Within the school, there are many Small Learning Communities, including the School for Environmental Studies, the school's only California Partnership Academy, the Performing Arts Academy, the Artistic Vision Academy, the STARS Academy, the Renaissance Academy, and the Social Justice Academy. The School also houses a School for Advanced Studies and a Gifted/High Ability Magnet.
Marshall has an enrollment of approximately 2,000 students and a teaching staff of approximately 100 (on an
FTE basis).
The school's mascot is the "Barrister." The school's service organization is the Continentals. A
bust of John Marshall stands in the center of the Senior Court.
History
Designed by architect George M. Lindsey in the
Collegiate Gothic style, and constructed in 1930, John Marshall High School first opened its doors on January 26, 1931, with approximately 1,200 students and 48 teachers. Joseph Sniffen, for whom the auditorium was named, served as the Principal, while Hugh Boyd and Geraldine Keith acted as Marshall's first Vice-Principals. The football field was named in Boyd's honor, while the library was named for Keith.
During the first semester of the school's existence, the faculty and students cooperatively selected the school
motto,
seal, and colors. The school motto, Veritas Vincit (Truth Conquers...), was an easy choice since this was a favorite sentiment of John Marshall. The school seal shows an open Book of Learning, behind which is projected the
scales of justice with Veritas Vincit emblazoned on the bar. Two shades of blue became the official colors of the high school; the moonlight blue of midnight and the sunlight blue of dawn. Since the color blue is symbolic of truth, the choice of colors harmonized with the school's motto. John Montapert and Henry Suykida, two Marshall students who graduated in the Winter Class of 1939, composed "Alma Mater", the official school song.
Following the
Sylmar earthquake of 1971, some of Marshall's buildings were condemned. The cafeteria was torn down, but the Los Feliz community, led by "Citizens to Save Marshall" activists Joanne Gabrielson, Alberta Burke, Sherril Boller, and Nina Mohi tirelessly campaigned to save the unique Collegiate
Gothic Main Building. In 1975, this building was closed for structural strengthening and all classes moved to temporary
bungalows. In September 1980 the refurbished Main Building was opened. A new building now houses the library, cafeteria, and science classrooms. Mike Haynes Stadium, the school's football and track stadium, also dates to 1981.
In one basketball game in 1986
Jerry Simon, who that season was the Section 3-A Los Angeles City Player of the Year, scored 69 points for Marshall, establishing a new single-game scoring record for a high school player in Los Angeles, as the team won by a score of 98–61.[4][5][6]
Notable alumni
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's
verifiability policy. Please
improve this article by removing names that do not have independent
reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate
citations.(October 2021)
Bob Arbogast, Los Angeles talk show host and Chicago disc jockey
Pete Arbogast, Hall of Fame sportscaster, longtime Voice of the USC Trojans
Bill Toomey, 1968 Olympic decathlon champion; taught at Marshall
Hal Uplinger, NBA player
Baltimore Bullets 1947–1953, CBS sports and entertainment producer, first to use the instant replay technique still used in TV sportscasting
Bob Vickman, American pilot and also served as one of the first pilots in the Israeli Air Force. He died in defense of the newly reborn Jewish state