Aviation High School (AHS, Avi-Hi) was a secondary school located in Redondo Beach, California which was in operation from 1957 to 1982. The school was located at the corner of Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Aviation Boulevard (which runs north to the Los Angeles International Airport). Their athletic teams were known as the Falcons and the school colors were black and orange. High school - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Redondo Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... Runway layout at LAX LAX redirects here. ... School colors are the colors chosen by a school to represent it on uniforms and other items of identification. ...

Because of mushrooming growth in the South Bay, Los Angeles beach communities (Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and Hermosa Beach), the school was built in 1957 (at a cost of 4 million dollars) by the then "South Bay Unified School District" which has today broken into the Redondo Beach Unified School District and the Manhattan Beach Unified School District; the district included two other high schools: Redondo Union High School and Mira Costa High School. Other proposed names for the school were Pilot George High, Will Rogers High, Kittyhawk High and -- the second runner-up -- Aileen S. Hammond High. The South Bay and surrounding regions in Southern California The South Bay is a region in the southwest peninsula of Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... Manhattan Beach is a city located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, USA. The population was 33,852 at the 2000 census. ... Hermosa Beach is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. ... The Manhattan Beach Unified School District is responsible for public education in the city of Manhattan Beach, California. ... Redondo Union High School is a public high school in Redondo Beach, California. ... Name Mira Costa High School Address 701 S Peck Ave, Manhattan Beach, California 90266 [Satellite Image] Established 1950 Community Suburban Type Public Students 2306 students xxxx boys xxxx girls Ethnic Composition Statistics American Indian/Alaskan Native: 0. ...

Aviation High School served students from both Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach. At its construction, Aviation's facilities -- largely single-story buildings radiating out from a central quad -- were considered "ultra-modern". In the late 1960s, a large modern auditorium was added to the campus.

Alma Mater

Hail to thee, Aviation Hail to thee
You're building a Nation strong and free
You enfold young people whose souls unfurl
To become men and women fit to conquer the world
Hail to thee, Hail to thee.

Hail to thee, Alma Mater, go with God.
Here tomorrow's heroes first foot steps have trod
We'll remember your wisdom and integrity,
and bring honor to you with loyalty
Hail to thee, Hail to thee Hail to thee.

School closure

Because of budgetary constraints in the early 1980s, in part due to California Proposition 13 (1978), the "South Bay Unified School District" decided in November 1981 to close one of its three area high schools, but promised teachers and administrators that they would not lose their jobs. Projected savings in yearly maintenance costs would purportedly total 1 million dollars. After much deliberation (via a 21 member citizen's committee) and several public forums, the district decided in April 1982 to close Aviation. Proposition 13, officially titled the Peoples Initiative to Limit Property Taxation, was a ballot initiative to amend the constitution of the state of California. ...

Many in the South Bay community saw this decision as unsound (closure would result in overcrowding of the two remaining schools and would not be a viable long-term stragegy if district enrollment increased; in addition, Aviation had the newest facilities of the three area high schools); some saw the decision as based on area politics and geography (Redondo and Mira Costa High Schools were more centrally located and better anchored to their historic communities); some accused the discision of being in part motivated by the prospect of selling or leasing the facilities to Aviation High School's large corporate neighbor, the defense and credit-reporting company TRW. TRW Incorporated was an American corporation involved in a number of businesses, mostly defense-related, but including automotive supply and credit reporting. ...

In 1983, Aviation's non-graduating students were sent to Redondo Union High School and Mira Costa High School, depending on their residence location (to avoid overcrowding at Redondo High School, Mira Costa High School's resident limits were extended outside of Manhattan beach to incorporate part of Redondo Beach). For many students, this division separated groups of friends into different schools. Aviation's 1982 Junior class was perhaps the most disappointed of all, and many felt betrayed by the school district and treated as outsiders by their new school. In addition, as predicted, halls and facilities in the two remaining schools were extremely crowded in the first years.

Classrooms of the campus were demolished in 1982, but the theater, gymnasium and track and field were maintained. The site of the campus is now the 14 acre "Aviation Park", home to the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center (with a 1457 seat theater, recently renovated), the Aviation Gymnasium (including a 12,000 sq. ft. and 6,300 sq. ft. gyms and a 1,221 sq. ft dance room) and the Aviation Track & Field (a clay-based, 440-yard, eight-lane running track surrounding a regulation-size football field).

Notable alumni

• Michele Tafoya
• Paul Westphal

Michelle Tafoya doing her job for the cameras. ... Paul Westphal (born November 30, 1950 in Torrance, California) is a former basketball player and coach in the NBA. A native of California, Westphal has had a storied career in the NBA, both as a player and as a head coach. ...

External links

• Classmates.com site
• reunion site - includes pictures of 1982 demolition
• Present-day Aviation Park