New campus unveiled at John Burroughs Middle School
AT THE RIBBON CUTTING were Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, Burroughs Principal, Steve J. Martinez and LAUSD Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho.
Cheers and smiles were all around at the opening of a new three-story campus on Oct. 6 at John Burroughs Middle School ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The new building—which was years in the making and shows off a green-glittering facade facing McCadden Place—is Phase One of the school’s $277 million Comprehensive Modernization Project.
It will host science classrooms, labs, workrooms, and special education classrooms.
Also included in Phase One is a lunch shelter, modular classroom buildings, landscape and hardscape, and basketball courts.
Remaining new construction work—which is expected to continue through Summer 2027—will include two, one-story buildings, with a flexible drama classroom, music classrooms, a new sports field, and a learning garden.
New parking areas, a bus drop-off location, and EV charging stations will also be on-site.
Speakers at the event held at the 101-year-old school at McCadden and Sixth Street included Los Angeles Unified District (LAUSD) Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho.
Carvalho praised the school’s academics, dual language, and its gifted programs, which “ensure the future of our nation and of these students.”
Recently released data show improved reading, math, and science scores for Burroughs’ students. “Then it gets better. [Students] improved in all subjects, all grades, all subgroups…surpassing pre-COVID levels, because of the people in this room,” Carvalho said to the administrators and teachers at the opening.
“I’m excited for Phase 1; this is just the beginning,” said Sherlett Hendy Newbill, Board Member, LAUSD, District 1.
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky said the school has special meaning to her. “My mom was a student here 70 years ago… This new building has the tools to allow John Burroughs to prepare for the future.”
Like many of the speakers LAUSD Chief Facilities Executive Krisztina Tokes thanked the voters for providing the resources to update the school. “There had been no serious investment in decades,” she said.
School Principal Dr. Steve Martinez was praised for his years of attending community meetings and tireless pursuit to bring the project forward at the school, home to students from 70 Zip Codes, and who speak a total of 40 different languages. “It is a stunning, new, three-story building with modern learning spaces to support academic success,” Martinez said.
The school opened in 1924 as Wilshire Junior High School at 600 S. McCadden Place in Hancock Park.
The student body included 400 students and 23 teachers. Today there are 1,300 students in grades six, seven, and eight.
“As we step into the second century, we prepare students for college, careers, and life…and an even brighter future” Martinez said.
Phase Two, which is expected to begin in 2027 and continue until 2030, features existing building upgrades to include interior spaces and exterior elevations of existing buildings, landscape and hardscape improvements and upgrades of campus utilities infrastructure, safety and security systems, and technology.
DLR Group is implementing the designs of Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects for the school’s modernization project.
Category: News
