Downtown Magnets High School

Downtown Magnets High School
Location
1081 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, California 90012
United States
Information
Type Magnet high school
Established 1981
Principal Joshua Hong
Enrollment Approx. 1,360
Color(s) Green and Yellow
Mascot The Sun
Alumni
Website DMHS Official website

Downtown Magnets High School (also known as Downtown Business Magnet, DBM, or DMHS) is a magnet high school located in the downtown area of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The school is adjacent to many regional transit lines including the Los Angeles County Metro (Red and Purple line Civic Centre/Grand Park Station, and the terminal for the Metro Blue and Expo line 7th Street Metro Centre). Being adjacent to the many transit lines and cuts in LAUSD spending have led to many students using the Metro system to commute to school and home; however there are still remain plenty of school bus routes that feed the school for as nearly 70% of students do not live in the area.

The school houses three magnets: Business (DBM), Fashion (FCC), and Electronic Information (EIM). The three magnets combined hold a total student population of approximately 1,000 students, an almost unheard of, small population size in LAUSD. Since opening in the fall of 1981, close student-faculty bonds have often formed, playing an important factor in the school's very high graduation and college-attendance rates, in addition to high test scores.

The school is located less than a ten-minute walk from the heart of Downtown Los Angeles, which holds: The Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, The Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Los Angeles Central Library, and many other educational landmarks. Due to this proximity, various partnerships have formed with nearby institutions, to the great benefit of students. For instance, students in the Business Magnet are able to take full advantage of local internship opportunities with companies such as Smith Barney, AIG, Wells Fargo and KPMG.

History

The school was founded in 1981, when a visionary established a school that focused on academic excellence with a specialization in business training. The school was named Downtown Business Magnet High School. The school's first class consisted of 55 sophomores from different neighborhoods around LAUSD. By 1994, FCC & EIM were formed.

Downtown Business Magnet (DBM)

The Downtown Business Magnet (DBM) was the first magnet at Downtown and is the largest, with approximately 45% of the school's population. The magnet emphasizes everything to do with business, including: Accounting, Business Organization, Corporate Management, Sales, Entrepreneurship, careers, international relations, and the use of technology in business.

For those desiring to further delve into the business world, the Academy of Finance (AF) provides an excellent way to explore careers through summer internships with the world's top accounting firms, including Deloitte & Touche and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Business students, as well as those in the other magnets, are encouraged to apply to the academy in the 10th grade, as the two-year program begins in the 11th grade. Here, students are taught proper business etiquette, how to do well in job interviews, and are frequently taken to business luncheons with partner accounting firm Deloitte & Touche, where the students learn how to network. They also take College Accounting, business economics, and other special Academy classes, including an accounting class for credit at the University of Southern California their senior year.

The Business Magnet has been adopted by Citibank, CIT Group, and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Fashion Careers Center (FCC)

The FCC magnet was established in 1991 to educate students on the design and fabrication of general clothing apparel. The students' journey begins with sewing class in their freshman year and culminates with the annual Fashion Show, where the graduating class presents their collections in a professional manner. At the end of their four-year tenure in FCC, students graduate as young designers experts in their field.

An example of the culminating show was the Class of 2008's Fashion Show, held at the California Market Center (home to several professional fashion shows during Los Angeles Fashion Week). This event showcased the collections, made from scratch, of over 17 student designers, each of whom was responsible for coordinating every aspect of their presentation: from choosing the runway song and choreographing the catwalk, to making the final adjustments to a student model's outfit. The models are DMHS students, irrespective of grade or magnet. Students wishing to model must first audition for and be chosen by the coordinator of the fashion show; those selected may then be chosen by the designers to walk for their collection, though there is no guarantee that everyone who makes the first cut will walk the runway.

Overtime, the FCC Magnet has established partnerships with the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (home to Lifetime's Emmy-winning show Project Runway), Woodbury University, L.A. Trade Tech, and the California Market Center.

Electronic Information Magnet (EIM)

EIM (est. 1994) has the second largest student population out of the three magnets and is composed of students who generally wish to expand their abilities in Computer Science, Computer Programming, Web Design, or who wish to grasp the concepts in computer-based technology. This most recent addition to DMHS began in collaboration with several local business leaders, LAUSD Board Members, and the Los Angeles Central Library.

EIM is home to the Academy of Information Technology (AOIT), (similar to Business' Academy of Finance), which is also a part of the National Academy Organization. Students in AOIT are able to enroll in honors and advanced courses in order to gain skills necessary for the technology of the 21st century.

Currently, EIM holds a constant collaboration with the Los Angeles Central Library, being the only high school in the nation to hold this type of partnership. Both DMHS and the Central Library are used as instruction sites, allowing students and teachers to access the latest technology and information. In addition to the Central Library, EIM shares a partnership with Los Angeles City College (LACC).

Grings College Center

For over 23 years, Carol Grings devoted her efforts to the Downtown Magnets College Center and other school programs.[1] When she died in 2005, the College Center was renamed the Grings College Center in her honor.

Today, the Grings College Center is led by college counselor Lynda McGee,[1] (Lynda has recognised as one of the best college counsellors in LAUSD) who has offered a candid devotion to the school, and has guided students to produce a successful college attendance rate. Downtown Magnets graduates have proceeded to attend prestigious universities, including:

Academic Performance Index (API)

The Academic Performance Index (API) measures the academic progress of schools across the state of California. Since the 2007-2008 school year, Downtown Magnets has placed number one in Local District 4 thanks to the continual growth of its API. Its scores are as follows:

Year 2012 2011 2009 2008 2007 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999
API 826 807 746 736 690 655 645 616 606 601 593 595

The forementioned data is provided by the California Department of Education. [3]

Advanced Placement (AP) Courses

Downtown Magnets offers a variety of Advanced Placement (AP) courses. For the 2010-2011 school year, they include:

Notable Alumni

Other notes

References

  1. 1 2 Downtown Magnets High School
  2. ↑ http://www.hampshire.edu/
  3. ↑ "Academic Performance Index (API) Report - Select Final Report Parameters". Retrieved 16 April 2011.

External links

Coordinates: 34°03′47″N 118°15′01″W / 34.062956°N 118.250412°W / 34.062956; -118.250412

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