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{{Short description|Public high school in San Francisco, California}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
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{{more footnotes needed|date=April 2021}}
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{{Infobox school
| name = Lowell High School
| logo = Lowell High School (San Francisco) logo.png
| image = LowellFrontEntrance.JPG
| caption = Lowell High School's Main Entrance
| streetaddress = 1101 Eucalyptus Drive
| city = [[San Francisco]]
| state = [[California]]
| zipcode = 94132
| country = U.S.
| coordinates = {{Coord|37|43|51|N|122|29|01|W|type:edu|display=inline,title}}
| schoolnumber = 697
| schoolboard = [[San Francisco Board of Education]]
| district = [[San Francisco Unified School District]]
| principal = Jan Bautista
| dean = Cheryl Fong
| students = 2,540 (2023–2024)<ref name=NCES>{{cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&Zip=94124&Miles=5&SchoolPageNum=8&ID=063441005643|title=Lowell High|publisher=National Center for Education Statistics|access-date=January 28, 2025}}</ref>
| ranking = 78th<ref name="U.S. News & World Report">{{cite magazine |title=Lowell High School |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/california/districts/san-francisco-unified-school-district/lowell-high-school-3259 |date=2021 |magazine=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |department=US News Best High Schools |access-date=March 12, 2022}}</ref>
| teaching_staff = 128.51 (FTE)<ref name=NCES/>
| ratio = 19.76<ref name=NCES/>
| ceeb = 052970
| testaverage = 948
| testname = [[Academic Performance Index]]
| type = Public
| campus size =
| campus type = Urban
| song = [[#Lowell Hymn|The Lowell Hymn]]
| motto = ''Fiat Scientia''
| motto_translation = "Let there be knowledge"
| accreditation = [[Western Association of Schools and Colleges]]
| mascot = [[northern cardinal|Cardinal]]
| team_name = Cardinals
| school_colors = {{color box|#C41E3A}} [[Cardinal (color)|Cardinal]]<br />{{color box|#ffffff}} [[White]]
| yearbook = ''The Red and White''
| newspaper = [http://thelowell.org ''The Lowell'']
| free_label1 = Honor society
| free_text1 = Shield & Scroll Honor and Service Society
| established =
| founded = {{start year and age|1856}} (as Union Grammar School)
| homepage = {{URL|https://beta.sfusd.edu/school/lowell-high-school}}
}}
'''Lowell High School''' ('''LHS''') is a co-educational, magnet [[public high school]] in [[San Francisco]], [[California]], first established in 1856. It is a part of the [[San Francisco Unified School District]] (SFUSD). Situated on the [[West Side (San Francisco)|West Side]] of the city, the school is south of [[Parkmerced, San Francisco|Parkmerced]] and the Parkside district, west of [[Stonestown Galleria]], north of [[San Francisco State University]], northeast of [[Lake Merced]], and east of Lakeshore Elementary School.
LHS uses merit-based admissions, unlike other schools in the district, which use a [[lottery]] system or receive students from a specified attendance area.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Applying to Lowell High School {{!}} SFUSD |url=https://www.sfusd.edu/schools/enroll/apply/applying-lowell-high-school |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=www.sfusd.edu}}</ref> The admissions process requires submitting scores from [[Standardized test|standardized testing]] from the previous school year and a writing supplement. Previously an [[Entrance examination|entrance exam]] was required, but after reports of racism in the admissions department and the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the exam was waived in 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Medina |first=Madilynne |title=2 prestigious San Francisco schools may change admissions criteria |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/lowell-elite-sf-school-change-admissions-18476364.php |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240814014033/https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/lowell-elite-sf-school-change-admissions-18476364.php |archive-date=2024-08-14 |access-date=2025-01-20 |work=SFGATE |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mojadad |first=Ida |date=2021-02-09 |title=School board votes 5-2 to end selective admissions policy at Lowell |url=https://www.sfexaminer.com/archives/school-board-votes-5-2-to-end-selective-admissions-policy-at-lowell/article_0341dd41-08fb-5321-b899-c232f909c0e2.html |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=San Francisco Examiner |language=en}}</ref> However, because academic performance of the school declined, it reinstated use of standardized test scores.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-23 |title=San Francisco School Board Votes to Return Elite High School to Merit-Based Admissions |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/news/san-francisco-school-board-votes-to-return-elite-high-school-to-merit-based-admissions/ |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=National Review |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=staff |first=EdSource |title=UPDATE: Freshmen received more Ds and Fs at SF's elite Lowell High after switch to admissions lottery |url=https://edsource.org/updates/freshman-received-more-ds-and-fs-at-elite-sfs-lowell-high-after-switch-to-admissions-lottery |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=EdSource |language=en}}</ref>
==
===1853–1893===
In 1853, Colonel Thomas J. Nevins, San Francisco's first superintendent of schools, raised the idea of a free high school for boys and a seminary for girls. It took three years for Nevins to persuade the Board of Education, and a resolution was passed on July 10, 1856, to establish a San Francisco High School and Ladies' Seminary. Six days later, however, the resolution was rescinded on the grounds that a high school could not legally be part of the San Francisco Common Schools. A name change from the proposed ''San Francisco High School and Ladies' Seminary'' to the ''Union Grammar School'' appeased those who had opposed the creation of a high school.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}
The Union Grammar School first opened on August 25, 1856, in rented quarters at the [[Wesleyan Methodist Church (United States)|Wesleyan Methodist Church]] on Powell Street, between Clay and Sacramento. In 1860, the church was purchased and reconstructed as a school at the same ___location. The new two-story school building had four classrooms, an assembly room, and two rooms for gymnastics exercises and calisthenics. Dedication ceremonies for the new structure took place on September 19, 1860. The school in the new building was already referred to as San Francisco High School because it was generally recognized that the course of study was on the secondary level.
In May 1864, the Board of Education decided to form separate schools for boys and girls. Boys remained at the same campus at the Boys' High School, while girls were moved to their own school at Bush and Stockton streets ([[Girls High School (San Francisco)|Girls' High School]]), where they would remain until the return of coeducation (in practice) in the 1880s.
===1894–1962===
[[File:Lowell HS SF (Hayes-Masonic 1917).jpg|thumb|left|Lowell High School in 1917 at Hayes and Masonic streets]]
In 1894, because the name Boys' High School was not in accord with the growing number of girls taking its college-preparatory classes, the school was renamed to honor the distinguished poet [[James Russell Lowell]], chiefly through the efforts of Pelham W. Ames, a member of the school board.<ref>{{cite book |last= |first= |title=History of the oldest public high school in California: Lowell High School, San Francisco |date=1989 |page=H-21 |___location= |publisher=Lowell Alumni Association}}, which quotes {{cite book |last=Cloud |first=Archibald J. |title=Lowell High School, San Francisco, 1856-1956: a centennial history of the oldest public high school in California |date=1956 |___location=Palo Alto |publisher=Pacific Books |oclc=18238590}}</ref>
The school relocated in January 1913 to an entire block on Hayes Street between Ashbury and Masonic. Lowell remained there for 50 years as the city's [[University-preparatory school|college preparatory high school]]. In 1952, the school sought a new ___location near [[Lake Merced]] and moved there (its present address) in 1962.<ref name="alumni">{{cite news|title=Lowell Class of '62 reclaims building for reunion|url=http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Lowell-Class-of-62-reclaims-building-for-reunion-3588955.php|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|date=May 26, 2012 | access-date=June 12, 2013| quote=Graduates who became well-known politicians, judges, artists, clothiers, financiers, philanthropists and cultural fixtures were Cyril Magnin, Class of 1918, Edmund (Pat) Brown, '23, William Hewlett, '30, Carol Channing, '38 Richard Diebenkorn, '39, Pierre Salinger, '41, Art Hoppe, '42, Don Fisher, '46, Warren Hellman, '51, Richard Blum, '53, Stephen Breyer, '55, Charles Breyer, '59, Mark Buell and Susie Tompkins, both '60, and Sydney Goldstein, '62.}}</ref>
===1963 and after===
Until 1988, the Lowell mascot was the Indian. In 1988, School Superintendent Ramon Cortines ordered that the name be changed to something less offensive.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Miller|first=Johnny|date=2013-12-06|title=S.F. schools boss orders Lowell High mascot change|url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/S-F-schools-boss-orders-Lowell-High-mascot-change-5039721.php|access-date=2021-01-31|website=SFGATE|language=en-US}}</ref> Lowell was selected as one of the 44 [[San Francisco Unified School District]] (SFUSD) schools considered for renaming in 2020. The school's selection, by a committee formed by the [[San Francisco Board of Education]], was due to James Russell Lowell's documented racist views. Opponents have said that evidence for Lowell's [[Anti-war movement|anti-war beliefs]] and [[Abolitionism|abolitionist views]] far outweigh the negatives, citing his lasting influence on [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and within the [[NAACP]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|last=Tucker|first=Jill|date=2021-01-28|title=Here's what you need to know about the San Francisco school renaming vote and what comes next|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/Here-s-what-comes-next-after-the-S-F-school-15903075.php|access-date=2021-02-04|website=San Francisco Chronicle|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Wymer|first=Rae|title=Lowell's potential renaming draws continued debate after Board announces extension for submitting new names|url=https://thelowell.org/9152/features/lowells-potential-renaming-draws-continued-debate-after-board-announces-extension-for-submitting-new-names/|access-date=2021-02-04|website=The Lowell}}</ref>
Lowell was the first SFUSD school to be temporarily closed during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in San Francisco]] due to a report of respiratory illness by a student's family member in March 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-03-11 |title=SFUSD To Close Lakeshore Elementary Immediately As 4 Students Report Respiratory Illness |url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/03/11/coronavirus-lakeshore-elementary-sfusd-students-report-respiratory-illness-covid-19/ |access-date=2021-02-22 |website=[[KPIX]] |publisher=[[CBS]] |language=en-US}}</ref>
The 2021 documentary film ''[[Try Harder!]]'' profiled Lowell students as they went through the college admission process.
In April 2022, Principal Joe Ryan Dominguez submitted his letter of resignation, which would go into effect at the end of the school year.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tucker |first=Jill |title=Principal at elite Lowell High School resigns, slamming SFUSD in farewell letter |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/Principal-at-elite-Lowell-High-School-resigns-17079267.php |date=April 13, 2022 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=April 13, 2022}}</ref>
== Campus ==
Situated on the [[West Side (San Francisco)|West Side]] of the city, the school spans several blocks bounded by Eucalyptus Drive to the north, 25th Avenue to the east, Winston Drive to the south, and Lake Merced Boulevard and Meadowbrook Drive to the west. Lowell is located south of [[Parkmerced, San Francisco|Parkmerced]] and the Parkside district, west of [[Stonestown Galleria]], north of [[San Francisco State University]], northeast of [[Lake Merced]], and east of Lakeshore Elementary School, a public school, and St. Stephen School, a private K–8 school.<ref>https://www.sfusd.edu/school/lakeshore-alternative-elementary-school</ref> Lowell is accessible via the [[San Francisco Municipal Railway]] (Muni) [[K Ingleside|K]], [[M Ocean View|M]], 18, 23, 28, 28R, 29, 57, and 58 lines.
{{Location map| United States San Francisco County
| width = 300
| float = right
| caption = Location of Lowell High School in San Francisco
| lat_deg = 37
| lat_min = 43
| lat_sec = 51
| lat_dir = N
| lon_deg = 122
| lon_min = 29
| lon_sec = 01
| lon_dir = W
| label = Lowell High School
| position = top
}}
The campus of what was called the New Lowell High School was opened in the early 1960s and replaced the old brick campus building on Masonic Street that is still used by the district for offices and an adult school. The "new" Lowell campus itself consists of a main three-story academic building with two extensions, the easternmost extension being a single-story science building, which was rebuilt and reopened on September 21, 2003, after the original building from the early 1960s was demolished because the labs were antiquated.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lowellalumni.org/campus_wingspeech.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213191732/http://www.lowellalumni.org/campus_wingspeech.shtml |url-status=dead |title=The official website of the Lowell Alumni Association<!-- Bot generated title -->|archive-date=December 13, 2007}}</ref> The second extension consists of a single-story free-standing building that replaced temporary classrooms.
The original single-story visual and performing arts building is the westernmost extension of the main campus and remains with the 1,000-seat [[Carol Channing]] auditorium, named for the famous actress who was an alumna. The main entrance to the theater and the school is below street level on Eucalyptus Drive.
The campus includes a library, arts and music classrooms, six computer labs, a foreign language lab, an indoor gymnasium, men's and women's locker rooms, a dance studio, a weight room, an [[American football]] field, a [[Football (soccer)|soccer]]/multipurpose field and [[baseball]] batting cage, ten [[tennis]] courts, eight [[basketball court]]s, four [[volleyball]] courts, and a {{convert|1/4|mi|m}} all-weather running track. The campus has two parking lots, one for students and the other for faculty. There is also a central courtyard inside the school.
There is an ROTC ([[Reserve Officers' Training Corps|Reserve Officers' Training Corp]]) facility built into the hill and located below the theater, accessed by a stairway down from the arts wing. The ROTC facility at one time included a rifle range where cadets practiced marksmanship with live ammunition.
== Academics and class structure ==
=== Academics ===
Lowell High School historically has test scores ranking among the Top 10 Public Schools in California, including [[Whitney High School, Cerritos, California|Gretchen Whitney High School]] and [[Oxford Academy (California)|Oxford Academy]]. Lowell has been named a [[California Distinguished School]] seven times and a [[Blue Ribbon Schools Program|National Blue Ribbon School]] four times.<ref name="CA Distinguished School">{{cite web
| url = http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/sr/cs/documents/distinguished.xls| title = California Distinguished School Honorees: 1986-2009| format = Excel
| publisher = [[California Department of Education]]| access-date = September 6, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Blue Ribbon School">{{cite web|url=http://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/list-1982.pdf |title=Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 |publisher=[[United States Department of Education]] |access-date=September 6, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630091138/http://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/list-1982.pdf |archive-date=June 30, 2014 }}</ref> Lowell was named a California Distinguished School in 1986, 1990, 1992, 1994, 2001, 2009, and 2015 (as a California Gold Ribbon School), as well as a [[National Blue Ribbon School]] in 1983, 1994, 2001, 2012, and 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://portal.sfusd.edu/template/default.cfm?page=hs.lowell&show_descr=true&len=342|title=Lowell High School School Description|access-date=December 30, 2007|author=San Francisco Unified School District|work=ColdFusion|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070307052114/http://portal.sfusd.edu/template/default.cfm?page=hs.lowell&show_descr=true&len=342|archive-date=March 7, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="blueribbon">[http://www.lowellalumni.org/article_blueribbon.shtml Lowell High School wins third Blue Ribbon.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060223103531/http://www.lowellalumni.org/article_blueribbon.shtml |date=2006-02-23 }} From the Lowell Alumni Association.</ref> As of 2024, Lowell is ranked 74th by ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' in its "Best High Schools in America" and 7th best in California.<ref>https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/search?name=lowell&ranked=true {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref> Lowell was also ranked 49th by ''[[Newsweek]]''{{'s}} America's Best High Schools 2012 list and 66th by ''Newsweek''{{'s}} 2013 list.<ref name="U.S. News & World Report" />
Students have the opportunity to choose from a large number of Advanced Placement courses. Lowell has a graduation rate of nearly 100%, and it is the largest feeder school to the [[University of California]] system, particularly to the [[University of California, Berkeley|Berkeley]] and [[University of California, Davis|Davis]] campuses.
=== Arena scheduling system ===
Lowell used an "arena" class scheduling system, up until 2020, in which students were given a time slot and directed to a website to choose their classes.
While scheduling classes for the 2006 spring semester, one of the students who had volunteered to assist the running of arena was caught abusing the scheduling system to use early scheduling privileges, granted to volunteers by the administration, to let friends schedule before others.<ref name="schedulinginequity">[http://www.thelowell.org/content/view/1521/28/ Honor society causes scheduling inequity.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927020928/http://www.thelowell.org/content/view/1521/28/ |date=2007-09-27 }} From ''The Lowell''.</ref><ref name="shieldandscrollmorals">[http://www.thelowell.org/content/view/1665/29/ Shield and Scroll must maintain high moral standards.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819221716/http://www.thelowell.org/content/view/1665/29/ |date=2006-08-19 }} From ''The Lowell''.</ref> Five of six department chairs and dozens of teachers at Lowell called to eliminate arena scheduling and to replace it with computerized scheduling used in all other SFUSD schools. Critics characterized arena scheduling as an antiquated and inefficient system, and creates weeks of unnecessary work for teachers and counselors.<ref name="SFChroniclearenascheduling">[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/03/04/BAGVIHIKD71.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea Class scheduling methods put Lowell High in a tizzy.] From the ''San Francisco Chronicle''.</ref><ref name="keeparenascheduling">[http://www.thelowell.org/content/view/1562/29/ Self-scheduling is fundamental to Lowell.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927020935/http://www.thelowell.org/content/view/1562/29/ |date=2007-09-27 }} From ''The Lowell''.</ref>
Proponents of the arena argued that the system can prepare students for a similar selecting of courses in college.
After a student forum, committee meetings, several student petitions, and final deliberation by then-principal Paul Cheng and the administration, it was decided that arena would remain in place, with the modifications of the abolishment of early scheduling for Shield and Scroll and "mini arena," which allowed people with incomplete schedules another chance to complete them by opening up all the classes again with a few slots.
Under pressure from faculty and students, in 2013, the Lowell administration decided on an "online arena".<ref name="onlinearena">[http://thelowell.org/2013/05/29/shift-to-online-self-scheduling-a-success Shift to online self-scheduling a success.] From ''The Lowell''.</ref> In 2012, the Lowell administration began preliminary testing by requiring students to submit their proposed classes for the next school year through an online form, designed and maintained by a few students from the computer programming classes.
During the pandemic, Lowell's arena system was finally terminated and has remained that way since.
== Admissions ==
Lowell is the only high school in the [[San Francisco Unified School District]] that was permitted to admit only students who met special admission requirements.<ref>{{cite web|author=San Francisco Unified School District|title=Lowell High School Enrollment Information for 2008-09|url=http://portal.sfusd.edu/template/default.cfm?page=policy.placement.enroll.lowell|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208081036/http://portal.sfusd.edu/template/default.cfm?page=policy.placement.enroll.lowell|archive-date=February 8, 2007|access-date=December 30, 2007|work=ColdFusion}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Applying to Lowell High School {{!}} SFUSD |url=https://www.sfusd.edu/schools/enroll/apply/applying-lowell-high-school |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=www.sfusd.edu}}</ref> The Lowell admission process was competitive and based on a combination of [[standardized test]] scores, [[Grading in the United States#Grade point average|GPA]], a writing sample, and [[extracurricular activities]].
=== ''San Francisco NAACP v. San Francisco Unified School District'' (1980s) ===
In 1983, the SFUSD attempted to ensure racial desegregation at Lowell and other schools by implementing a race-based admissions policy as a result of ''San Francisco NAACP v. San Francisco Unified School District'' and the 1983 Consent Decree settlement.
The demographics began to disproportionately impact [[Chinese Americans]] in the 80s and 90s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Facing Our Past, Changing Our Future, Part II: Five Decades of Desegregation in SFUSD (1971-today) {{!}} SFUSD|url=https://www.sfusd.edu/facing-our-past-changing-our-future-part-ii-five-decades-desegregation-sfusd-1971-today|access-date=2021-04-10|website=www.sfusd.edu}}</ref> As a result of this policy, effective in 1985, Chinese-American freshman applicants needed to score 62 out of a possible total of 69 eligibility points; Caucasian and other East Asian candidates needed only 58 points, and others needed fewer points.<ref>{{cite news |last=Woo |first=Elaine |date=13 July 1995 |title=COLUMN ONE : Caught on the Wrong Side of the Line? : Chinese Americans must outscore all other groups to enter elite Lowell High in San Francisco, sparking an ugly battle over diversity and the image of a 'model minority.' |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-07-13-mn-23543-story.html |work=Los Angeles times |access-date=8 September 2018 }}</ref>
=== ''Ho v. San Francisco Unified School District'' (1990s) ===
{{Main|Ho v. San Francisco Unified School District}}
In 1994, a group of Chinese-American community activists organized a lawsuit to challenge the 1983 Consent Decree race-based admissions policies used by SFUSD for its public schools. The lawsuit was led by Lowell alum Lee Cheng.<ref>{{cite news |last=Har |first=Janie |agency=Associated Press |date=27 August 2018 |title=Race-based school criteria roils Asian-Americans - again |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/higher-education/race-based-school-criteria-roils-asian-americans---again/2018/08/27/39265076-a9af-11e8-9a7d-cd30504ff902_story.html?noredirect=on |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=8 September 2018 }}{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In 1999, both parties agreed to a settlement that modified the 1983 Consent Decree to create a new "diversity index" system which substituted race as a factor for admissions with a variety of factors such as socioeconomic background, mother's educational level, academic achievement, language spoken at home, and English Learner Status.
Critics of the diversity index created by ''Ho v. San Francisco Unified School District'' point out that many schools, including Lowell, have become even less racially diverse since it was enacted.
On November 15, 2005, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California denied a request to extend the Consent Decree, which was set to expire on December 31, 2005, after it had been extended once before to December 31, 2002. The ruling claimed "since the settlement of the ''Ho'' litigation [resulting in the institution of the "diversity index"], the consent decree has proven to be ineffective, if not counterproductive, in achieving diversity in San Francisco public schools" by making schools more racially segregated.<ref>{{cite web|author=The United States District Court of the Northern District of California|title=110805order.pdf|url=https://www.clearinghouse.net/chDocs/public/SD-CA-0002-0001.pdf|access-date=March 28, 2021}}</ref>
=== Lottery-based admissions ===
On October 20, 2020, the [[San Francisco Board of Education|Board of Education]] voted unanimously to base 2021 freshman admittance to Lowell on a lottery rather than academic performance.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Tucker |first=Jill |title=Lowell High School will use lottery admission next year, S.F. school board decides |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/Lowell-High-School-will-use-lottery-admission-15662977.php |date=October 20, 2020 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=February 11, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Mojadad |first=Ida |title=Lowell's selective admissions process put on hold this year — and more changes may be in the works Examiner|url=https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/lowells-selective-admissions-process-put-on-hold-this-year-and-more-changes-may-be-in-the-works/ |date=October 20, 2020 |newspaper=San Francisco |access-date=February 11, 2021}}</ref> Like other high schools in the district with lottery systems, priority would be given to applicants from [[census tract]]s with lower test scores, those with siblings at the school, and those who attended Willie L. Brown Jr. Middle School.<ref name=":0" /> On February 9, 2021, the Board, in a 5–2 vote, made that change to a lottery-based system permanent, citing "pervasive systemic racism" and the school's lack of diversity as reasons.<ref>{{cite news|last=Tucker|first=Jill|date=February 10, 2021|title=S.F. school board strips Lowell High of its merit-based admissions system|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/S-F-school-board-strips-Lowell-High-of-its-15938565.php|access-date=February 11, 2021}}</ref> Christine Linnenbach and Lee Cheng, attorneys and Lowell alumni (class of 1989), founded the Friends of Lowell Foundation to contest the policy. On March 8, Linnenbach filed a Cure and Correct letter challenging the Board of Education's adoption of lottery admissions.
The SFUSD did not rescind the vote, and the Friends of Lowell Foundation, Lowell Alumni Association, SF Taxpayers Association, and the Asian American Legal Foundation filed a complaint in the San Francisco Superior Court alleging that the SFUSD had violated the Ralph M. Brown Act when the Board of Education adopted lottery admissions. The school board had voted to make lottery admissions permanent; however, in November, Judge Ethan P. Schulman granted the petition challenging lawfulness of the adoption of lottery admissions and overturned that vote. The next month, the school board voted to extend the lottery system for one year, through 2022.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Jill|last1=Tucker|first2=Lauren|last2=Hernández|date=December 16, 2021|title=S.F. school board extends Lowell High lottery admission for another year, but debate is not over|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/Lowell-High-lottery-admission-likely-to-remain-16705599.php}}</ref>
During the 2021–22 school year, the first in which the lottery system was in effect, nearly 25% of freshmen students reported D or F grades, compared to nearly 8% of freshmen from the previous academic year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top SF high school sees record spike in failing grades after dropping merit-based admission system |url=https://news.yahoo.com/top-sf-high-school-sees-192303605.html |access-date=2022-06-23 |website=news.yahoo.com |date=26 May 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref> Constituents petitioned for a [[2022 San Francisco Board of Education recall elections|recall election]] against three School Board Commissioners on February 15, 2022, who were ousted by voters in a landslide.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marinucci |first=Carla |date=2021-10-18 |title=Covid anger drives recall election targeting 3 San Francisco school leaders |url=https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2021/10/18/covid-anger-drives-recall-election-targeting-3-san-francisco-school-leaders-1391901 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018232617/https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2021/10/18/covid-anger-drives-recall-election-targeting-3-san-francisco-school-leaders-1391901 |archive-date=2021-10-18 |access-date=2022-06-23 |website=[[Politico]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=February 15, 2022 Election Results - Summary {{!}} Department of Elections |url=https://sfelections.sfgov.org/february-15-2022-election-results-summary |access-date=2022-06-23 |website=sfelections.sfgov.org}}</ref> Their replacements were named by Mayor [[London Breed]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fuller |first=Thomas |date=2022-03-11 |title=San Francisco Mayor Replaces Ousted School Board Members |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/11/us/san-francisco-school-board-vote.html |access-date=2022-06-23 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> On June 22, despite SFUSD Superintendent Vincent Matthews recommending an extension of the lottery system, the Board opted to restore merit-based admissions for the 2023–24 school year in a 4–3 vote.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Merit-based admissions return to San Francisco's Lowell High after school board vote |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/lowell-high-school-merit-based-admissions-return-sf-school-board-vote/ |access-date=2022-06-23 |website=www.cbsnews.com |date=22 June 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Current application process ===
After reverting to a merit-based system, the old admissions process using a bespoke [[entrance exam]] was considered outdated and was ruled incompatible with the [[California]] education codes.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eskenazi |first=Joe |date=2022-02-28 |title=Lowell's old merit-based admissions system won't return — no matter who's on the school board |url=https://missionlocal.org/2022/02/lowells-old-merit-based-admissions-policy-wont-come-back-no-matter-whos-on-the-school-board/ |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=Mission Local |language=en-US}}</ref> Starting in January 2025, the district decided to refer to a student's [[grade point average]] and [[standardized test]] scores (the district uses [[STAR (software)|STAR]] exams).
==Demographics==
2021–2022, a survey of 2,652 students.<ref name=studentdemographics>{{cite web |url=https://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/dqcensus/EnrEthGrd.aspx?cds=38684783833407&agglevel=school&year=2021-22 |title=2021-22 Enrollment by Ethnicity and Grade: Lowell High |publisher=California Department of Education |access-date=March 27, 2023}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left:50px; text-align:center;"
|+Students demographics
|-
!Asian
!White
!Hispanic or Latino
!Filipino
!Two or more races
!African American
!Pacific Islander
!American Indian or Alaska Native
!Not reported
|-
|1,288
|469
|373
|171
|171
|50
|10
|6
|114
|-
|{{#expr:128800/2652 round 1}}%
|{{#expr:46900/2652 round 1}}%
|{{#expr:37300/2652 round 1}}%
|{{#expr:17100/2652 round 1}}%
|{{#expr:17100/2652 round 1}}%
|{{#expr:5000/2652 round 1}}%
|{{#expr:1000/2652 round 1}}%
|{{#expr:600/2652 round 1}}%
|{{#expr:11400/2652 round 1}}%
|}
2008–2009 faculty demographics:<ref name="SFUSD Profile 2008-09: Lowell HS">[http://orb.sfusd.edu/profile/pf08/pf08-697.htm SFUSD Profile 2008-09: Lowell HS<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929160058/http://orb.sfusd.edu/profile/pf08/pf08-697.htm |date=2011-09-29 }}</ref>
*147 certified staff; 49.6% male, 50.4% female.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Certificated staff demographics
!Latino
! White
! African-American
! Chinese
! Japanese
! Korean
! American Indian
! Filipino
! Other non-White
! Declined to state
|-
|8.1%
|56.4%
|2.0%
|13.6%
|3.4%
|0.6%
|0.0%
|2.7%
|4.0%
|8.8%
|}
== Student activities ==
Lowell High School has one of the most active student bodies in San Francisco, with over 84 academic organizations, teams and student interest clubs. Lowell has academic teams that are exempt from volunteer hours in exchange for not being publicized as well as the clubs.
=== Mock Trial ===
The [[Mock Trial#High school|Mock Trial]] team represented San Francisco County at the State Competitions in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2012, 2014, and 2016. In 2007, 2012, and 2014; they finished in the top ten at the State Finals. In 2014, the Lowell High School Mock Trial team placed 6th at the Empire Mock Trial San Francisco International Competition and in both 2015 and 2017, they won 1st place, beating out 21 teams.<ref>{{cite web |title=Empire San Francisco Results |url=https://empiremocktrial.org/san-francisco/results/ |website=Empire Mock Trial |access-date=December 12, 2018 |archive-date=December 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215222902/https://empiremocktrial.org/san-francisco/results/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
=== Lowell Forensic Society ===
The Lowell Forensic Society, founded in 1892, is one of the oldest high school speech and debate teams in the nation and the largest student organization on campus, with over 200 members. The team travels regularly to prestigious national invitationals, including [[Harvard]], [[UC Berkeley]], [[Stanford]], [[CSU Long Beach]], and the [[Tournament of Champions (debate)|Tournament of Champions]] in Kentucky. Lowell Forensics has also competed in the [[National Speech and Debate Tournament]] under the [[National Forensic League]] for 40 years, making it one of the longest running national championship teams in the nation. Forensics alumni include [[Yale University]] President [[Richard Levin]], [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] Justice [[Stephen Breyer]], California Governor [[Pat Brown|Edmund G. "Pat" Brown]], actress [[Carol Channing]], actor [[Benjamin Bratt]], writer [[Naomi Wolf]], actor [[Bill Bixby]], PG&E CEO Frederick Mielke, author [[Daniel Handler]] of [[Series of Unfortunate Events]] fame and numerous academics, writers, and judges.
=== ''The Lowell'' ===
The student-run publication, ''The Lowell'', has won the CSPA Gold and Silver Crown awards, the [[National Scholastic Press Association|NSPA]] [[National Pacemaker Awards|Pacemaker]] (1993, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2012) and the Northern California Society for Professional Journalists' James Madison Award, in recognition of their 2006–2007 school year battle to protect free speech. ''The Lowell'' received the All-American ranking, with five marks of distinction, from the NSPA, the highest award.{{citation needed|date=June 2013}}
=== CardinalBotics ===
The Lowell Robotics team, CardinalBotics, which first competed in 2012,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2024-03-13 |title=CardinalBotics - Team 4159 |url=https://www.thebluealliance.com/team/4159 |access-date=2024-02-14 |website=The Blue Alliance |language=en}}</ref> is a [[FIRST Robotics Competition]] (FRC) team. In both 2021 and 2022, they won the Chairman's Award (now [https://www.firstinspires.org/resource-library/frc/first-impact-award-resources FIRST Impact Award]), the most prestigious award in FRC, for promoting STEM among local youth and supporting the San Francisco Bay Area robotics community. CardinalBotics were regional finalists in 2013, 2018, and 2019. The team also won the Rookie All Star Award in 2012, the Judges Award in 2014, the Regional Engineering Inspiration Award in 2014, 2016, and 2024, the Game Design Challenge Finalist award in 2021, and two Gracious Professionalism Awards in 2023.<ref name=":1" /> In 2013, the team's founder won the FIRST Dean's List Award on the National Level, and in 2021 another member won the FIRST Dean's List Finalist Award. CardinalBotics attempts to encourage more students, especially women and minority students, to pursue STEM college majors and careers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaplan |first=Anna |title=Rebooting the bot: Robotics closes the gender gap |url=https://thelowell.org/9/news/rebooting-the-bot-robotics-closes-the-gender-gap/ |access-date=2024-02-14 |website=The Lowell}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Tucker |first=Jill |title=Lowell High's elite robotics team is racing to finish its robot. Can they make it to a high-stakes competition? |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Varsity-sport-for-the-mind-Lowell-High-17065733.php |access-date=2024-02-14 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-23 |title=IGNITE Women in Stem Panel - Team 4159 |url=https://www.team4159.org/ignite-women-in-stem-panel/ |access-date=2024-02-14 |language=en-US}}</ref> The team also supports local LGBTQ youth through events such as their pride month t-shirt fundraiser.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CardinalBotics Pride Month Fundraiser 2022 |url=https://www.bonfire.com/cardinalbotics-pride-2021/ |access-date=2024-02-14 |website=Bonfire |language=en}}</ref>
=== Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) ===
[[File:Lowell JROTC Indoor Review 26MAY2005.jpg|thumb|right|Lowell JROTC indoor review in May 2005.]]
Lowell has an Army [[Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps]] battalion consisting of nine special competition units (Drum Corps, [[Exhibition Drill]] Teams (boys and girls), Color Guard, Drill Platoon, Brigade Best Squad, Lowell Raider Challenge Team, Academic Bowl, and the Lowell Leadership Symposium Team) and 5 companies (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Foxtrot). Echo was disbanded in 2018, then restored in 2022.
The Lowell Cadet Corps was founded in 1882 and later became known as Lowell Army JROTC when it adopted the national [[Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps|JROTC]] curriculum. A photo of the Lowell Battalion's former rifle range, now converted into a classroom and indoor drill facility, was featured in the Army JROTC Cadet Reference Second Edition.<ref>Author: US Army Cadet Command, Ft. Monroe, VA. Title: Army JROTC Cadet Reference Second Edition, {{ISBN|978-0-536-74189-9}}, Publisher: Pearson Custom Publishing, Boston, MA.</ref> [[Bill Hewlett|William "Bill" Hewlett]] was the Lowell Army [[Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps|JROTC]] Battalion Commander in the 1929–1930 school year.
Every fall, the Lowell Drill Platoon, Color Guard, Best Guidon Bearer, and Brigade Best Squad compete in the Annual Fall Liberty Bell Competition. In addition, every spring, Lowell's Exhibition Drill Teams, Flag Drill Teams, and Drum Corps participate in the Spring 91st Infantry Memorial Drill Competition. The Lowell Raider Challenge Team also competes in the San Francisco [[Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps|JROTC]] Brigade Raider Challenge, which consists of a physical fitness test, first aid obstacle course, land navigation, and a three kilometer run.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} Academic Bowl competes in two online competitions over the school year and a national competition in June in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2023 JLAB Academic Bowl National Championship Awards Ceremony |url=https://www.usarmyjrotc.com/2023-jlab-academic-bowl-national-championship-awards-ceremony/}}</ref>
Those who join JROTC will not be recruited into the army.<ref>{{Cite web |title=JROTC {{!}} SFUSD |url=https://www.sfusd.edu/school/abraham-lincoln-high-school/facultydepts/jrotc |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=www.sfusd.edu}}</ref> The program offers leadership and team working opportunities through lessons<ref>{{Cite web |title=JROTC Curriculum Guide Version 11 |url=https://www.usarmyjrotc.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/02_JROTC_Curriculum_Guide_v11.pdf }}</ref> related to first aid, money management, problem solving, and map reading. The program's motto<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lowell High School JROTC |url=https://sites.google.com/view/lhsjrotc |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=sites.google.com |language=en-US}}</ref> is "to motivate young people to be better citizens."
=== Athletics ===
Lowell has competitive [[American football|football]], [[Cross country running|cross-country]], [[soccer]], [[tennis]], [[volleyball]], [[basketball]], [[scholastic wrestling|wrestling]], [[badminton]], [[dragonboat]], [[softball]], [[swimming (sport)|swimming]], [[track and field]], [[fencing]], [[flag football]], [[golf]], [[cheerleading]], and [[baseball]] teams.
In 2004, Lowell's Boys Varsity Basketball team won its first AAA Championship since 1952. Following a runner-up finish in 2005, the 2006 squad went undefeated in league play and finished with a 30–3 record and a city championship. The 2007 squad also won the championships, while the 2008 squad finished high in the playoffs. The 2009 team once again won the 2009 AAA championships over Lincoln. The basketball, soccer, and football teams engage in an annual rivalry with [[George Washington High School (San Francisco)|Washington High School]] in a game commonly known to those in the city as the "Battle of the Birds" game, named after the teams' cardinal and eagle mascots<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fields |first=Clarabell |date=2023-01-27 |title=Three Lowell basketball teams sweep Battle of the Birds |url=https://thelowell.org/12657/news/three-lowell-basketball-teams-sweep-battle-of-the-birds/ |website=The Lowell}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Geoghegan |first=Seamus |date=2019-02-28 |title=High stakes Battle of the Birds match ends in heartbreak for the Cardinals |url=https://thelowell.org/5966/sports/winter-sports/boys-soccer/high-stakes-battle-of-the-birds-match-ends-in-heartbreak-for-the-cardinals/ |website=The Lowell}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Chien |first1=Joelle |last2=Ramirez |first2=Nico |date=2019-10-18 |title=PHOTOS: Battle of the Birds 2019 |url=https://thelowell.org/7733/sports/photos-battle-of-the-birds-2019/ |website=The Lowell}}</ref>.
Lowell's Varsity Baseball team, led by coach John Donohue, won eight of ten championships from 1994 to 2004<ref name="baseballchampions">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cifsf.org/Sports/baseballchampions.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060510151753/http://cifsf.org/Sports/baseballchampions.pdf |url-status=dead |title=AAA Baseball Annual Champions.|archive-date=May 10, 2006}}</ref> while posting a regular season record of 185 wins and only 11 losses<ref name="baseballrecord">[http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/04/26/SPGMIIFBBF1.DTL 3 teams have caught Lowell in race for baseball supremacy.] From the ''San Francisco Chronicle''.</ref> during that span. Coach Donohue won his 300th AAA league game on March 7, 2003, and tallied his 450th win overall just two weeks later on March 21, 2003.<ref name="baseballwins">[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/04/29/SP262228.DTL Lowell baseball is amassing very big numbers.] From the ''San Francisco Chronicle''.</ref>
In 2004, Lowell's track and field and cross-country teams won the city championship in all four divisions for the seventh year in a row.<ref name="trackchampions">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cifsf.org/Sports/trackandfieldchampions.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050529052529/http://cifsf.org/Sports/trackandfieldchampions.pdf |url-status=dead |title=AAA Track and Field Annual Champions.|archive-date=May 29, 2005}}</ref> The cross country team recently swept all three divisions at the city finals in Golden Gate Park, marking Lowell's 26th overall championship win in a row.<ref name="crosscountrychampions">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cifsf.org/Sports/cross-countrychampions.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050529042258/http://cifsf.org/Sports/cross-countrychampions.pdf |url-status=dead |title=AAA Cross-country Annual Champions.|archive-date=May 29, 2005}}</ref> In recent years, the track and field team has attracted about 150 athletes each season, and the cross country Team has attracted nearly 100 runners each season.
Lowell's Girls' Varsity Volleyball team has dominated the sport since its creation with the most city championships amongst other San Francisco public schools, and from November 1996 to November 2008, went on a record streak of 13 consecutive volleyball city championships.<ref name="girlsvolleyballchampions">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cifsf.org/Sports/volleyball-girlschampions.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060830034526/http://cifsf.org/Sports/volleyball-girlschampions.pdf |url-status=dead |title=AAA Volleyball Girls Annual Champions.|archive-date=August 30, 2006}}</ref> The girls' junior varsity volleyball team also owns 15 of the 18 city titles (as of November 2010).<ref name="girlsvolleyballchampions"/> In November 2019, the girls' varsity volleyball team won the CIF State Division 3 Championship.<ref>{{cite web |title=NorCal Division III - 2019 CIF State Girls Volleyball Championship |url=https://scorebooklive.com/volleyball/tournaments/28 |website=Scorebook Live |access-date=December 24, 2020}}</ref>
In April 2007, Lowell's varsity swim team won their 11th consecutive AAA Championship title, with an undefeated season and an undefeated girls' title, ever since girls have been admitted on the team. The close rivalry between the Cardinals' and the Washington Eagles ended with Lowell coming out on top of all the other SFUSD high schools participating, which included [[Balboa High School (San Francisco)|Balboa High]], [[Abraham Lincoln High School (San Francisco)|Lincoln High]], and Wallenberg High School.
In April 2008, Lowell's varsity swim team won their 12th consecutive AAA Championship title, with an undefeated season yet again. The rivalry between the Cardinals' and the Washington Eagles ended with Lowell coming on top with the varsity boys scoring 170–49 and the girls 122–62. The JV girls also were able to defeat Washington with a score of 104–67. However, the JV boys lost to their counterpart from Lincoln 93–69.
In April 2007, Lowell's dragonboat team competed in the California Dragonboat Association Youth Race at Lake Merced in San Francisco, California. They brought home three golds and two silvers. The Lowellitas, the girls' team, won their seventh consecutive gold medal. In the spring of 2010 the Lowell Dragonboat team won gold medals in the top division, breaking a five-year drought of golds for Lowell in the top division traced back to 2005.
{{As of|2018}}, Lowell's Varsity Girls' Soccer has won the AAA Championship title for the past 21 years in a row.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kaplan |first=Anna |title=Varsity girls soccer crowned champions |url=https://thelowell.org/125/sports/winter-sports/girls-soccer/varsity-girls-soccer-crowned-champions/ |date=March 13, 2018 |newspaper=The Lowell |access-date=April 15, 2024}}</ref> In 2012, they ended their season without being scored on in league games, a record of 101–0. Their most recent defeat was two seasons ago, a forfeit to Balboa on April 6, 2010. Aside from forfeits, the girls have remained undefeated for the past 10 years in league play. There is no JV team.
Lowell's JV Girls' Gymnastics team placed first in the NCVAL JV Gymnastics Finals from 2007 to 2010. At the CCS Varsity Finals, Lowell's Varsity Girls' Gymnastics team placed third in 2009 and second in 2010. Lowell does not have a boys' gymnastics team.
The Lowell Varsity Cheer Squad placed 1st in stunts and received a runner up medal in dance in the 2009 AAA competition. They also went to USA Nationals (2010) and placed in the top half of their division (4 points away from 1st place). In 2015, Lowell Cheer attended USA Nationals and won 4th place in the Super Novice Show Cheer Division. Lowell Cheer also performs at school rallies for football and basketball games.
== Notable alumni ==
{{main|List of Lowell High School (San Francisco) alumni}}
== See also ==
{{Portal|San Francisco Bay Area|Schools}}
* [[High schools in California#San Francisco County|San Francisco County high schools]]
{{Clear}}
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://lhs-sfusd-ca.schoolloop.com/ Lowell High School Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401042322/http://lhs-sfusd-ca.schoolloop.com/ |date=2010-04-01 }}, official website
* [http://www.sfusd.edu/en/schools/school-information/lowell.html SFUSD School Description], official profile and statistics of Lowell
* [http://www.thelowell.org The Lowell On the Web], student newspaper
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060207121953/http://www.thelowell.org/content/view/185/ The Lowell's Archive], over 100 years of back issues
* [http://www.lowellalumni.org Lowell Alumni Association]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050307201455/http://www2.lowellsbc.com/ Lowell High School's Student Body Council], student government
* [http://www.lowellptsa.org Lowell's Parent Teacher Student Association]
{{San Francisco Schools}}
{{authority control}}
[[Category:San Francisco Unified School District schools]]
[[Category:Public high schools in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Magnet schools in California]]
[[Category:Sunset District, San Francisco]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in 1856]]
[[Category:1856 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Public high schools in California]]
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