Artesia High School

Artesia High School is a public high school in Lakewood, California, with a student population of around 1,500. It is one of the five high schools in the ABC Unified School District. History Construction of Artesia High was completed in 1954, making it the oldest active high school in the ABC Unified School District since the 1979 closure of Excelsior High School, then known as the Excelsior Union High School District. While originally in Artesia, California, since the realigning of city boundaries, it is now located about south of the southern border of Artesia, in Lakewood. The opening ceremony of the school was highlighted with a speech by then-Vice President Richard Nixon. In his speech he expressed his hope that Artesia High School would serve as an example of educational integration, in light of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling passed only a few months before. The school mascot is the Pioneer. Academics The school is part of the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement program and is under the direct guidance of California State University, Long Beach. The school's 2009 Academic Performance Index score was 745. In 2013, Artesia High was designated as a California Distinguished School.