School History
John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the Fireside Poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Whittier is remembered particularly for his anti-slavery writings as well as his book Snow-Bound.
The site first opened in 1929 as Los Angeles Heights High School, but soon after was renamed Edison High School. In 1949 the Los Angeles Heights School District merged with the SAISD.
Whittier Junior High School opened there in 1959 when Edison moved to its present location on Santa Monica, and then was a middle school for approximately 30 years starting in the mid 1970s.
After obtaining internal charter school status in 2007-08 Whittier became an academy as companion to SAISD’s Health Professions Magnet at Edison High School.