Manual Arts High School is a secondary
public school in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California, United States.
History
Manual Arts High School was founded in 1910 in the middle of bean fields, one-half mile from the nearest bus stop. It was the third high school in Los Angeles, California after
Los Angeles High School and
L.A. Polytechnic High School, and is the oldest high school still on its original site in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school that would eventually become
Lincoln High had been founded decades earlier but was still an elementary school at this time.
One of the school's first teachers was
Ethel Percy Andrus (1911 - 1915). In 1916 Dr. Andrus became California's first female high school principal at Lincoln High School in East Los Angeles. She later founded
AARP
AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is an interest group in the United States focusing on issues affecting those 50 and older. The organization, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C., said it had more than 38 ...
.
After three semesters in an abandoned grammar school building, Manual Arts High School was opened on Vermont Avenue. After the
1933 Long Beach earthquake
The 1933 Long Beach earthquake took place on March 10 at south of downtown Los Angeles. The epicenter was offshore, southeast of Long Beach, California, on the Newport–Inglewood Fault. The earthquake had a magnitude estimated at 6.4 , and ...
, the entire campus was rebuilt, constituting the present Manual Arts High School campus adjacent to the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the Los Angeles Coliseum or L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park, Los Angeles, Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Conceived as a hal ...
and
USC USC may refer to:
Education
United States
* Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico
* University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina
* ...
.
It was in the
Los Angeles City High School District until 1961, when it merged into LAUSD.
In 1995, "The Arts" became a
Pacific Bell Education First Demonstration Site joining thirteen other demonstration sites in California, and in 1996 the school was named a
California Distinguished School. In 1998, Manual Arts was officially granted
Digital High School status.
The 2005–2006 school year opened with
small learning communities (SLCs), three on each track totaling nine SLCs. Manual Arts was relieved by the opening of
Santee Education Complex in 2005.
West Adams High School
The school was relieved in 2007 when
West Adams Preparatory High School opened. During the same year, a section of the Manual Arts attendance zone was transferred to
Belmont High School.
In July 2008, the school became part of
MLA Partner Schools through LAUSD's newly created iDesign Schools Division. MLA Partner Schools, in collaboration with West Ed, will operate Manual Arts on a 5-year performance contract approved by the LAUSD School Board.
The school was expected be relieved by Central Region High School 16 (which became
Dr. Maya Angelou High School (Los Angeles, California)) when that school opened in 2011, and by Augustus Hawkins High School when that school opens in 2012.
In the 2011–2012 school year, Manual Arts will return to a traditional school calendar schedule. As a result, several of the school's small learning communities will be restructured and the number of security on campus will be reduced. The 'Blewett Football Field is named in honor of James Blewett who was a standout Manual Arts football player and longtime Head coach with 9 Los Angeles City titles and 225 wins.
In summer of 2022, Manual Arts High School selected its first Latino principal. During Alejandro Macias’ tenure, he helped the school meet or exceed all metrics measured by LAUSD’s Data Dig program, which aims to drive continuous improvement.
Student body
The racial makeup of the school is mostly Latinos and African Americans, and the neighborhood surrounding the school reflects the same makeup.
During the 2004–2005 school year, MAHS had 3,766 students, including:
* 3,054
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
s (81.1%)
* 701
African Americans
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...
(18.6%)
* 5
White American
White Americans (sometimes also called Caucasian Americans) are Americans who identify as white people. In a more official sense, the United States Census Bureau, which collects demographic data on Americans, defines "white" as " person having ...
s (1%)
* 4
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants).
Although this term had historically been used fo ...
s (1%)
* 2
Native Americans (1%)
As of 2010, the school's dropout rate was 68%. More than 90% of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch provided by the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Notable alumni

*
Jon Arnett (1935–2021), football player, member of
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...
, class of 1952
*
Gus Arriola, cartoonist and creator of ''
Gordo'', class of 1935
*
Verna Arvey, musician and writer
*
Roy L. Ash, (1918–2012), president of
Litton Industries, budget director
*
Ted Bates, football player
*
Paul Blair (baseball), professional baseball player, Yankees, Orioles, Reds
*
Lyman Bostock, professional baseball player, class of 1968
*
Steve Broussard, former NFL running back, class of 1985
*
Nacio Herb Brown, songwriter, class of 1914
*
Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, member of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
and the
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member Board of Supervisors, governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States.
History
On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Se ...
, class of 1950
*
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Award ...
, film director
*
Leland Curtis, artist, environmentalist, and Antarctic explorer
*
Jimmy Doolittle,
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
aviator, class of 1914
*
Carl Earn (1921–2007), tennis player
*
Tom Fears (1922–2000), Pro Football Hall of Fame,
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
, class of 194
*
Earl C. Gay (1902–1975),
Los Angeles City Council
The Los Angeles City Council is the Legislature, lawmaking body for the Government of Los Angeles, city government of Los Angeles, California, the second largest city in the United States. It has 15 members who each represent the 15 city council ...
member, 1933–45
*
Kathryn Grayson
Kathryn Grayson (born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick; February 9, 1922 – February 17, 2010) was an American actress and coloratura soprano.
From the age of 12, Grayson trained as an opera singer. She was under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ...
, singer and film actress
*
Philip Guston, artist, class of 1930
*
Robin Harris, comedian and actor, class of 1971
*
Ed Heinemann, self-taught aerospace engineer and aircraft designer for
Douglas Aircraft Company.
*
Virginia Jaramillo, painter
*
Jimmie Jones, football player
*
Hubie Kerns, runner, swimmer, and Hollywood stuntman
*
Lynton Richards Kistler (1897–1993), lithography printmaker, artist.
*
Goodwin Knight, 31st
governor of California
The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard.
Established in the Constit ...
, class of 1914
*
Stanley Knowles,
Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
Member of Parliament and
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...
House Leader
*
Leo K. Kuter, film art director
*
Mittie Lawrence, actress
*
Harold Lehman, artist. Class of 1931.
*
Woodley Lewis, football player
*
Ned Mathews, football player
*
Gerson Mayen, midfielder for
Chivas USA
Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conf ...
of
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
, class of 2005
*
Jimmie McDaniel, African American tennis player and track and field athlete
*
Ernie Orsatti, outfielder for the
St. Louis Cardinals
*
Victor Orsatti,
Hollywood agent, film and television producer
*
Dwayne O'Steen, football player
*
Jerry D. Page,
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
, class of 1932
*
Dwayne Polee, former professional basketball player, class of 1981
*
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, Pollock was widely noticed for his "Drip painting, drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household ...
, artist, class of 1930 (left before graduation)
*
Marie Prevost, actress, class of 1916
*
Mark Ridley-Thomas,
Los Angeles Board of Supervisors member, class of 1972
*
Rachel Robinson, American former professor and registered nurse, as well as the widow of professional baseball player
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...
*
Eugene Selznick (1930–2012), Hall of Fame volleyball player
*
Oscar Sorto, MLS player for the Los Angeles Galaxy, class of 2012
*
Andre Spencer (1964–2020), basketball player
*
Scott Stephen, football player
*
Irving Stone, author
*
James B. Taylor, educator, class of 1945
*
John Floyd Thomas Jr., serial killer
*
Lawrence Tibbett
Lawrence Mervil Tibbett (November 16, 1896 – July 15, 1960) was an American opera singer and recording artist who also performed as a film actor and radio personality. A baritone with large, deep, and dark-timbred voice. His dynamic range (in ...
, baritone,
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
, class of 1914
*
Ansei Uchima, artist, class of 1940
[Uchima, Ansho Mas and Shinmoto, Minoru. Seinan – Southwest Los Angeles: Stories and Experiences From Residents of Japanese Ancestry. (Glendale: J & L Press, Inc., 2010). p. 195.]
*
Paul Winfield, actor
References
External links
{{authority control
Educational institutions established in 1910
Los Angeles Unified School District schools
Public high schools in Los Angeles
1910 establishments in California
Exposition Park (Los Angeles neighborhood)