Helen Bernstein High School

Helen Bernstein High School
Address
Map
1309 N. Wilton Place

Hollywood
,
California
90028
Information
Established2008
School districtLos Angeles Unified School District
PrincipalAlejandro Ramirez
Teaching staff34.51 (FTE)[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment640 (2018-19)[1]
Average class size25
Student to teacher ratio18.55[1]
Campus typeUrban
Color(s)Royal Blue  Black  and White 
SloganProviding Pathways for Long life success
Athletics conferenceCentral League
CIF Los Angeles City Section
MascotDragons
RivalsHollywood High School
Websitehttp://www.hbdragons.com/

Helen Bernstein High School is a public high school in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California. The school is named after educational reformer and former president of United Teachers Los Angeles, Helen Bernstein.[2]

History

During the planning stages, Helen Bernstein High School was known as Central Los Angeles New High School No. 1 and was planned to help relieve overcrowding at Hollywood and Marshall high schools.[3] It opened in the fall of 2008. It was also used as the high school setting for the hit TV show Glee.

One female student overdosed and died from drugs in the school restroom in 2022.[citation needed]

Campus

Bernstein occupies the former site of the Fox Television Center (formerly Metromedia Square, the longtime home of Fox Television station KTTV). Perkins+Will architects designed the buildings.[4]

Curriculum

Bernstein High School is a comprehensive school. The Academic Performance Excellence (APEX) Academy, a program geared toward low income families in East Hollywood, and the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Medicine (STEM) Academy also operate independently on the Helen Bernstein Campus.[5]

Athletics

The campus is home to the Dragons. Bernstein is home to sports including football, basketball, track and field, soccer, volleyball, softball, wrestling, swimming, cross country, cheerleading, and drill team.

In Track & Field, Varsity Boys were League Champions in 2011, first ever league title in school history; they also were League Champions in 2013 and 2021. The Varsity Girls Track team also were League Champions in 2012, 2013, 2021, and 2022.

The Varsity Girls Volleyball team were League Champions in 2011. In 2018 the Varsity Girls Volleyball team, under Coach Chad Finch, were once again league champions, going undefeated (10–0) in League. Citlaly Bastian made 1st team Div III, 2nd in MVP voting. The Varsity Girls Volleyball team won a back-to-back league championship in 2019, going 10–2 in League and 16–7 overall.

After going 4–36 since 2008, when the school opened, under a new coach the Varsity Football team were League Champions in 2012 with an overall record of 8–3. In 2013, they were 11–2 and lost to Poly in the semifinals 32–38; they were Central League Champions. The Varsity Football coach earned Coach of The Year By The L.A. Time in 2013. As of February 13, Head Football Coach Masaki Matsumoto stepped down as head coach. The Varsity Football team were once again league champs in 2022, going undefeated in League under Coach Luis Barajas. They lost to Manual Arts in the LA City Div III quarter-finals, 8-50.[6]

The Varsity Girls Cross Country team were the Central League Champs in 2013, going undefeated. They once again became league champs in 2021, going undefeated 6-0 in League and finished in 3rd at the CIF-LA City Div III Championships. The Varsity Girls Cross Country team held the league title for a second year in a row in 2022, going undefeated once again 6-0. They then went on to become the 2022 CIF-LA City Section Div III Champions under Coach Ambrose Fuerte and Coach Robin Viso, bringing home Bernstein's first girls city title in any sport.[7]

The Varsity Boys Cross Country team won their first league title in 2021, going undefeated 6-0. They finished in 3rd at the CIF-LA City Div III Championships. They were the back-to-back Central League Champs in 2022, going undefeated 6-0 for the second year in a row. The Varsity Boys Cross Country team were the runner-up champs in the 2022 CIF-LA City Section Div III Championships, losing the city title to Verdugo Hills by 4 points.[8]

In 2015, under a new Varsity Coach Phillip Rogers, the Bernstein Basketball team won the CIF-LA City Section Division II title against Franklin. All City Players were Joe'l Towers on 1st team, Ishaq Robinson and Warren Reis on 2nd Team. In 2016, Coach Rogers and the Varsity Boys Basketball team went to the CIF-LA City Section Div II championship and defeated Venice, winning the city title for two years in a row.

In the Fall of 2019, the Bernstein Teaching and Coaching staff lost a member: Terry Casey died in a hiking accident. He taught in the Sp. Education department and coached wrestling and swimming at Bernstein.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Helen Bernstein High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  2. ^ "Helen Bernstein, 52, Ex-Leader Of Los Angeles Teachers Union". The New York Times. April 9, 1997. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  3. ^ "Central LA Area New HS #1, 55.98014." Los Angeles Unified School District. Retrieved on February 9, 2009.
  4. ^ Dickinson, Elizabeth Evitts (April 2008). "L.A.'s Learning Curve". ARCHITECT Magazine. Archived from the original on 2009-01-05. In the case of Helen Bernstein High School in Hollywood, Perkins+Will had to design a facility with 2,600 seats on a mere 12.4 acres. The site is bordered by the Hollywood Freeway on one side and an urban neighborhood on the other.
  5. ^ Mikailian, Arin (2008-10-09). "Officials, Educators Inaugurate New High School". Los Angeles Independent. Archived from the original on 2009-01-05.
  6. ^ "2022 CIF LA City Section Football Championships". MaxPreps.
  7. ^ "RECAP Familiar Faces, Teams Back on Top of LA City Section". MileSplit. FloSports.
  8. ^ "RECAP Familiar Faces, Teams Back on Top of LA City Section". MileSplit. FloSports.

34°05′44″N 118°18′50″W / 34.095623°N 118.314021°W / 34.095623; -118.314021