowell newspaper alumni include former Gov. Edmund G. (Pat) Brown Sr., veteran journalist Pierre Salinger and illustrator Rube Goldberg."
  41. Kinnaird, Lawrence. History of the Greater San Francisco Bay Region, Volume 3, p. 376. Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1966. Accessed June 12, 2013. "Graduating from Lowell High School at San Francisco, he studied at the University of California at Berkeley, and graduated in 1910, with a Bachelor of laws degree."
  42. "Past Directors of the National Park Service", , October 11, 2019.
  43. Reinhold, Robert. 'Edmund G. Brown Is Dead at 90; He Led California in Boom Years", The New York Times, February 18, 1996. Accessed June 12, 2013. "At Lowell High School, Pat Brown gave ample evidence of what was to come, running for 11 student offices and winning each time."
  44. Hearings, Volume 1, United States Congress, 1951.Accessed June 12, 2013. "Mr. Lees: I was in grammar school in San Francisco, Lowell High School, San Francisco."
  45. William Redington Hewlett, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Accessed June 12, 2013. "Although the father died suddenly when Bill was twelve, the family rallied. Bill was enrolled in San Francisco's Lowell High School, and life moved on."
  46. Hammar, Peter. Charles P. Ginsburg, Memorial Tributes: National Academy of Engineering, Volume 7 (1994) . Accessed June 12, 2013. "Ginsburg was born in San Francisco and diagnosed with diabetes at the age of four, just two years after insulin was discovered. He lived a normal childhood and graduated from Lowell High School."
  47. Zinko, Carolyne (May 11, 2003). "Carol Channing marries long-time sweetheart" Archived 2013-06-14 at the Wayback Machine. San Francisco Chronicle. Reprinted at Lowell Alumni Association. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  48. Staff. "CAROL CHANNING THE CHARACTERS, NOT THE DIAMONDS ARE A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND", The Salt Lake Tribune, March 28, 1993. Accessed June 12, 2013."As student body secretary at San Francisco's Lowell High School, the born entertainer would read the minutes in her own inimitable style."
  49. "MG William G. Joslyn Obituary - The San Diego Union Tribune, January 15, 2012". legacy.com. The San Diego Union Tribune Websites. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  50. Paris, Jay. "Paris: Jerry Coleman never forgot his first sight of Jackie Robinson", U-T San Diego, April 15, 2013. Accessed June 12, 2013. "But Coleman's exposure to Robinson, who was honored by major league baseball on Monday, goes back. Way back, to when Coleman was a senior at San Francisco's Lowell High School."
  51. GENERAL KENNETH MCLENNAN, USMC (DECEASED), United States Marine Corps History Division. Accessed June 12, 2013. "General McLennan was born 31 May 1925, in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He graduated from Lowell High School, San Francisco, California, in 1943, and received his B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco in 1948."
  52. 1948 Men's Tennis Singles Champion, San Francisco Dons. Accessed June 12, 2013. "Men's Singles Tennis Champion: Harry Likas – Hometown: San Francisco; High School: Lowell High School"
  53. "In joint scientific efforts extending over twenty years, initially in collaboration with J. C. Shaw at the RAND Corporation, and subsequentially with numerous faculty and student colleagues at Carnegie-Mellon University, Newell and co-recipient Herbert A. Simon made basic contributions to artificial intelligence, the psychology of human cognition, and list processing.".Accessed June 25, 2019.
  54. "Staunch Champion Of US Water Polo, Donald Fisher, Passes Away", USA Water Polo. Accessed June 12, 2013. "Donald George Fisher was born to middle-class parents on Sept. 3, 1928. He attended Lowell High School and UC Berkeley, where he starred on the swimming and water polo teams."
  55. . Accessed January 12, 2016.
  56. Bill Bixby biography, Biography Channel. Accessed June 12, 2013. "After graduating from Lowell High School, Bixby attended San Francisco College to pursue a major in acting and then switched to the University of California at Berkeley."
  57. Groves, Martha. "The Man Behind the Woman Who Would Be Governor : Politics: Dianne Feinstein's husband, Richard Blum, is a shrewd businessman, a friend of the famous, with a 'Lt. Columbo style' and a passion for distance running and Tibetan treks.", Los Angeles Times, May 27, 1990. Accessed June 12, 2013. "A lifelong San Franciscan, Blum was brought up in well-to-do circumstances.... Blum attended San Rafael Military Academy for a year, then went to prestigious Lowell High School."
  58. Stephen Gerald Breyer, The Future of the Court. Accessed June 12, 2013. "He graduated from San Francisco's prestigious Lowell High School in 1955 and went on to Stanford University, where he majored in philosophy and received his A.B. in 1959."
  59. Lowell High School – Red and White Yearbook (San Francisco, CA) – Class of 1956. 1956.
  60. Lowell High School year book 1962
  61. Music Roots, Dennis Marcellino. Accessed June 12, 2013. "Because of the changing tastes in popular music in America, in 1962 he switched to saxophone and became a vocalist/front man in his first rock band, The Spotliters, whom he worked with until 1965, when he also got married the month after he graduated from Lowell High School."
  62. "Bay Area's roll call of fame", SFGate.com, June 2, 2009.
  63. Yolandha, Friska. "Stephen Suleyman Schwartz: Dari Komunis Menjadi Muslim (Bag 1)", Republika (Indonesian newspaper), January 18, 2012. Accessed June 12, 2013. "Ayahnya berjualan buku dan ibunya adalah pekerja sosial. Keluarganya hijrah ke San Francisco, ketika dirinya masih kecil. Di kota itu, Schwartz menempuh pendidikan pada Lowell High School."
  64. Zane, Maitland (October 24, 1997). "African-American History Provides Melody for Oakland Singer". The San Francisco Chronicle (Final ed.). San Francisco, CA. p. EB 3. Tillery's singing career began at Lowell High....'When I graduated in '66' ....
  65. Terence Abad (Winter 2008). "Caught in the Headlines" (PDF). Lowell Alumni Association. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
  66. John V. Roos, US Ambassador to Japan, Asia Society. Accessed June 12, 2013. "Roos grew up in San Francisco and graduated from Lowell High School in 1973 before attending college at Stanford University, from which he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with honors and distinction in 1977."
  67. SF Giants President and Chief Operating Officer, Laurence M. Baer, San Francisco Giants. Accessed June 12, 2013. "The San Francisco Lowell High School graduate was the driving force behind every phase of the ballpark project..."
  68. "Giants President and CEO Larry Baer to deliver SF State Commencement keynote", San Francisco State University, April 2, 2013. Accessed June 12, 2013. "Baer attended nearby San Francisco Lowell High School, and said that SF State continues to be the influential community partner that he remembers from his youth in the public schools."
  69. Lowell Alumni Southern California Luncheon 4/9/05 Archived 2007-10-30 at the Wayback Machine (retrieved May 23, 2009).
  70. Nightengale, Bob. "HE COMES TO PRAY : Gill Byrd Wishes Teammates Would Understand Why God, Not Football, Comes First", Los Angeles Times, September 8, 1989. Accessed June 12, 2013. "Byrd's skin darkens with embarrassment as he recall his days at Lowell High School in San Francisco."
  71. Eric A. Cornell Autobiography, Nobel Prize. Accessed June 12, 2013. "Just before my final year of high school, my brother, sister and I moved with my mother to San Francisco. I spent my last year of high school there, at Lowell High School. Lowell High was a so-called 'magnet school,' drawing academically inclined students from all over the city."
  72. Ciabattari, Jane. "The Book on Aging Rockers", The Daily Beast, June 29, 2010. Accessed June 12, 2013. "After her parents were divorced and her mother remarried, she moved to San Francisco, where she attended Lowell High School and considered herself an 'unexceptional' student."
  73. Kashiwagi, Soji. "Nihonmachi: The Place to Be ", Discover Nikkei, March 14, 2007. Accessed June 12, 2013. "I attended Lowell High and San Francisco State University, but after school and on weekends the place to be for me was Nihonmachi."
  74. Barrios, Gregg. "The Rise and Fall and Rise of an Actor in Hollywood", Los Angeles Times, March 27, 1988. Accessed June 12, 2013. "But by the time he was attending San Francisco's Lowell High School, he'd become homogenized."
  75. Byrne, Peter. "Capital RapFrom revolutionary rapper to stockbroker to rapper again -- the long, strange trip of Paris, aka Oscar Jackson Jr.", SF Weekly, December 3, 2003. Accessed June 12, 2013. "The son of a medical doctor, Oscar Jackson Jr. grew up in the Haight and Western Addition neighborhoods of San Francisco.... He was, he says, an unremarkable student at Lowell High School, preferring to spend his time recording music with his DJ pal, 'Mad Mike' Hornsby."
  76. Staff. "THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE MARGARET CHO BUSINESS", The Sacramento Bee, August 18, 1995. Accessed June 12, 2013. "Her performing career began shortly thereafter – when she was expelled from San Francisco's Lowell High School and enrolled in the city's High School of the Performing Arts."
  77. Benfer, Amy. " The mysterious Mr. SnicketHe's been compared to Edward Gorey and Roald Dahl, but to know the true identity of the author behind the bestselling children's series, you must read this story. ", Salon, August 17, 2000. Accessed June 12, 2013. " The mysterious Mr. SnicketHe's been compared to Edward Gorey and Roald Dahl, but to know the true identity of the author behind the bestselling children's series, you must read this story."
  78. Wang, Oliver. "The Storyteller: An Interview with Alex Tse" Archived 2011-05-26 at the Wayback Machine, UCLA Asia Institute, July 17, 2009. Accessed June 12, 2013. "APA: You grew up in San Francisco, you attended Lowell High School, you came from an upwardly mobile family -- under other circumstances, you probably could have groomed yourself for business or law or science, etc. When did you realize you had a real drive to do something creative as a career?"
  79. https://www.facebook.com/Lowell-High-School-Class-of-1995-20-Year-Reunion-1399626483634863/
  80. Fred Topel. "Sorority Row Remake Scares its own Star" Archived 2009-04-05 at the Wayback Machine, SciFi Wire, April 3, 2009
  81. Boys Soccer All-City 2004–2005 Archived 2009-12-11 at the Wayback Machine, CIF San Francisco Section: Academic Athletic Association. Accessed June 12, 2013.
  82. CIF-SF: San Francisco Sports Information. Boys Soccer All-City 2003–2004 Archived 2009-12-11 at the Wayback Machine, CIF San Francisco Section: Academic Athletic Association. Accessed June 12, 2013.
  83. MTV Biography
  84. Kawanami, Tobi. "HIDDEN GEMS OF LOWELL: Rapper Golden Landis Von Jones". The Lowell. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  85. Pilkington, Ed "Adrian Lamo on Bradley Manning: 'I knew my actions might cost him his life'" "The Guardian", January 03, 2013. Accessed September 02, 2016. "More than two years after (WikiLeaks source) Chelsea Manning's arrest, the man who gave him up talks to Ed Pilkington about how he made the decision."
  86. Kirby, Carrie. "Alleged hacker grounded at home / Accused of breaking into N.Y. Times' system, he faces his fate with Zen serenity", San Francisco Chronicle, September 22, 2003. Accessed June 13, 2013. "Lamo attended three San Francisco high schools -- Lowell, the International Studies Academy and Raoul Wallenberg Traditional High School – but instead of graduating, he passed the California High School Proficiency Exam. "
  87. "Frank Kudelka NBA statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  88. Wildermuth, John. "William Coblentz dies; lawyer, UC ex-regent", San Francisco Chronicle, September 14, 2010. Accessed June 12, 2013. "Mr. Coblentz was born in San Francisco on July 28, 1922, the son of a prominent obstetrician. He went to Lowell High School, received his undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and his law degree from Yale in 1947."
  89. Gerebren, Janos. "SF Girls Chorus brings 'Tidings of Great Joy'" San Francisco Examiner, December 17, 2010. Accessed 12 October 2013. " Herbert Bielawa and his daughter, Rome-Prize winner Lisa Bielawa (Lowell High School and SFGC alumna) have contributed to the chorus repertory."
  90. "Sanders, Lorraine. A new shopping 'fix' - themed packages of products". sfgate.com. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  91. Liberatore, Paul (28 January 2011). "Radio Personality Carter B. Smith of Tiburon dies at 74". Marin Independent Journal. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.