Gorman, California
Encyclopedia
Gorman, California, is an unincorporated community in northwestern Los Angeles County
. As of 2005 it had just 15 homes and a few registered voters, but tens of thousands of motorists traveled through it daily on the Interstate 5 freeway.
Gorman is a historic rest stop in the Tejon Pass
, which links Southern
with Central California
. It has the smallest school district in Los Angeles County, with one elementary school, whose existence has been threatened for the past 35 years. The settlement has been a site for at least four Hollywood motion pictures.
s meet — the Sierra Pelonas
, the Tehachapis
. and the San Emigdios
.
One of the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass
, it is southeast of Frazier Park
and south of Lebec
. Interstate 5 runs through Gorman, and State Route 138
connects to the Interstate a few miles south.
The California poppy
and other wildflowers cover the hills in springtime. In the early 1990s, the artist Christo arranged a set of umbrellas, in the form of colored cloth sheets on poles to add contrast to the summertime golden hills. Thousands of visitors flocked to Gorman from all over the world.
historian Bonnie Ketterl Kane said that Gorman is “one of the oldest continuously used roadside rest stops in California,” explaining that native Americans
“would have stopped there when it was the Tataviam village of Kulshra’jek.”
The first white
settler in the area was a man named Reed, who took up residence in the early 1850s, calling it Reed's Ranch. In 1857 a woman was killed on his ranch when the great Fort Tejon Earthquake struck the area and collapsed an adobe house. Reed then built a substantial log house that in 1858 became a stop for the Butterfield Overland Mail
stagecoach line.
He sold the property to Charles Johnson, and when Johnson died, the station was run by his widow, Soledad Girardo, when it went by the nickname "Rancho la Viuda" ("the Widow's Ranch" in Spanish). It was next bought by David W. Alexander, the sheriff of Los Angeles County, who sold the place to James Gorman Sr. in 1867 or 1868. The log "public house
", which furnished food, lodgings, and liquor, soon became known as Gorman's Station.
Gorman was a veteran of the Mexican-American War of 1848 and was at Fort Tejon
as a civilian teamster and herder in 1854 while it was being built. In 1876, Gorman Sr. died after he was run over by his own supply wagon.
The Butterfield Overland was discontinued in 1861 but was replaced by the Telegraph Stage Line, which stopped at almost all the former stations, including Gorman's, as it was known then, where the horses were changed. Six of them were used for the pull up from Bakersfield to Gorman's.
The first post office was established in December 1877 with Henry Gorman, probably James’ brother, as the postmaster. (The community today is served by a contract postal unit in the local market, but delivery is through the Lebec post office.) Johanna continued to run the family farm and the roadside rest until she died in 1889.
In 1898, the ranch was bought by Oscar Ralphs, whose brother, George, had already begun a business in Los Angeles (in 1872) that eventually became the Ralphs
supermarket chain.
(from 1908 to 1965) and was honored for her service by Vice President Hubert Humphrey at a National School Boards Association
convention.
The road through Gorman was paved in 1919, and in 1923, the first gasoline station
in California to be located away from a railroad track was established by Standard Oil
. Gorman was a stop on the Ridge Route
of Highway 99, where its Standard service station
beckoned travelers. It was a rest stop
for the Greyhound bus
until 1977 and for long-distance truckers, who now use a Pilot Flying J station in Lebec.
“Being located on the busiest highway in California,” wrote historian Kane, “the people of Gorman knew well the need for an ambulance, as so many of the injured were brought to their homes. An ambulance service was established in 1932 with the purchase of an old Packard automobile that was converted into an emergency unit, equipped with one stretcher. The ambulance could be reached through the switchboard at the motel, and whoever was available would drive it.”
Aviator Charles Lindbergh
established a camp in 1930 on the northeast side of the Gorman Hills, where he tested and flew a folded-wing glider
called the Albatross.
. Reasons cited for the proposal included red tape
and zoning regulations restricting development in Los Angeles County. However, Los Angeles County and opponents of the proposal did not want to lose sales and occupancy-tax revenue the county collected annually from Gorman businesses.
(LASD) operates the Santa Clarita Valley Station in Santa Clarita
, serving Gorman.
house. Gorman Elementary School was built by the federal government's Works Progress Administration
in 1939. There is no accessible record of the first teacher, but Martha Forth was the second; she taught in 1941–1943.
Esther Pereira wrote in the Mountain Enterprise, however, that the Ralphs family "founded the school originally as the Quail Lake District. Classes were held in the Ralphs' family living room
. The school was relocated to its present site and built on land donated by the Ralphs family, where it became known as the Gorman School District."
"Everybody in town immediately panicked," District Superintendent Lacy H. Ballagh, said. "We knew that if the bill passed, our children would probably be sent to the Quartz Hill School District on the outskirts of Lancaster
and almost 50 miles (80.5 km) away.
In November 1978 the district was threatened when funding was cut back by the passage that year of California Proposition 13 (1978)
, which limited school district support from the state. Reduced salaries and other cost-cutting measures saved the district at that time.
By fall 2008, there was only one child from Gorman attending the elementary school; 40 came from the El Tejon Unified School District
and one was from Neenach
in the Westside Union School District
. The Los Angeles County Office of Education had warned a year earlier that the district might be dissolved if it did not find a way to solve its problems.
But a land developer, Centennial Founders
, in the meantime stepped forth with the desire to save the school district until it could build a proposed 23,000-home planned city east of Interstate 5 on Tejon Ranch
property along Highway 138. It agreed to pay for a consultant to help the district find ways to stay afloat financially until the homes could be built and new schools constructed and operated there by the Gorman district.
or Neenach
in the Westside Union School District
.
In December 2010 Superintendent and Principal Martin Schmidt said that the district was at that point entirely a "school of choice" which had more than doubled its enrollment to 98 students and increased its Academic Performance Score from 679 to 784, with 800 being the goal for achievement. The increase in enrollment brought twice as much money from the state as before. Johannis Andrews, the principal for 2011-2012, said in August 2011 that attendance had increased to 101 students, with five teachers.
In order to bring in additional average-daily-attendance funds from the state, the district before 2008 took on responsibility for the Gorman Learning Center charter school
in Redlands
, 129 miles (207.6 km) away (Google map). The center had about 800 home-school
students enrolled.
, Australia, died on December 30, 2010. She was secretary-treasurer of James L. Ralphs Inc. and vice president of Tri-Foods, which owned Carl's Jr.
in Gorman.
"During many of those 33 years, Ruth also managed Ralphs' family enterprises (such as gas stations, motels, a cafe, grazing rights
and an antenna) while serving as postmistress of the Gorman Post Office," the local newspaper, the Mountain Enterprise, reported.
, but in 1996 just four of its 24 high school children traveled the 40 miles (64.4 km) to attend Quartz Hill High School
in Lancaster
, the closest high school in that district. The others attended nearby Frazier Mountain High School under special permits.
, whose Antelope Valley College
campus is 45.6 miles (73.4 km) away via Highway 138 and West Avenue I.
Kern Regional Transit
provides bus service Thursdays and Saturdays during the summer months from Gorman to Lebec
, Frazier Park
, Lake of the Woods
, Pinon Pines
, and Pine Mountain Club
. It offers a dial-a-ride service
all year. Connections can be made in Frazier Park or Lebec to a scheduled service to Grapevine
and Bakersfield
and further connection there to Greyhound
and Amtrak
.
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
. As of 2005 it had just 15 homes and a few registered voters, but tens of thousands of motorists traveled through it daily on the Interstate 5 freeway.
Gorman is a historic rest stop in the Tejon Pass
Tejon Pass
The Tejon Pass is a mountain pass at the southwest end of the Tehachapi Mountains linking Southern to Central California.-Geography:The apex of the pass is near the northwesternmost corner of Los Angeles County, north of Gorman...
, which links Southern
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
with Central California
Central California
Central California, sometimes referenced as Mid-State, is an area of California south of the San Francisco Bay Area and north of Southern California...
. It has the smallest school district in Los Angeles County, with one elementary school, whose existence has been threatened for the past 35 years. The settlement has been a site for at least four Hollywood motion pictures.
Geography
Gorman, some 1530 acres (6.2 km²) in size, lies where three mountain rangeMountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
s meet — the Sierra Pelonas
Sierra Pelona Mountains
The Sierra Pelona Mountains , or the Sierra Pelona Ridge, is a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges of Southern California.. They are located within Los Angeles and Kern Counties.-Geography:...
, the Tehachapis
Tehachapi Mountains
The Tehachapi Mountains , regionally also called The Tehachapis, are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States...
. and the San Emigdios
San Emigdio Mountains
The San Emigdio Mountains are a part of the Transverse Ranges in Southern California, extending from Interstate 5 at Lebec and Gorman on the east to Highway 33–166 on the west. They link the Tehachapis and Temblor Range and form the southern wall of the San Joaquin Valley.The range is within Los...
.
One of the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass
Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass
The Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass, or the Frazier Mountain Communities, in the San Emigdio Mountains is a region of California that includes Lebec, Frazier Park, Lake of the Woods, Lockwood Valley, Pinon Pines, and Pine Mountain Club, in Kern County, California, and Gorman in Los Angeles...
, it is southeast of Frazier Park
Frazier Park, California
Frazier Park is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Kern County, California. Frazier Park is west of Lebec, at an elevation of 4,639 feet . It is one of the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass...
and south of Lebec
Lebec, California
Lebec is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Kern County, California. It is one of the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass, and the home of the Tejon Ranch Company. Lebec is south of Bakersfield. The population was 1,468 in the 2010 census, up from 1,224 in...
. Interstate 5 runs through Gorman, and State Route 138
California State Route 138
State Route 138 is an east–west state highway generally following the northern foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains of southern California, USA from its junction with Interstate 5 south of Gorman eastward to Mount Anderson Junction, its eastern junction with State Route 18 south of...
connects to the Interstate a few miles south.
The California poppy
California poppy
The California poppy is a perennial and annual plant, native to the United States, and the official state flower of California.- Description :...
and other wildflowers cover the hills in springtime. In the early 1990s, the artist Christo arranged a set of umbrellas, in the form of colored cloth sheets on poles to add contrast to the summertime golden hills. Thousands of visitors flocked to Gorman from all over the world.
Population
The U.S. Census Bureau does not break out separate population figures for this small place, but in 2005 Gorman had only 15 homes and approximately a dozen registered voters.Nineteenth century
Mountain CommunitiesMountain Communities of the Tejon Pass
The Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass, or the Frazier Mountain Communities, in the San Emigdio Mountains is a region of California that includes Lebec, Frazier Park, Lake of the Woods, Lockwood Valley, Pinon Pines, and Pine Mountain Club, in Kern County, California, and Gorman in Los Angeles...
historian Bonnie Ketterl Kane said that Gorman is “one of the oldest continuously used roadside rest stops in California,” explaining that native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
“would have stopped there when it was the Tataviam village of Kulshra’jek.”
The first white
European American
A European American is a citizen or resident of the United States who has origins in any of the original peoples of Europe...
settler in the area was a man named Reed, who took up residence in the early 1850s, calling it Reed's Ranch. In 1857 a woman was killed on his ranch when the great Fort Tejon Earthquake struck the area and collapsed an adobe house. Reed then built a substantial log house that in 1858 became a stop for the Butterfield Overland Mail
Butterfield Overland Mail
The Butterfield Overland Mail Trail was a stagecoach route in the United States, operating from 1857 to 1861. It was a conduit for the U.S. mail from two eastern termini, Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri, meeting Fort Smith, Arkansas, and continuing through Indian Territory, New Mexico,...
stagecoach line.
He sold the property to Charles Johnson, and when Johnson died, the station was run by his widow, Soledad Girardo, when it went by the nickname "Rancho la Viuda" ("the Widow's Ranch" in Spanish). It was next bought by David W. Alexander, the sheriff of Los Angeles County, who sold the place to James Gorman Sr. in 1867 or 1868. The log "public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
", which furnished food, lodgings, and liquor, soon became known as Gorman's Station.
Gorman was a veteran of the Mexican-American War of 1848 and was at Fort Tejon
Fort Tejon
Fort Tejon in California is a former United States Army outpost which was intermittently active from June 24, 1854, until September 11, 1864. It is located in the Grapevine Canyon area of Tejon Pass along Interstate 5, the main route through the mountains separating the Central Valley from Los...
as a civilian teamster and herder in 1854 while it was being built. In 1876, Gorman Sr. died after he was run over by his own supply wagon.
The Butterfield Overland was discontinued in 1861 but was replaced by the Telegraph Stage Line, which stopped at almost all the former stations, including Gorman's, as it was known then, where the horses were changed. Six of them were used for the pull up from Bakersfield to Gorman's.
The first post office was established in December 1877 with Henry Gorman, probably James’ brother, as the postmaster. (The community today is served by a contract postal unit in the local market, but delivery is through the Lebec post office.) Johanna continued to run the family farm and the roadside rest until she died in 1889.
In 1898, the ranch was bought by Oscar Ralphs, whose brother, George, had already begun a business in Los Angeles (in 1872) that eventually became the Ralphs
Ralphs
Ralphs is a major supermarket chain in the Southern California area and the largest subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Kroger. It is the oldest such chain west of the Mississippi River. Ralphs also operates stores under the Food 4 Less and Foods Co. names in California.-History:Ralphs Grocery Company...
supermarket chain.
Twentieth century
In 1901, Oscar Ralphs married Mary McKenzie, who, as Mary Ralphs, later served 57 years on the Gorman School BoardBoard of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
(from 1908 to 1965) and was honored for her service by Vice President Hubert Humphrey at a National School Boards Association
National School Boards Association
The National School Boards Association, or NSBA, is a nonprofit organization operating as a federation of state associations of school boards across the United States. Founded in 1940, NSBA represents 95,000 local school board members who govern 14,890 local school districts serving more than 47...
convention.
The road through Gorman was paved in 1919, and in 1923, the first gasoline station
Filling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...
in California to be located away from a railroad track was established by Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
. Gorman was a stop on the Ridge Route
Ridge Route
The Ridge Route, officially the Castaic-Tejon Route, was a two-lane highway running between Los Angeles and Kern counties, California. Opened in 1915 and paved with concrete between 1917 and 1921, the road was the first paved highway directly linking the Los Angeles Basin with the San Joaquin...
of Highway 99, where its Standard service station
Filling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...
beckoned travelers. It was a rest stop
Rest area
A rest area, travel plaza, rest stop, or service area is a public facility, located next to a large thoroughfare such as a highway, expressway, or freeway at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting on to secondary roads...
for the Greyhound bus
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
until 1977 and for long-distance truckers, who now use a Pilot Flying J station in Lebec.
“Being located on the busiest highway in California,” wrote historian Kane, “the people of Gorman knew well the need for an ambulance, as so many of the injured were brought to their homes. An ambulance service was established in 1932 with the purchase of an old Packard automobile that was converted into an emergency unit, equipped with one stretcher. The ambulance could be reached through the switchboard at the motel, and whoever was available would drive it.”
Aviator Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
established a camp in 1930 on the northeast side of the Gorman Hills, where he tested and flew a folded-wing glider
Glider (sailplane)
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...
called the Albatross.
Twenty-first century
In January 2006, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously rejected a bid by 32 of the area’s 75 property owners to give up Gorman so it could be annexed to Kern CountyKern County, California
Spreading across the southern end of the California Central Valley, Kern County is the fifth-largest county by population in California. Its economy is heavily linked to agriculture and to petroleum extraction, and there is a strong aviation and space presence. Politically, it has generally...
. Reasons cited for the proposal included red tape
Red tape
Red tape is excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or decision-making...
and zoning regulations restricting development in Los Angeles County. However, Los Angeles County and opponents of the proposal did not want to lose sales and occupancy-tax revenue the county collected annually from Gorman businesses.
Government and infrastructure
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's DepartmentLos Angeles County Sheriff's Department
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is a local county law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. It is the fourth largest local policing agency in the United States, with the New York City Police Department being the first. The second largest is the Chicago Police...
(LASD) operates the Santa Clarita Valley Station in Santa Clarita
Santa Clarita, California
Santa Clarita is the fourth largest city in Los Angeles County, California, United States and the twenty-fourth largest city in the state of California. The 2010 US Census reported the city's population grew 16.7% from the year 2000 to 176,320 residents. It is located about northwest of downtown...
, serving Gorman.
Gorman Elementary School
Accounts differ as to the origin of Gorman Elementary School, although the pioneer Ralphs family certainly played a role in its founding. According to researcher Harrison Irving Scott, the first school in the area appears to have been the one-room Manzana School, a mile south of Gorman, where in 1925 there were only four students — the Ralphs brothers, Glenn, Harry, Albert and Dewey. After it was torn down, the children went to Quail Lake School in another one-room schoolOne-room school
One-room schools were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In most rural and small town schools, all of the students met in a single room...
house. Gorman Elementary School was built by the federal government's Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
in 1939. There is no accessible record of the first teacher, but Martha Forth was the second; she taught in 1941–1943.
Esther Pereira wrote in the Mountain Enterprise, however, that the Ralphs family "founded the school originally as the Quail Lake District. Classes were held in the Ralphs' family living room
Living room
A living room, also known as sitting room, lounge room or lounge , is a room for entertaining adult guests, reading, or other activities...
. The school was relocated to its present site and built on land donated by the Ralphs family, where it became known as the Gorman School District."
Threats to the district's existence
Gorman School District is the smallest in Los Angeles County, and over the years it has faced threats to its existence. In 1971 it was saved when the state Legislature narrowly defeated a measure that would have done away with school districts with fewer than 50 students. Attendance in Gorman School dropped to 32 students, and townspeople hustled to "borrow" 11 children from elsewhere in order to keep up the enrollment."Everybody in town immediately panicked," District Superintendent Lacy H. Ballagh, said. "We knew that if the bill passed, our children would probably be sent to the Quartz Hill School District on the outskirts of Lancaster
Lancaster, California
Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the high desert, near the Kern County line. Lancaster currently ranks as the 30th largest city in California, and the 148th largest city in the United States. Lancaster is the principal city within the Antelope Valley...
and almost 50 miles (80.5 km) away.
In November 1978 the district was threatened when funding was cut back by the passage that year of California Proposition 13 (1978)
California Proposition 13 (1978)
Proposition 13 was an amendment of the Constitution of California enacted during 1978, by means of the initiative process. It was approved by California voters on June 6, 1978. It was declared constitutional by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Nordlinger v. Hahn,...
, which limited school district support from the state. Reduced salaries and other cost-cutting measures saved the district at that time.
By fall 2008, there was only one child from Gorman attending the elementary school; 40 came from the El Tejon Unified School District
El Tejon Unified School District
The El Tejon Unified School District serves kindergarten-through-12th-grade students in the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass, which include Frazier Park, Lebec, and Pine Mountain Club in the southern mountains of Kern County, California...
and one was from Neenach
Neenach, California
Neenach is an agricultural settlement in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, with a population of about 800. It is facing a massive change with the proposed construction of a 23,000-home planned community to its north called Centennial....
in the Westside Union School District
Westside Union School District
The Westside Union School District in Southern California serves the western parts of Palmdale and Lancaster and their immediate suburbs, including Quartz Hill, Del Sur, Leona Valley, Antelope Acres, and Neenach.It enrolls kindergarten through eighth grade...
. The Los Angeles County Office of Education had warned a year earlier that the district might be dissolved if it did not find a way to solve its problems.
But a land developer, Centennial Founders
Centennial, California
Centennial, California, is a proposed planned community between Bakersfield and Los Angeles in Los Angeles County located north of Highway 138, and just east of Interstate 5; specifically, surrounding the north and east sides of Quail Lake...
, in the meantime stepped forth with the desire to save the school district until it could build a proposed 23,000-home planned city east of Interstate 5 on Tejon Ranch
Tejon Ranch
The Tejon Ranch Company , based in Lebec, California, is one of the largest private landowners in California. [The federally-gifted lands still held by the Catellus Corporation, a successor to the Southern Pacific Land Company, are much more extensive.] It was incorporated in 1936 to organise the...
property along Highway 138. It agreed to pay for a consultant to help the district find ways to stay afloat financially until the homes could be built and new schools constructed and operated there by the Gorman district.
Enrollment
In September 2008, Gorman Joint School District had just one K-8 elementary school with an enrollment of 42 pupils, only one of whom lived in Gorman. The others were transfers from neighboring El Tejon Unified School DistrictEl Tejon Unified School District
The El Tejon Unified School District serves kindergarten-through-12th-grade students in the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass, which include Frazier Park, Lebec, and Pine Mountain Club in the southern mountains of Kern County, California...
or Neenach
Neenach, California
Neenach is an agricultural settlement in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, with a population of about 800. It is facing a massive change with the proposed construction of a 23,000-home planned community to its north called Centennial....
in the Westside Union School District
Westside Union School District
The Westside Union School District in Southern California serves the western parts of Palmdale and Lancaster and their immediate suburbs, including Quartz Hill, Del Sur, Leona Valley, Antelope Acres, and Neenach.It enrolls kindergarten through eighth grade...
.
In December 2010 Superintendent and Principal Martin Schmidt said that the district was at that point entirely a "school of choice" which had more than doubled its enrollment to 98 students and increased its Academic Performance Score from 679 to 784, with 800 being the goal for achievement. The increase in enrollment brought twice as much money from the state as before. Johannis Andrews, the principal for 2011-2012, said in August 2011 that attendance had increased to 101 students, with five teachers.
In order to bring in additional average-daily-attendance funds from the state, the district before 2008 took on responsibility for the Gorman Learning Center charter school
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
in Redlands
Redlands, California
Redlands is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 68,747, up from 63,591 at the 2000 census. The city is located east of downtown San Bernardino.- History :...
, 129 miles (207.6 km) away (Google map). The center had about 800 home-school
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
students enrolled.
Ruth Ralphs
In January 2008, Ruth Ralphs was honored for 33 years of service to the Gorman School District. Ralphs, who was born on February 29, 1920, in Townsville, QueenslandTownsville, Queensland
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Australia, in the state of Queensland. Adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef, it is in the dry tropics region of Queensland. Townsville is Australia's largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast, with a 2006 census...
, Australia, died on December 30, 2010. She was secretary-treasurer of James L. Ralphs Inc. and vice president of Tri-Foods, which owned Carl's Jr.
Carl's Jr.
Carl's Jr. is an American fast-food restaurant chain located mostly in the Western and Southwestern United States. The first store has opened in Canada in Kelowna, BC. They are in the process of expanding to Mexico, Malaysia, Denmark, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Russia, Vietnam,...
in Gorman.
"During many of those 33 years, Ruth also managed Ralphs' family enterprises (such as gas stations, motels, a cafe, grazing rights
Grazing rights
Grazing rights is a legal term referring to the right of a user to allow their livestock to feed in a given area.- United States :...
and an antenna) while serving as postmistress of the Gorman Post Office," the local newspaper, the Mountain Enterprise, reported.
High schools
The Gorman area is a part of the Antelope Valley Union High School DistrictAntelope Valley Union High School District
The Antelope Valley Union High School District is located in the Antelope Valley area of California, in northern Los Angeles County....
, but in 1996 just four of its 24 high school children traveled the 40 miles (64.4 km) to attend Quartz Hill High School
Quartz Hill High School
Quartz Hill High School is a public, co-educational high school located in Quartz Hill, California. Founded in 1964, it is the third oldest comprehensive high school in the Antelope Valley Union High School District.-Campus:...
in Lancaster
Lancaster, California
Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the high desert, near the Kern County line. Lancaster currently ranks as the 30th largest city in California, and the 148th largest city in the United States. Lancaster is the principal city within the Antelope Valley...
, the closest high school in that district. The others attended nearby Frazier Mountain High School under special permits.
Community colleges
Gorman is part of the Antelope Valley Community College DistrictAntelope Valley Community College District
The Antelope Valley Community College District is the local college district serving Palmdale and Lancaster in California's Antelope Valley. The college is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.- About the AVCCD :...
, whose Antelope Valley College
Antelope Valley College
Antelope Valley College is a comprehensive community college located in Lancaster, California, USA. It is operated by the Antelope Valley Community College District, with a primary service area of covering portions of Los Angeles and Kern counties...
campus is 45.6 miles (73.4 km) away via Highway 138 and West Avenue I.
Transportation
Seventy-four thousand people pass through Gorman daily via the Interstate 5 superhighway, but residents have a choice of local roads to avoid the freeway. Peace Valley Road parallels the freeway on the west, north of the town, for travel to Frazier Park and Lebec, and Gorman Post Road on the east, south of town, is a direct route to Highway 138.Kern Regional Transit
Kern Regional Transit
Kern Regional Transit is the operator of mass transportation in Kern County, California. Primarily, it provides inter-regional transportation, connecting outlying regions with the City of Bakersfield...
provides bus service Thursdays and Saturdays during the summer months from Gorman to Lebec
Lebec, California
Lebec is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Kern County, California. It is one of the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass, and the home of the Tejon Ranch Company. Lebec is south of Bakersfield. The population was 1,468 in the 2010 census, up from 1,224 in...
, Frazier Park
Frazier Park, California
Frazier Park is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Kern County, California. Frazier Park is west of Lebec, at an elevation of 4,639 feet . It is one of the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass...
, Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods, California
Lake of the Woods is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Kern County, California. The population was 917 at the 2010 census, up from 833 at the 2000 census. The community is contained in Cuddy Canyon along the Ventura and Kern County line inside the Los Padres National Forest. It...
, Pinon Pines
Pinon Pines Estates, California
Pinon Pines Estates is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California, and part of the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass. It lies at an elevation of 5,561 feet .....
, and Pine Mountain Club
Pine Mountain Club, California
Pine Mountain Club is an unincorporated private community and census-designated place in Kern County, California, northwest of the San Fernando Valley and west of Gorman. It is one of the mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass, and sits in a deep valley on the San Andreas fault, in the same area...
. It offers a dial-a-ride service
Paratransit
Paratransit is an alternative mode of flexible passenger transportation that does not follow fixed routes or schedules. Typically mini-buses are used to provide paratransit service, but also share taxis and jitneys are important providers....
all year. Connections can be made in Frazier Park or Lebec to a scheduled service to Grapevine
Grapevine, California
Grapevine is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California. At an elevation of 1499 feet , the community is located at the foot of a road grade known as The Grapevine through the Grapevine Canyon to Tejon Pass in the Tehachapi Mountains at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley along...
and Bakersfield
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
and further connection there to Greyhound
Greyhound
The Greyhound is a breed of sighthound that has been primarily bred for coursing game and racing, and the breed has also recently seen a resurgence in its popularity as a pedigree show dog and family pet. It is a gentle and intelligent breed...
and Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
.
See also
- The Mountain Enterprise newspaperMountain EnterpriseThe is a weekly newspaper circulating in the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass in the Tehachapi Mountains region of California, midway between Los Angeles and Bakersfield. Its sister publication is The New Mountain Pioneer, published monthly....
, which circulates in Gorman and the surrounding areaMountain Communities of the Tejon PassThe Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass, or the Frazier Mountain Communities, in the San Emigdio Mountains is a region of California that includes Lebec, Frazier Park, Lake of the Woods, Lockwood Valley, Pinon Pines, and Pine Mountain Club, in Kern County, California, and Gorman in Los Angeles...
. - California Floristic ProvinceCalifornia Floristic ProvinceThe California Floristic Province is a floristic province with a Mediterranean climate located on the Pacific Coast of North America with a distinctive flora that bears similarities to floras found in other regions experiencing a winter rainfall, summer drought climate like the Mediterranean...
.