Belvedere Middle School

Belvedere Middle School is a landmark because it has been on 312 North Record Avenue in East Los Angeles for a very long time. My step grandparents went there, and it might have been there before them. It has a lot of meaning. Many kids meet their best friends there, their husband or wife, or favorite teacher. When I went to Belvedere Middle School I met a lot of people, good and bad. But I have to say middle school was a great time for me, and I hope that other kids had a great experience too. In 2008 when I was in seventh grade, I remember there was a walkout because the school district didn’t want to keep having a music class, so all the students who had the music class left to show how badly they wanted it kept. Classes were empty because people who didn’t even have music class left just so they could ditch school. Kids were walking back in with cops because they got caught leaving. The office was packed with kids calling their parents telling them what they tried to do. But because of that walkout, Belvedere still has a music class to this day.

Belvedere Middle School is a pretty big school, but small at the same time. When I first got there for seventh grade I got lost because I came from a private school that was really small. After being there for two years, it seemed small because I knew where everything was. I also knew every worker there because I was a troublemaker. Every teacher really did care about their students. It made students kind of like going to school. I was in cheerleading, so it was more fun after school because I was with all my friends from every grade. I loved it when we would perform for the school. At the end of the school year, the basketball players would play against the teachers, which was funny. The after school programs are pretty awesome with activities like playing music, Students Run L.A., arts and crafts, and many more. Belvedere has still stayed the same. My little brother goes there now as an eighth grader on the basketball team. He really likes middle school. When he was in Student Run L.A., the coordinators said if he joined the program again he would get a scholarship, but he didn’t want to do it. We do know that they recognize students who they think are good players. Not all middle schools have that. With all this history, people consider this a good middle school for their kids. The outside paintings are welcoming. People who live around here know it’s a landmark. For people who come visit, they’ll ask what it is because its looks unique.