La Quinta High School was founded in 1963, "the fifth" high school to be founded in the Garden Grove Unified School District. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, La Quinta gained notoriety for expressed racial tensions between those of Asian and Hispanic/Latino descent. In 1994, La Quinta was known for a tuberculosis outbreak of 106 students and faculty who tested positive, and subsequent quick response and compliance with county public health officials. In 2009, La Quinta again made headlines for student demonstrations in support of a teacher allegedly abused by the high school's administration.
Administration and organization
The La Quinta mascot is an Aztec. La Quinta's principal is currently Tahnee Phan. The assistant principals are Wendy Rhinehart, Loan Sriruksa, and Adrian Lucero. The structure of the school is divided into seven main buildings as well as several portable classrooms. To the north of campus are the 100, 200 and 300 buildings. The 100 building holds most english classrooms, the 200 is mostly social science classrooms and 300 building specializes in world languages and special education. To the east are the 600 building for art, business and Vietnamese, 700 building for science classes, and the 800 building which houses most of the math classes. The 400 building to the south houses weight rooms and classrooms for miscellaneous subjects, such as art, music, band and computer graphics. The 500 buildings, which are seven portable rooms to the south of the 400 building and west of the gym, house mainly social science classrooms. Students traverse the campus through the space between buildings, known as "the quad." The student store, located in the 100 building, is the center of the school's activities. The school library and performing arts center are on the west side of the campus. In front of the library is the cafeteria. Currently under construction is a new gym and pool facility to south of the 500 portables. The gym and pool have a scheduled opening of Spring of 2021. The fields south and west of the main campus have courts for sports such as basketball, soccer, track and field, tennis, football, softball and baseball.
Student body
There are about 2,150 students, grades 9th-12th, who reside in Westminster, Garden Grove, Fountain Valley, and Santa Ana. La Quinta’s student demographic breakdown is as follows; 78.2% of the students are Asian, 16.5% Hispanic, 4.3% are Caucasian,.5% Filipino and.2% Pacific Islander representing approximately 26 different home languages. The class of 2006 sent approximately 90% of its graduates to higher education; 25% to four-year colleges and 65% to two-year colleges.
Academics
La Quinta High School offers many Advanced Placement classes. AP classes, if mastered, will give students college credit in that course. Mastery is determined by a score on the AP tests given in May. A score of 3, 4, or 5 allows the student to gain college credit. La Quinta offers the following AP classes: English AP English Literature AP English Language and Composition Math AP Calculus AB AP Calculus BC AP Statistics Sciences AP Computer Science Principles AP Computer Science A AP Psychology AP Physics 1 AP Physics C AP Biology AP Chemistry AP Environmental Science World Languages AP Spanish Language AP Spanish Literature Social Sciences AP World History AP US History AP Economics AP Civics AP Human Geography Arts AP Music Theory
Athletics
La Quinta High School consists the following sports.
Current sports
Baseball
Basketball
Cheerleading
Cross Country
Dance
Football
Soccer
Softball
Swimming
Tennis
Track
Volleyball
Water Polo
Former sports
Badminton
Golf
Wrestling
Music Department
La Quinta High School has an award winning marching band, known as the La Quinta High School Marching Aztecs. Their most recent show is titled "Where the Clouds Dance", and past shows include "Tribal Affect", "Sacred Geometry of Chance" ft. "The Gambler", "The Machine" ft. Mechanize, "Playback", "One", "Heroes", "Ex Astris Scientia", "Fantasmic", "Pyramids of Egypt", "Pirates", "Cowboys", "La Nouba", "Pearl Harbor", "Jesus Christ, Superstar", "Circle of Life", "Cabaret", & "Salute to John Williams". The band competes in Class 3A of the WBA circuit as of 2017 and placed 4th overall in the 2017 WBA Grand Championships for classes 1A, 2A, and 3A. They have previously competed in Class 5A of the SCJA circuit and advanced to the California State Band Championships in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. They have earned second place and high percussion in Division 4A at the CSBC in 2013 and continued on to earn fourth place with both high percussion and high auxiliary for the first time in Division 5A in 2014. Along with Marching and Symphonic Band, La Quinta High School offers other music classes such as Concert Choir and String Orchestra. The Vocal Ensemble and the Zero Period Advanced Orchestra have earned Superior ratings at festivals throughout Southern California.
Electives
La Quinta has two elective departments: Fine Arts and Business. Fine arts students win numerous awards each year for their projects. La Quinta has one of the largest Business departments in Orange County, California; it offers classes to obtain either an Accounting Certificate or Business Ownership Certificate as a supplement to college applications or resumes.
Notable alumni
Brent Kutzle, American musician best known for playing the bass guitar and cello for the band OneRepublic
