St. John Bosco High School
St. John Bosco High School is a Catholic, all-male college preparatory high school located in Bellflower, California, and conducted by the San Francisco Province of the Salesians of St. John Bosco. St. John Bosco High School is named after Saint John Bosco, an Italian saint known for his dedication to educating and advocating for youth and for his "Home-School-Church-Playground" model of education. Bosco was founded as an elementary and intermediate boarding school in 1940. The first high school class graduated in 1956, and in 1979 the boarding school closed.
Academics
St. John Bosco High School prepares all graduates to successfully enter and meet the rigors of higher education. All Bosco students complete a structured college preparatory curriculum that exceeds the minimum A-G requirements set by the University of California and California State University systems. The school offers 31 Advanced Placement and Honors courses, six dual enrollment college courses, plus championship Academic Decathlon and robotics programs.Students at St. John Bosco High School can apply to one of five unique Academic Pathways, in either Biomedical Science, Engineering, Sports Medicine, Computer Science, or Entrepreneurship. The Academic Pathways provide advanced, discipline-specific courses and offer opportunities for internships, field work, capstone projects, and co-curricular competitions. Biomedical students participate in internships with the COPE Health Scholar Program, Engineering students intern with Pelican Products, Sports Medicine students can intern with Rio Hondo College, Long Beach City College, and Response Care Chiropractic.
Among the graduating class of 2019, 96% were accepted to a four-year college or university, including admission to 22 of U.S. News & World Report's top 25 national schools. Bosco alumni are currently studying at Brown, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Dartmouth, all UC campuses, all CSU campuses, and the US Military, Air Force, and Naval Academies. 98% of St. John Bosco graduating seniors in the past decade have entered institutions of higher learning.
Visual and Performing Arts
St. John Bosco High School allows a rich culture of the arts on campus. A few of the elaborate programs offered on campus range from the award winning, Braves Marching Band & Color Guard to the SJB Theatre Department as well as a wide variety of art courses. Most recently established is the academic pathway, the film and media pathway that allows students to discover their passion for a possible career in the film industry.Student life
St. John Bosco High School integrates technology into the everyday experience of its students. The campus is equipped with more than 30 digital, interactive classroom projectors; an expanded fiber-optic data bandwidth network; WiFi; and voice-over-IP phones in all classrooms, offices and facilities. The school was the first private school to partner with a Southern California Edison program, which brought more than $125,000 in energy-efficient fixtures to campus. St. John Bosco High School aims to be a modern campus committed to preparing its students for the modern world.St. John Bosco hosts a dedicated location for students to work together and collaborate on group projects, read, relax, and meet up with friends. Called the Learning Commons, it has more than 4,500 square feet of modern space, four group collaboration rooms, a robotics lab, individual work stations, counter top charging stations, and breakout spaces. Students also have access to check out electronic devices and choose from more than one million digital titles from a global library.
As part of St. John Bosco High School's broad mission to develop the "whole student," a multitude of activities are offered that play an important role in the Bosco experience. These activities complement St. John Bosco's academic curriculum and enhance the educational experience. Students may choose to explore the arts, music, cultural activities, robotics, paintballing, fitness, cycling, skateboarding and drama, to name a few. These activities have a positive impact on the students' emotional, intellectual and social development.
The school maintains a commitment to Christian values that develop morality, integrity, and a sense of service. In addition, St. John Bosco encourages community service through numerous opportunities made available to students, including the Hospitality Kitchen in downtown Los Angeles, a Thanksgiving Food Drive and Christmas Toy Drive, campus blood drives, and the Concern for America Walk. These experiences help develop compassion, integrity and a greater sense of purpose within St. John Bosco's students.
St. John Bosco High School enjoys a special relationship with St. Joseph High School, a Catholic all-girls school located in Lakewood. Known as St. John Bosco's "Sister School," Saint Joseph interacts with St. John Bosco High School throughout the school year as students gather for numerous special events, dances, activities and theatrical productions.
Students at St. John Bosco became a part of the Bosco Brotherhood, a lifelong camaraderie grounded in faith, intellect, leadership and citizenship composed of over 9,000 alumni.
Notable alumni
- Chad Allen, actor
- Steve Carfino, basketball player for the Iowa Hawkeyes and Australian National Basketball League
- James Cotton, former NBA player for the Seattle SuperSonics
- Schea Cotton, basketball player
- Joe Cowan, graduated in 2003, holds numerous school records in track and field and football; played for the UCLA Bruins football team
- Patrick Cowan, graduated in 2004, starting quarterback for the UCLA Bruins football team and NFL player
- Benjamin Cruz, retired Chief Justice of Guam, Democratic Senator in the Guam Legislature, member Democratic National Committee
- Tim DeRuyter, Cal defensive coordinator and former Fresno State head coach
- Tyler Dorsey, Basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies
- Nomar Garciaparra, graduated in 1991, MLB player for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Oakland Athletics; currently a TV commentator for the Los Angeles Dodgers
- Jelani Gardner, McDonald's All-American basketball player for Cal and Pepperdine
- Isaac Hamilton, college basketball player
- Todd Husak, Stanford and NFL quarterback
- Joey Karam, plays keyboard/synthesizer for The Locust and One Day as a Lion
- , 2 time NCAA All American in track and field for shot put.
- Dennis Lamp, MLB pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates
- Evan Longoria, graduated in 2003, San Francisco Giants third baseman, 2008 American League rookie of the year
- Leon McFadden, San Francisco 49ers cornerback
- Aaron Pico, freestyle wrestler and MMA fighter
- Keith Price, former University of Washington quarterback. Quarterback for the Birmingham Iron in the AAF
- Josh Rosen, graduated in 2015, quarterback for the Miami Dolphins
- Bud Smith, MLB pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, one of only 18 MLB pitchers since 1900 to throw no-hitter during his rookie season