User:NorthAmericany/EAGLES Academy

EAGLES Academy Central High School (also known as EAGLES Academy Hollywood) was a public high school located in Hollywood, Los Angeles, designed for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender young people, as well as those questioning their sexuality and educational dropouts. It was founded and opened in 1992 along with the "Educational Options" program by the LAUSD and closed down in 2004. It was the first public high school for LGBT youth in the United States.

History
EAGLES Academy Central High School was a public high school run by the department of "Educational Options" of the Los Angeles Unified school district (LAUSD), also known as EAGLES Academy Hollywood. The name EAGLES is an acronym from "Empasizing Adolescent Gay Lesbian Education Services." The target group of this school was gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students, as well as those questioning their sexuality and educational dropouts. The mission statement was "A safe place for youth to receive their education." The school was supervised by Ruben Zacarias, in that time period the superintendent of schools in charge, Elizabeth Newman, the options administrator, and Sunshine S. Sepulveda, an educational advisor to LAUSD. Founder and principal of the school was Jerry B. Battey, an English teacher, from 1992 to 2004.

In 1999, eleven teachers worked at EAGLES. The curriculum followed the Carnegie Unit and Student Hour system with 45 minute units in core subjects like English, science, social studies, and mathematics plus German and Spanish as second languages.

There were also one full-time and four part-time volunteer counselors.

The school was closed in the Summer of 2004 due to financial shortages.

Criticism
In 2001, some students graduated from EAGLES Academy without fulfilling all requirements.

Notable graduates

 * Marc Imme, actor known for the role of "Luke" in Ryan's Life (2004)
 * Miguel Lopez, playwright of Mariposas (2001)

Literature

 * David Campos: Sex, Youth, and Sex Education: A Reference Handbook. Contemporary Education Issues, 2002. EAGLES Academy: Pages 164, 166-167. ISBN 978-1576077764.
 * Arianne MacBean, Greg Christensen, Alexander-Martin Sardina: Sweet Fantasy - Writing and Performance with High School Students. A Venture by the Los Angeles Central High School, Hollywood, in Collaboration with the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Los Angeles (California Institute of the Arts), 1999. No ISBN.
 * Lisa Meyer: "Hostile Classrooms – The state of hate." In: The Advocate, No. 33, April 13, 1999. Pages 33-35.

Media

 * Interview with Jerry B. Battey (2009) on the first Prom in 1993.