[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 125 (Monday, July 31, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1566-E1567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  HONORING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF LONG BEACH POLYTECHNIC HIGH SCHOOL

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                           HON. STEPHEN HORN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 31, 1995
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute the 100th anniversary 
of Long Beach Polytechnic High School--a much-loved, venerable 
institution in Long Beach, CA, which has been producing scholars and 
champions for the past century.
  Poly high, as it is affectionately known, had humble beginnings in 
the chapel of a local church, but a strong--for the time--starting 
enrollment. At that time, 1895, Long Beach was a modest village of 
approximately 2,000 residents. The Federal census counted 2,252 in 
1900. Though small in number, these early citizens saw learning as a 
large part of their children's lives. The first school had begun in 
1885, with under a dozen students in a tent loaned by the local 
postmaster, when the community numbered 12 families. Ten years later, 
with over 100 elementary school students studying in their own 
building, an election was held on September 3, 1895, to determine 
whether a high school district should be formed in Long Beach. The vote 
in favor was unanimous. Two weeks later--in an era when education 
beyond the eighth grade was not the norm--43 9th, 10th, and 11th 
graders began classes with a faculty of two: Professor Walter Bailey 
and Mrs. Hattie Mason Willard.
  Three years later, in 1898, the community's strong desire for a high 
school education for one and all supported the opening of a separate 
high school building--the first in Los Angeles County outside of the 
city of Los Angeles. They even levied a special tax on themselves to 
raise the $10,000 to cover the city's part of the construction costs.
  The new high school was known as American Avenue High School for its 
location and offered a strong, but limited program primarily aimed at 
preparing students for college. The quality of instruction was so high 
that 6 years after opening its doors, the high school was accredited by 
the University of California, thus permitting its graduates to enter 
the university without passing special examinations.

[[Page E 1567]]

  By 1910, Long Beach had rapidly grown into a city of 18,000 and its 
high school was overflowing with students. Residents not only saw a 
need for a larger high school, but also for an expanded curriculum that 
would offer technical-vocational courses in addition to the college 
preparatory classes. They wisely knew that such a school would appeal 
to many young people who had not been interested in the more 
traditional type of educational program.
  That year, a $240,000 bond issue was passed to build a new type of 
high school that would offer technical-vocational courses as well as a 
college preparatory curriculum. In 1911, it opened its doors at the 
corner of 16th Street and Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach and has stood 
there ever since as Long Beach Polytechnic High School. In 1910, the 
site was considered so far on the outskirts of town that ``only jack 
rabbits were out there.'' This
 somewhat derisive comment led to the selection of Poly's mascot, the 
jack rabbit. Bearing the deceptively benign title of the Mighty Jack 
Rabbits, Poly High's athletic teams have gone on to win numerous 
championships and to produce many professionals and Olympic athletes.

  In addition to offering a well-rounded, polytechnic curriculum 
designed to meet the needs of all the community's young people, Poly 
has also provided experiences in self-governing for its students. In 
the early part of this century, student government was not a common 
activity in high schools. But a Poly teacher during this era, Miss Jane 
Harnet, worked to add this important learning activity to the school's 
courses. In the 1913-14 Poly student yearbook, the Cerulea--from the 
adjective meaning of the color sky blue--student Stanley Harvey wrote: 
``The students of the Long Beach Polytechnic High School have a 
privilege not generally accorded in most high schools, in that they 
have an organized student body with both elective and appointive 
offices who have charge of all assemblies, entertainments, literary 
activities, etc., provided that they pass the two faculty members of 
the Commission.''
  The Long Beach community's commitment to the finest educational 
experiences for all students also extended to students of varied 
backgrounds. Poly High has long-served as a model for providing a 
first-rate education for a multi-ethnic student body. The student body 
has been integrated from the school's first days, and Poly High has a 
decades-long tradition of educating young people to appreciate and 
respect those of differing backgrounds and cultures. In the years 
following the Second World War, Japanese-Americans returning from the 
relocation camps sent their children there--the same school that their 
parents had attended in the 1920's and 1930's. Those Japanese-American 
sons and daughters who enrolled in the 1940's and returned to Long 
Beach saw their children later join a large, racially mixed student 
body of African-Americans, Anglos, and Latinos. With over 40,000 
Cambodians in Long Beach and many Vietnamese and overseas Chinese, Poly 
High today embraces a large Southeast Asian population as well.
  Recently, I visited Poly High and met with the cadet corps as well as 
students in American Government. What an outstanding group of young 
Americans. The cadets were energetic, dedicated, and motivated beyond 
their years.
  In many ways, alumni from Poly High follow their school's motto: 
Enter to learn, go forth to serve. From celebrities such as Van 
Johnson, Billie Jean King, Marilyn Horne, and young film star Cameron 
Diaz; to countless community activists to heroes of the First and 
Second World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf war; students 
from Poly have made their mark. One graduate, Lorraine Miller Collins, 
became Long Beach's major philantrophist--funding the Miller Children's 
Hospital, a rare book room in the public library, and an international 
house and Japanese garden at California State University, Long Beach.
  I am pleased that my two children are Poly graduates, as are three of 
my staff members. My wife, Nini, served as president of the parent-
teacher association and, for many years, was also a member of the Poly 
High Community Interracial Committee. The PACE program at Poly has 
attracted bright students of all ethnicities and races from all parts 
of the city. The number of college acceptances is proof that this fine 
high school is truly producing scholars and champions.
  Beginning near the end of the 19th century in a small building on the 
outskirts of town, Poly High has grown through the 20th century to 
become a leading urban educational institution. Its history is one of 
community commitment to a quality education for all. Its graduates are 
models of the value a community receives in return for an early 
investment in and commitment to education. Today, Long Beach 
Polytechnic High School stands as testimony to the importance placed on 
education by the citizens--then and now--of Long Beach, CA.
  Congratulations again on your 100th birthday, Poly High, may you have 
many more years of service to our community, our State, and our Nation.


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