John Muir High Staff Receives National Grant

By Brian Charles, Star News Staff Writer
04/16/2010 02:22:58 PM PDT

With the help of a grant secured by the Pasadena Education Foundation, a team of John Muir High School teachers and administrators in the Engineering and Science Academy will head to Philadelphia this summer.

The group will attend seminars that will help the school build on recent successes, according to district officials.

Money for the trip comes from a planning grant provided by the National Academy Foundation.

"I am so proud of our team's accomplishments and look forward to expanding and enhancing the achievements of our academies," said Muir High School Principal Sheryl Orange.

Funded by the James Irvine Foundation, the grant was secured through the Pasadena Educational Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support educational programs, students and teachers of the Pasadena Unified School District, which serves Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre.

Pasadena Unified School District adopted the academies as part of its college and career pathways during its reform effort three years ago, said Edwin Diaz, district superintendent. The reforms made the high school curriculum at Muir much more rigorous and at the same time more relevant to students, he said.

Students at Muir are placed in one of four academies that integrate themes like Engineering and Environmental Science into the school's regular college preparatory curriculum. Teams of teachers, counselors and administrators in each academy work
daily with students to identify, explore and build skills in academic subject areas where students have a particular interest and aptitude Diaz said.

"The college and career pathways initiative at John Muir High School is winning distinction at the national level, and is a testament to the community's investment in the reinvention of John Muir," he said.

The National Academy Foundation works to sustain a national network of career academies to support the development of America's youth toward personal and professional success in high school, in higher education, and in the work force.

brian.charles@sgvn.com
626-578-6300, ext. 4494

Attention Ralphs' Shoppers!

John Muir High School is now signed up with Ralphs Market. If you have a Ralphs Reward card please visit the Ralphs website and register your card, then when you shop at Ralphs they will make a donation to Muir. It's that easy! If you don't have a Ralphs Reward card then visit your neighborhood Ralphs and get one - they're free and you'll earn savings too.

Once you have your Rewards Card go to www.ralphs.com and create an account so that you can sign up to get rewards for Muir.

After you create the account sign in and look for the "Edit Community Contribution" information and input the 5-digit code for Muir which is "92027."

From then on every time you shop use your rewards card and know that you helping Muir!

Target Stores Support Schools
"Take Charge of Education"

How the Program Works
You shop, Muir benefits. It's that simple. And your REDcard^SM makes it possible.

Here's how to participate:

1. Apply and get approved for a REDcard.
2. Enroll in Take Charge of Education and designate a K-12 school.
3. Start shopping with your REDcard.

Donations to Schools

We'll track purchases made by participating REDcard holders, then send a no-strings-attached donation check directly to the school principal.

Checks are distributed once a year. If the total of accumulated donations is less than $25, the amount carries over to the next payment period. You can track your school's progress at Target.com/tcoe

VICTOR WRIGHT RECEIVES LETTERMAN JACKET
David Rutherford
March 6, 2010

     Hall-of-Fame alumnus Victor Wright today was presented with a custom letterman jacket, paid for by his Muir High classmates and Pasadena Star-News readers who responded to an article indicating he had no such jacket to adorn his recently acquired honorary varsity football letter. Wright, who suffered a spinal injury as a sophomore during a game in 1976, has been paralyzed from the neck down for more than 33 years. He was presented with an honorary varsity letter at a Nov. 16, 2009 halftime ceremony at Muir's Walton Field during a game against Arcadia High, which the 0-5 Mustangs won, 27-7. The Star-News ran an article the next day, which revealed Wright had earned two other football letters at Muir and was a five-sport letterman at Eliot Middle School (football, baseball, track, gymnastics and volleyball)
     However, Wright admitted he had no jacket for the letters, which were in a bedroom dresser drawer. An out-pouring of support followed, as a half dozen readers sent in checks to the newspaper made out to Wright, totaling

$205. Victor's classmates, who held their 30-year reunion last November, which he attended, picked up the remaining cost of customizing the $373 jacket with a portion of the proceeds from their weekend activities.      Also discovered in Wright's drawer was another honorary varsity letter given to Wright in 1977 at a varsity football team awards banquet, attended by the late former University of Michigan Head Coach Bo Schembechler. The Wolverines were in town for the 1978 Rose Bowl game. Schembechler heard about Wright's story and came to the banquet at Brookside Golf Club to present him with a helmet and football, which still hang on his bedroom wall.

   Wright, who turns 49 this month, graduated on schedule with his class in 1979. Ten years later, he became one of the first quadriplegics to earn a college degree, through a program for students with disabilities at Los Angeles City College. He went on to co-found the non-profit organization Family of Friends International (www.familyoffriendsinternational.org), which provides relief to victims of natural disasters. For these efforts, Wright was elected to the John Muir High School Alumni Hall of Fame in 2007.

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the New Field

     Remarkable as it may seem, my alma mater, John Muir High, FINALLY has a "quality" football field to play home games on and the stadium is not far behind. I graduated in 1970 and even then we played "home games" across town at Horrell Field (now Robinson Stadium), at PCC (Pasadena City College). Which meant that we always traveled to watch the Mustangs play football during my days at Muir. 

    It is called Walton Field and is named for Al "Weary" Walton. Coach Walton was a Muir Tech coach who, in 1934, won Muir's first State Championship in high school sports. The track and field was rededicated to his memory. A commemorative plaque on the large rock located on the southeast corner of the field was originally placed there during the John Muir College days. Discussion around naming the stadium continue. The names of a few of the great track & field and football coaches that have led Muir to its many CIF titles and championship meets are being considered.

On Tuesday, January 17th, the sun arose over the Muir marquee for the final time The marquee that was installed in 1982 (or there about) has been unusable for the past 5+ years due to the destructive nature that was supposed to bring improvements to the campus during the Proposition "Y" days.

Removing the Old Marquee

By 9:00 that morning the removal of the old marquee had been completed and the installation of the new marquee had begun...

Preparing the Pole

Installing the New Marquee

3:00 P.M. and the sign is complete. Thank you, Tomark Sports for your hard work!

The New Marquee - Completed

After years of inactivity, the marquee in front of John Muir High School, 1905 Lincoln Ave., Pasadena, has been replaced, thanks to donations from alumni, businesses, individuals and civic organizations.

The original marquee was rendered unusable several years ago, after maintenance crews making landscaping improvements with Proposition Y funding ruptured underground cables, which also cut off heating to the school auditorium.

“Over time, the old sign became outdated and needed to be replaced,” said Mark Levy, president of the John Muir High School Alumni Association. “The (Pasadena Unified School) District lacked the funding to replace it, so the Alumni Association decided to take action to come up with the money through private donations.”
Among the major benefactors was the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Foundation.

The marquee was designed and installed by Tomark Sports under the direction of the Alumni Association. Tomark provided training to school staff, which will maintain the computer-operated sign.

“It is our hope that this new light shining in front of the school will help bolster the morale of the students and staff at Muir,” said Levy, a 1967 graduate, “and that it will announce to the community that Muir is here and thriving.”

A dedication and official lighting ceremony will be held soon.