COMMUNITY

 Torrance is a suburban community of 140,000 in the South Bay area situated below the beautiful Palos Verdes Peninsula on the beachfront of southwestern Los Angeles County.  It is located 17 miles southwest of Los Angeles Civic Center and 7 miles northwest of Los Angeles Harbor.  Torrance boasts a particularly healthy economy, a near-perfect weather pattern, two miles of white sand beach, an extensive financial center, and a safe, secure community. Torrance Unified School District consists of seventeen elementary schools, eight middle schools, five high schools, and three adult schools.  North High School is a 9^th through 12^th  grade school with 98 eighth graders who are enrolled in at least one course.  North High School HJHuihas 2,347 students in grades eight through twelve, making North High one of the larger high schools in the school district.  Enrollment continues to increase each year. The school community consists of single-family residences, small businesses, and apartments.  The city is mostly a middle-class community.  The income levels of the families attending North vary, with sixteen percent of the students on free or reduced lunch.  North High has a very culturally-diverse student population, and English Language Learners make up approximately eleven percent of the student population.  North High prides itself on its diversity and being a safe and positive place to attend school. The state and federal programs in which North High participates are the following:  Economic Impact Aid/English Language Learner Program, Peer Assistance and Review, Pupil Retention Block Grant, School and Library Improvement Program Block Grant, School Safety and Violence Prevention Act, Tobacco-Use Prevention Education, GATE, Title II part A (Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting), Title II part D (Enhancing Education Through Technology), Title III part A (Language Instruction for LEP Students), Title IV part A (Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities), Title V (Innovative Programs) and Perkins. 

North High School engenders significant parent involvement.  The School Site Council, called TASC for Tri-Advisory Site Council, is composed of ten staff members (the principal, six teachers, one counselor, two classified personnel) and ten community members (five parents/community members and five students).    This council oversees the School-Based Coordinated Program, categorical budgets, site grants, disciplinary policies, and provides guidance to the North High administration.  Other parent groups include the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), Athletic Booster Club, Band Boosters, Pep Squad Boosters, English Learner Multicultural Advisory Committee (ELMAC), the JROTC parent organization, and various ad hoc parent advisory groups.  From such groups an Academic Honesty Policy and a dress standards policy were developed, presented to the site council, and adopted as school-wide policy.