The Los Angeles Unified School District recently completed a four-year $162 million modernization of Venice High School’s campus, adding two classroom buildings, athletic facilities and outdoor spaces.
The district and students celebrated the refresh on Feb. 22.
Nick Melvoin from the LA Unified School Board explained it was made possible through the efforts of voters, who, in 2020, supported Measure RR, the largest school bond in the nation, at over $7 billion.
“The only reason we could do this was because of the bond measures that have been passed … I have deep gratitude for the community for investing in our local public schools,” Melvoin said.
LAUSD allocated a significant portion of the bond money for the aging Venice High School. It lacked up-to-date technology and critical seismic stabilization and repairs.
Melvoin said it was challenging to balance the historic essence of the campus with the new buildings. After reaching out to alumni and other members of the community, one popular request was to reopen the historic auditorium, which had been closed for years due to earthquake safety.
“The main building, you saw it on ‘Grease,’ the field, you saw it on ‘Grease,’ all of these important historic things grasp a lot of attention. They still have that uniqueness, but also we’re in a new era, we’re in a new age. (The renovation) combines both seamlessly,” said Brianna Rosales-Sanchez, a Venice High School senior.
To determine priorities, Melvoin said project planners reached out to the community. In addition to surveying alumni and current high school students, they also contacted elementary and middle schools to see what resources they would most like to see as their kids get older.
Students called the new athletic and physical education areas the highlights. With the new facilities, student-athletes have access to a new gymnasium, a sports medicine room, and new fields. Robert Lamar, one of Venice High School’s student-athletes, laughed as he said his favorite new feature is the ice bath.
“The best addition for the athletes would be the sports medicine room and the new sports medicine team that helps support athletes with physical therapy and pre-physical therapy to make sure you prevent injuries. And anybody can walk in, even if they aren’t an athlete to use the facilities,” Lamar said.
Principal Cynthia Headrick explained that sports medicine is one of the career tracks offered at Venice High School. While the track existed before the facelift, the new facilities allow students to get hands-on learning in the sports medicine room.
This asset has extended to other career tracks. A new science building boasts an engineering room, which resembles a professional robotics lab. Even the standard science classrooms have more versatile layouts, better technology and larger spaces for students to get down and dirty with their experiments.
This has created a lot of pride for the teachers, Headrick said.
“I think they are proud. There’s always a sense that teachers aren’t respected, so they feel like this is what they deserve. And that every kid deserves to be in these modern classrooms. They feel that sense of respect that this is (the kind of classroom) they deserve to be in,” Headrick added.
The pandemic allowed the renovations and construction work to be done with the students off campus. When they returned, staff noticed the refresh created a greater sense of unity.
“We have new courtyards. We have all these new areas that we also had to navigate ourselves even though we weren’t freshmen. I think the new additions and everything made everyone united as one. It wasn’t like (seniors) know more — or they were better. We all face these new renovations together,” Rosales-Sanchez said.
Headrick said it is too early to assess quantitatively how the modernization has improved academic performance, but they have noticed that enrollment numbers are up for Venice High School.
“In terms of enrollment, which is a huge factor for LAUSD schools, (the modernization) is having a big impact. Anyone who walks into our gym is like, ‘this is incredible!’ We had 150 people on our last school tour, and every tour we have is sold out,” Headrick said.