Decades of Excellence

The proposal to create a “Medical Magnet School” was first presented to the Board of Education in December, 1977.   The concept of a magnet school specializing in the medical professions was proposed by a visionary community leader named Rosa Lopez, then president of PICA, Parents Involved in Community Action.  In partnership with Raul Arreola, Director of the Mexican American Education Commission of LAUSD, Rosa Lopez presented this idea as a part of the school district’s integration program.  She identified a site, convened support groups from the medical community, the community at large, and educators in LAUSD.   The Board of Education approved the concept in April, 1978, and planning began under the leadership of then Region G Superintendent William Anton. Dr. Rosa Maria Hernandez, who was at the time teaching Biology at Roosevelt High School, was assigned to develop the school curricular program. She worked with retired curriculum expert Dr. Jack McClellan.

Following three years of planning, the medical magnet school opened its doors to 61 tenth grade students from various parts of LAUSD, on the campus of Lincoln High School in September, 1981.  This small group of students, the Pioneer Class of 1984, thus embarked on a journey that took nine years before the opening of Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School. 

In January of 1984, the Lincoln Medical Magnet Center relocated to the Cornwell site occupying ten bungalows.  The student enrollment and staff grew, and a ninth grade class was added when high schools were reconfigured in 1986.  Three years later, during the summer of 1987, the small school relocated once again to a vacant parking lot on the campus of Wilson High School.  This was done to make way for the construction of the new school, which took a record three years.

Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School opened for the first time to 1100 students on September 10, 1990, under the leadership of its first Principal, Dr. Rosa Maria Hernandez. This was a historic date for LAUSD and the Northeast Los Angeles community, making this the first high school to be built in seventeen years, and the first full magnet high school of its kind.  Named after a well-known physician who practiced in East Los Angeles; established his own clinic; and founded a scholarship fund for needy students interested in the health science professions; Bravo was to become one of the most successful schools in the District, indeed in the State of California and the country!

Thirty-one years since its opening, and 40 years since those 61 students arrived on the Lincoln High School campus, Bravo Medical Magnet High School has earned the distinction of a Title I High Achieving School, twice a California Distinguished School, and a National Blue Ribbon School.  Over the years, graduates have gone on to pursue many fields in medical/health science, education, law, business, public service, and the arts.  The Northeast Los Angeles community, adjacent to Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, and East Los Angeles, could not be more proud of its students, staff, and parents as we are of Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School!