Crenshaw High School in South LA: A Brief History

In 1968, Crenshaw High School opened as a 25-acre flagship campus in South LA that would level the playing field between schools in black neighborhoods and schools in white neighborhoods. At the time, school leaders promised this school would reduce overcrowding, offer one-of-a-kind classes, and feature cutting-edge media technology.

Years later, the school battles with dwindling enrollment. How did this promising school result in a reputation for academic underachievement, gang violence, and championship-winning sports? And is that even still true today?

Special thanks to Rodney Lytle for suggesting this episode for the Recap.

CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
1:06 Making Room
3:16 Keeping a Promise
4:32 Under the Bus
8:24 The Resurgence
10:23 The Outro

Here's an article/radio cast of bussing in Los Angeles, and how it impacted inner-city schools, like many in South Los Angeles / South Central. https://archive.kpcc.org/programs/air...

Here's a snap shot the article that sparked so much attention from the Crenshaw High School Student Government Association - https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86699...

Here's the snap shot of how the Crenshaw High School Student Government Association responded to that cutting Times article - https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86699...

In 1974, Crenshaw High School enrolled 2,900 students. By 1985, the school’s population dwindled to around 1,800 students. Even with growing school pride and revamped offerings, the enrollment in 2012 fell to just over 1,200 students. In 2020, the Crenshaw High School enrollment fell to 750 student.

Here are the Crenshaw High School enrollment stats for 2012 - https://schools.latimes.com/school/lo...

The most recent enrollment stats for Crenshaw High School - https://www.usnews.com/education/best...

Crenshaw and Dorsey high schools had too few students enrolled for a proper football opener - https://www.latimes.com/sports/highsc...

More information on the $100 million renovation at Crenshaw High School - https://abc7.com/crenshaw-high-school...

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