Marshall Fundamental Secondary School

Marshall Fundamental Secondary School
Location
990 North Allen Avenue, Pasadena, California
Information
Type	Public, Secondary
Motto	Pride, Tradition, Excellence
Established	1925
School district	PUSD
Principal	Mark Anderson
Grades	6 to 12
Campus size	Small
Campus type	school
Color(s)	White, Blue, and Red
Mascot	Bald Eagle
Website	[1]

Marshall Fundamental Secondary School is a secondary school located in Pasadena, California at 990 North Allen Avenue, and is part of the Pasadena Unified School District. It is often cited for its work with underprivileged students from ethnic minorities and low-income families.^[1]

History

Named after the honorable United States Supreme Court Justice John Marshall, ground was broken for construction in 1924, with several expansions in the 1930s (North Building), 1960s (Cafeteria), 1970s (Bungalows) and 2000s (Fine Arts Building). Marshall was a Junior High School from its opening until 1972 when it became a Fundamental School (K-12). It was reopened as John Marshall Fundamental Junior and Senior High School. The sixth grade level was added in 1985.

Curriculum

Morning bell rings at 7:50 A.M. Tuesday through Friday. Marshall's scheduling consists of six 60-minute periods, a 10-minute nutrition period, and a 45-minute lunch. The school has also adopted the shortened Monday schedule, as to provide faculty a chance to discuss student progress. However, instead of releasing children earlier as most other PUSD schools, Marshall starts 80-minutes later, opening at 9:40 A.M.

Marshall has numerous academic, elective, athletic, and extracurricular classes; including a wide array of AP courses. Its AP curriculum includes English Language and Literature; In mathematics, Statistics and Calculus (AB/BC); In science Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Science; In Social Studies, US Government and History, Macroeconomics, and World History. Marshall also maintains Studio Art and Music Theory programs, as well as Spanish Language.

Activities

Marshall hosts several intercity and interstate programs such as NHS, CSF, CCA, Unidos, Puente,and Key Club. Many clubs are overbooked with applicants and volunteers, which creates both income and competition within organizations. Marshall also has several teams in academic competitions, such as regular participation in the AMC, Poetry Out Loud Recitation, National Science Bowl, and more recently has created a national-finalist Junior 8 Summit team. Marshall also has a superb music program and has participated multiple times in the All-District Festival.

Marshall Athletics include male football, baseball, soccer, volleyball, cross country, track & field, swimming, and tennis; and female softball, soccer, volleyball, swimming, cross country, track and field, and tennis. They are all named "Marshall Eagles" and their uniforms display White, Blue, and Red, which changes for some teams with away games.

Music

Marshall Fundamental is most known among the City of Pasadena for its outstanding music program. Under little funding from the state, the school has been able to raise a successful Marching Band, Drumline, and Colorguard, as well as Winter Drumline and Colorguard, and maintain a standard of excellence even among the beginning groups.

ℚ==Performance==

Jay Matthews, an educator and education reporter for the Washington Post, listed Marshall Fundamental as the 130th best High School as of 2007, chiefly due to its vast number of underprivileged students, high graduation rate, and 70% free and reduced lunch program. This was enough to be singled out for the cover of Newsweek, and was featured exclusively as one of America's best schools. Marshall was first posted in 2003 as 119th, but fell in the following years to 255 in 2005, and 286 in 2006. It saw a jump in the last school year, rising 156 places, back into the top 10%. their band is one of the best band their is.One of the best players are Victoria Martinez.

Notable alumni

• Paul Rodriguez Jr., comedian
• Lark Voorhies, actress, Saved by the Bell
• Jaleel White, actor, Family Matters
• Daniel Macioce, Jr, personality

Trivia

• Frequently used as a filming location for television commercials and motion pictures, including 13 Going on 30, Max Keeble's Big Move, Transformers, the Disney TV show Phil of the Future. It is currently being used as a filming location for We Bought a Zoo starring Matt Damon

• The Drama Program read and practiced the play "Bang Bang You're Dead" for several months, and scheduled the play to be released in April, 2007. Coincidentally, this was preceded by the Virginia Tech Massacre within a week, which drew media attention to the play. Due to political pressure and parental complaints, the drama teacher, David Pitts, was forced to postpone the play until May of that year.

References

1. ^ Matthews, Jay. "Newsweek, "The Role of the Principle"". Newsweek. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18754330/site/newsweek/page/4/. Retrieved 2007-10-15. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Marshall Fundamental website