Quartz Hill High School

Quartz Hill High School
Address
6040 West Avenue L Quartz Hill, California
Coordinates
Information
School type	Public high school
Established	1964
Principal	Matt Anderson
Grades	9–12
Campus type	Suburban
Color(s)
Mascot	The Rebel
Accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Newspaper	The Ubiquity
Yearbook	The Cavalier
Website	Quartz Hill H.S.

Quartz Hill High School is a public, co-educational high school located in Quartz Hill, California. Founded in 1964, it is the third oldest comprehensive high school in the Antelope Valley Union High School District.

Campus

The basic layout of Quartz Hill High School's 80-acre (320,000 m²) campus is a courtyard surrounded by several quads and athletic buildings, a design that is typical of high schools in Southern California. The school's campus was originally designed for 1,800 students, but over two times that number are currently enrolled. In the school year 2008-2009, there is a reported number of over 3000 students now attending the school, some being foreign exchange students.

From the summer of 2003 to the fall of 2004, Quartz Hill High School's campus underwent a $15 million modernization that updated a majority of the school's classrooms.

Student body

Quartz Hill High School consists of approximately 3,200 students and growing. Most of the school's students live in Quartz Hill, Palmdale and Lancaster, cities in the Antelope Valley of northern Los Angeles County.

• American Indian: 0.8%
• Pacific Islander: 0.03%
• Filipino: 1.8%
• Asian: 3.2%
• African American: 8.4%
• Hispanic: 15.3%
• White: 70.21%

Academics

Quartz Hill High School is one of 65 high schools in California to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme, which began at the school in 1998. Advanced Placement (AP) classes are also available in nearly all academic departments.

Activities

Activities at Quartz Hill High School include

• Associated Student Body (ASB), which organizes dances, assemblies and other events that promote school spirit
• American Cancer Society (ACS)
• National Honor Society (NHS)
• Model United Nations
• Animal Rights Club
• Amnesty International Club
• Key Club
• Hiking Club
• Young Democrats Club
• Young Republicans Club
• Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
• Future Farmers of America (FFA)
• Multicultural Club
• The Ubiquity, a student-run newspaper
• Fight Aids Now (FAN) Club
• California Scholarship Federation (CSF)
• Spanish Club
• French Club
• Asian Culture Club
• Swimming and Waterman Club
• Yearbook
• Marine Biology Club
• Cheerleading/Pep Squad
• Mock Trial
• Christian Club
• Vocal Association
• Anime Club
• Japanese Culture Club
• Hip Hop Club
• Drama Club
• Mixed Martial Arts
• Gay–straight alliance
• Speech/Debate Club
• Art Club
• Take Down Club
• Tech Club
• Parkour Club

Sports

The sports program at Quartz Hill High School includes football, baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, cross country, track and field, tennis, swimming, wrestling, volleyball, golf and dance.

The mascot of Quartz Hill High School is the Rebel, a confederate soldier. Rebel teams began interscholastic competition in the mid-1960s.

Mission statements

Mission Statement: The mission of Quartz Hill High School is to produce responsible citizens who are able to communicate effectively, set and achieve realistic goals, and who become lifelong learners.

Vision Statement: Quartz Hill High School desires to provide the staff with training, instruction and modeling to improve the instructional strategies, curriculum offerings, and learning for all students. It is the school’s vision that all students will reinforce their fundamental academic skills through the use of appropriate instruction, current technology, and an environment most conducive to learning. The school desires to equip staff with the skills which will assist in providing all students opportunities for post-high school success.

Planned school attack

On December 15, 2005, two former Quartz Hill students were arrested for planning a Columbine style massacre at the school. The two youths allegedly intended to attack the school on February 14, 2006. News reports described them as goths and indicated that they had accumulated knives, ammunition, a gas mask and bomb-making instructions. They were charged on December 19, 2005 with conspiracy to commit murder.

Tensions flared again on January 13, 2006, when a rumor that the former students who had been arrested would again attempt to attack the school using pipe-bombs. According to Principal Mark Bryant, the planned attacks were merely "rumor, upon rumor, upon rumor." This "Friday the 13th" rumor was passed between students via internet messages and cell-phone text messages. In response to the threat, nearly 50% of the student body was absent from the campus by the time the school day had finished. In the end, the only disruption to the day was a firecracker explosion within a trash can during the school's lunch break.

Notable alumni

• Kiel McClung - Professional Soccer Player USL First Division
• Michelle Perry - Silver medalist in heptathlon, at NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2001, competitor in the 2004 Summer Olympics.
• Joseph Castanon - American Child Actor
• Bradley Steven Perry - American Teen Actor

External links

• Official Web Site
• Academic Performance Index

• http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_22118.htm