Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby Knolls, and some parts of the cities of Signal Hill and Lakewood. Polytechnic (more commonly known as Poly) is the flagship high school of the Long Beach Unified School District. It is a large urban high school with about 4,000 students.
Polytechnic has long been distinguished in both academics and athletics. The PACE (Program of Accelerated Curricular Experiences, founded in 1975 by Dr. Nancy Gray, a teacher and administrator for the Long Beach School system), and the CIC (Center of International Curriculum) magnet programs boast more total University of California admissions than any other high school in California. In 2005, Sports Illustrated magazine named Polytechnic the "Sports School of the Century," in recognition of the school's badminton, baseball, basketball, football, track, cross country, swimming, water polo, volleyball, wrestling, tennis, golf, and softball teams. Polytechnic has also received numerous prizes for its music program, including six Grammy Awards, two of them being "golden signature" Grammy Awards. Long Beach Poly has sent more players to the NFL than any other high school in the country, sending over 60 throughout the history of the school. Long Beach Poly was also ranked number one in a list of the best high school athletic programs in the nation by Sports Illustrated.
History
Early years
Long Beach Polytechnic High School began offering classes in 1895 in order to help educate the growing population of Long Beach. The first classes were at the Methodist Tabernacle Chapel, and the first principal was Walter S. Bailey. The first graduating class was in 1897 and only had one student. During this same year, classes were moved to Chautauqua Hall at Fourth Street and Pine Avenue as work began on the new Long Beach High School. Long Beach High School was completed in 1898 and featured four classrooms and an assembly hall.
The following year, the Long Beach High School Athletic Association was formed.
In 1903, the school yearbook, Caerulea, was first published.
Football and basketball programs began in 1904.
The first student government was established in 1906.
David Burcham became school principal the following year, a position he would hold until 1941.
The girls' basketball program won three consecutive state championships, from 1907 to 1909.
In 1911, Long Beach Poly moved to the location at 16th Street and Atlantic, offering more space and amenities.
JROTC began in 1917, and an influenza epidemic swept through the school population.
The following year, rabbits began invading the playing fields, inspiring the track team to call themselves the Jackrabbits; this eventually became the official school mascot.
The athletic field was dedicated as "David Burcham Field" in 1924 to honor the long-serving principal.
During much of the 1920s, Poly was the largest high school west of the Mississippi River in terms of student population.
A new Mediterranean Revival auditorium was designed by William Horace Austin in 1930, and constructed in 1931. The Long Beach earthquake damaged the school in 1933. Following the earthquake, bricks from the damage were sold in order to pay for a memorial flagpole which still stands. In 1935, a new science building was built and the auditorium was remodeled by architect Hugh Davies. The remodeling included PWA Moderne, Streamline Moderne, and Art Deco design. A new administration building was completed the following year.
In 1937, Poly graduated over 1,000 students for the first time.
1940s–1970s
The school celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1945.
Wooden bleachers that had lined the athletic fields burned down in 1952 and the new Veterans Memorial Stadium became the new home field for the Jackrabbits.
The library was completed in 1953.
In 1969, a racist leaflet was published, prompting approximately 100 Euro-American and African-American students to fight, leaving 24 students injured.
Homecoming titles (King and Queen) were ended in 1971 due to racial tensions.
In 1975, the Program of Additional Curricular Experiences (PACE) began, one of the first high school programs to offer advanced college placement courses. Badminton began in 1977, and girls' track and gymnastics teams started the following year.
1980s–present
The Center for International Commerce (CIC) began in 1982.