i also grew up in pacoima, and just want to correct alvin's comment. i lived across the street from maclay junior high school also and those apartments are not The Projects. the actual Projects were down the street from maclay and right across the street from pacoima elementary school. people think its the projects just because most people who lives there have section 8.
i was part of the graduating class of 1996. we were the first 8th grade graduating class. because the 9th graders also graduated that year, we were not allowed to wear the caps with our gowns in order to distinguish from the 9th graders. i continue to hold the opinion that it is a load of unfairness.
i loved the green dickies and white collared shirt uniforms because it represented our mascot; the Scottish man with the bagpipe (maybe he was Mr. Charles Maclay?). my favorite were the cullotes for girls because they looked like real scottish kilts. however, i think i was the only girl who wore it because the other kids thought it was uncool. in fact, i think they didn't wear it because it was too expensive. our grass field by the stage was called "the bonnie green." very celtic, huh? lolz only the graduating class was allowed to eat there during lunch time.
academically, i learned to fall in love with shakespeare, english, math, after school enrichment programs and especially, the trip to USC sport camp.
socially, i learn to fight to defend myself, insult others when they insult you to hold your own, how to define who's a friend, foe, or the backstabbers, how to read situations and know when it is dangerous or not, the most memorable was how to survive the food fights without getting the food on our uniforms.
it is too long to list everything that i took away with me as a maclay alumnus.
i went back to maclay for in-class observation hours in April 2011. everything has changed. the mascot is different and now maclay unforms are blue and white like all the other boring middle schools. it doesn't stand out any more. it is no longer called a junior high; it is called a middle school since the 6th graders came in.
academically, the majority of the students are below proficiency in their reading levels and most programs are cut because of the budget crisis. the great news is the school test scores are steadily improving every year now since they started a new curriculum which incorporates an innovative program to improve the student's english and math levels in order to bring them up to proficiency levels.
socially, the lack of respect for authority and for one another has diminished even more so than the time of my generation. however, isn't that true of every student nowadays?
i still rate this school five stars even though most students are not doing well because the programs are cultivated to enrich the students. it is effective if the students are proactive in it. from what i see, it is up to the individual student to make the choice to take advantage of everything the school offers. just like how Alvin learned to "jump fences, play ball, and run from cops" and was a "bad part" of his childhood, Maclay Junior high for me was the best part of my childhood. i also learn to jump fences, play ball and run from cops too while i was there, yet i am still successful academically because i made the choice to succeed. i chose to put my effort and strength in achieving that success. read more