Alumni In Music

Alumni are the strength of this school and we have many that have taken paths to become educators, doctors, politicians, lawyers, construction workers, attendants, secretaries, and the likes.  Saxons are everywhere and we want to hear your story.

Each September ASB gears up for Homecoming and we have a long standing tradition that the teachers do a lip sync in the Gym for the students before the big game.  This has become quite a showstopper and we have acts that his every genre of music from Latin Rock to Rap.

As we look over Loara's rich History there are some really big musicians that have stamped their mark on the broader stage. This blog post is to them ... those that have rocked, keep rocking and will rock.  I apologize in advance if anyone is forgotten in this list, we will update as information is given.  Any additions please email to me here.

The Tim & Jeff Buckley Legacy

Jeff Buckley - Grace

Tim Buckley

One of our biggest names with the critics is  Jeff Buckley.  Although he died at a young age, he has left an indelible mark in music.  His version of Hallelujah has been praised for it's reworking, it was also featured in the movie Shrek which brought Jeff an whole new audience.  Rolling Stone magazine has had many features on Jeff as he is listed as #39 in Rolling Stones piece on "100 Greatest Singers of all Time", he is listed at #264 for "500 Greatest Song of all Time" (Hallelujah) and #304 for the"500 Greatest Album of all Time".

Jeff's father Tim Buckley made a name for himself in folk music and was also a Saxon for a short time.  In 1965 during French class at Loara High School, Buckley met Mary Guibert, one grade his junior and his soon to be wife. Other Saxons he collaborated with Larry Beckett and Jim Fielder.  Early on in all of their careers.

Jim Fielder

Jim Fielder had a role with several major 1960s Californian rock acts before settling into the one which brought him the most recognition, as the bass player for Blood, Sweat & Tears during their most popular years. In the mid-'60s, Fielder was bass player in the Bohemians, whose lead singer was Tim Buckley. As a result of Fielder meeting Mothers of Invention drummer Jimmy Carl Black, the Bohemians were introduced to Mothers' manager Herbie Cohen, who also took on the Bohemians. the Bohemians made demos that attracted the interest of Jac Holzman at Elektra Records, but Elektra wanted Buckley as a solo artist, not with the Bohemians. There were no hard feelings, and in fact, Fielder plays some of the bass on Buckley's first pair of Elektra LPs, Tim Buckley andGoodbye and Hello. (http://www.allmusic.com)

Larry Beckett

Although he did not actually play on Tim Buckley's records, Larry Beckett was one of the cult singer/songwriter's most important creative colleagues, co-writing much of Buckley's best material. Buckley and Beckett started writing together in the mid-'60s, when both were teenagers in the Southern Californian group the Bohemians, in which Beckett played drums. the Bohemians also included bassist Jim Fielder (later to play on records by Buckley and Buffalo Springfield, and as a full member of Blood, Sweat & Tears), and got as far as making a demo that was instrumental in catching the attention of Elektra Records. Elektra, however, was interested in working with Tim Buckley as a solo artist, and not with the Bohemians as a band. Beckett, nonetheless, was closely involved with the making of Buckley's first couple of LPs, both as frequent songwriting collaborator and as an associate whose input into arrangements and recording was accepted in the studio. (http://www.allmusic.com)

The Stefani's

No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom

Gwen Stefani

When it comes to commercial success, No Doubt and Gwen Stefani take the title.

With the return of the punks in the mid-'90s came a resurgence of their slightly more commercial rivals, new wave bands. No Doubt found a niche as a new wave/ska band, on the strength of vocalist Gwen Stefani's persona -- alternately an embrace of little-girl-lost innocence and riot grrrl feminism -- exemplified on the band's breakout single, "Just a Girl."
Formed in early 1987 as a ska band inspired by Madness, the lineup of No Doubt initially comprised John Spence, Gwen Stefani, and her brother Eric. While playing the party-band circuit around Anaheim, the trio picked up bassist Tony Kanal, born in India but raised in Great Britain and the U.S. Hardened by the suicide of Spence in December 1987, No Doubt nevertheless continued; Gwen became the lone vocalist and the group added guitarist Tom Dumont and drummer Adrian Young (Katella Graduate). (http://www.allmusic.com)

Eric Stefani

Their Tragic Kingdom album brought them off Mells Lane in Anaheim and landed them a career that has made them all household names.  When the band began  Gwen Stefani started off as the back up singer, and through it's History moved to center stance.   Eric Stefani with other original members began the band while attending Loara High School.

Following Tragic Kingdom, Eric pulled himself out of the band and moved on to other artistic endeavors, he has drawn for The Simpsons, written children books, plays his accordion and lives here in Southern California.  You can see his art at http://ericstefanimusic.blogspot.com/

Save Ferris & Starpool

Save Ferris

Following in the footsteps of No Doubt they took a spin in the limelight. Save Ferris was originally formed as a ska-punk band named Los Pantelones. After the group broke up in 1995, guitarist Brian Mashburn and saxophone playerEric Zamora began writing songs, together with former bandmates Bill Uechi (bass) and José Castellaños (trumpeter). The quartet from Loara later recruited drummer Mark Harismendy, vocalist Monique Powell and trombone player T-Bone Willy.

Starpool

Save Ferris's popularity dwindled when they turned from Ska and moved more mainstream.  They have once again resurrected themselves into the current ska band Starpool which combines former lead singer of No Doubt and the band of Save Ferris.

The Others

David Diggs

David Diggs (70) received distinction when "Billboard" rated him one of the top three New Jazz Artists in 1985. 

my superHero

Stacey Lynn Swain aka Stacey Q

Attendance & Economy

It's Wednesday, Day 3 of school and I think it's amazing that with all the bad press that education gets we have only 5 kids absent today.  When school started many were still on vacation or getting registered so the numbers were off.  But how proud am I that kids in our community really want to go to school.

I am sitting in the yearbook room at the present time and we are discussing Senior Ads, Senior pages and Senior photos and I find myself reflecting back to the Class of 1982 (my graduating class) and how much impact that year had on my life.  I loved our yearbook and the memories that it captures throughout the year, brings me back to the days.  The days I spent with people I have maintain friendships with since Pre School at Temple Beth Emet across the street.

The sad reality today is that less than 1/2 of Seniors can afford their senior yearbook, and of the just under 2700 students on this campus only 750 actually buy a book.  Here is the change of culture, it's not that they don't want it, it's the one luxury item parents seem to cut out of their budgets.  I find kids really love their school, they are connected but we need to reach out a bit more, reach out to those hidden in the halls that aren't connected to anything.  It's not the school, it's the product of what is.  ASB's goal this year is to REACH OUT to the campus and make this campus whole once again.  What better year to start than YEAR ONE of the next 50 years?

Attendance Summary
		Today	Prior Day	2 Days Prior
		08/29/2012	08/28/2012	08/27/2012
	Enr - Total	2668	2669	2669
	Enr - Male	1319	1320	1320
	Enr - Female	1349	1349	1349
	Present	2663 | 99.81%	2639 | 98.88%	2601 | 97.45%
	Absent	5 | 0.19%	30 | 1.12%	68 | 2.55%
	Tardy	0	0	0

The Loara Community & Enrollment

August 27, 2012 First Day of School

As I sit in my office waiting for the first bell of the first day of the next 50 years to ring, I find myself just as excited as I do every year.  What are my students going to be like?  What is the year going to be like?  Will our Anniversary Celebration be a hit?  Heck will the opening rally on September 7, 2012 be a hit?

Likewise, I have a ringing in my ears of each graduating class saying "The school has changed since I left" and then they ask "is it any good?"  My answer to them is, YUP and I think it is even better.  Sure we have the state and district politics that has posed many problems in education, but that's business and I'm not here for that.  I'm here for kids to make a memory "that always lingers" and "that last forever, built by Saxons loyal and true."  Each year brings it's problems and each year brings new kids ... kids of every color, race, religion, ethnicity and more.  Are they different? Not really, they are still kids.

Here are some current statistics and demographics taken from our successful WASC Report from 2012.  WASC stands for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and they review school sites to make sure they are doing what they say they are doing (okay, it's a simplified explanation but I think you get it) and at the end of the process you can get a 1, 3 or 6 year seal of approval ... we got a 6 year with a 3 year review and that is really good!  This year we are opening the school with close to 2700 Students.

THE LOARA COMMUNITY

Loara High School is located in the city of Anaheim, one mile west of “The Happiest Place on Earth.”  Disneyland, the Anaheim Resort area businesses, Kaiser, and Northgate Gonzalez Supermarkets are the top private employers in the city.  Anaheim is a tourist and convention destination with over 18 million visitors annually.  Anaheim is the second largest city in Orange County with a population of 348,467.  The population of Anaheim is 52.4% Hispanic, 29.6% White, 13.4% Asian, 2.6% Black, and 1.9% as more than one race or other race.  The city of Anaheim is largely middle class with a median household income of $59,644 and a median home value of $576,300 (Anaheim at a Glance 2009).

ENROLLMENT

Enrollment Trends

In 2008-09, Loara’s enrollment reached 2761 students (number does not include special day class students as they are considered district students).  This was an increase of almost 200 students from the previous year, primarily due to the elimination of the retention program at the junior high.  Since then, enrollment has remained relatively stable around 2700 students.

Student Enrollment by Grade Level

Grade level enrollment data indicates that there is generally a decrease in the size of a class as the grade level increases.  For example, in 2008-09, the 9^th grade class was 781 students, whereas, in 2009-10, the 10^th grade was 717 students. 

Student Enrollment by Gender

Gender enrollment data indicates that the percentage of males to female students is consistently close to 50-50.

Student Enrollment by Ethnicity

Loara’s mixed ethnicity continues to be a source of cultural exchange.  Currently, 73.4% of the student body is Hispanic/Latino, 10.8% is White, 8.7% is Asian, with 7.1% representing other ethnicities.

The past six years have brought changes in student ethnicity in significant subgroups.  The percentage of Hispanic/Latino students has increased by 12%, while the percentage of white students has decreased by 11% (this is a 50% decrease in the white population).

Student Enrollment by Primary Language

Student enrollment by primary language indicates a steady increase in the percent of Spanish and Vietnamese-speaking students and a decrease in the percent of English speaking students.  Data are based on number of EL and FEP students enrolled by primary language.

	2008-09		2009-10		2010-11		2011-12
	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
English	858	31.0%	771	28.5%	743	27.2%	695	25.4%
Spanish	1608	58.2%	1615	59.6%	1659	60.8%	1715	62.6%
Vietnamese	114	4.1%	136	5.0%	142	5.2%	149	5.4%
Filipino	46	1.7%	54	2.0%	59	2.2%	52	1.9%
Other	135	4.7%	133	4.9%	127	4.7%	129	4.7%
Total	2761	100%	2709	100.0%	2730	100.0%	2740	100.0%