El Modena High School
| El Modena High School | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | |
| 3920 Spring St. Orange, CA 92869 United States |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Established | Opened September 1966, Graduated first class June 1968 |
| Principal | John Briquelet |
| Enrollment | 2177[1] |
| Mascot | Vanguard |
| Information | (714) 997-0705 |
| Website | El Modena High School |
El Modena High School, also known as called El Mo (or "ElMo"), is a traditional 4 year public high school located in the El Modena neighborhood in the eastern portion of the city of Orange in Orange County, California.
The school celebrated its 40th anniversary during the 2006-7 school year. El Modena High is part of the Orange Unified School District and competes in the Century League.
Contents |
[edit] Controversies
[edit] The Gay-Straight Alliance
In 1999, when the Gay-Straight Alliance Club applied to be a recognized student club, the board of the Orange Unified School District denied the application. The board demanded that the club change its name and agreed to limitations on speech of the club members. Students sued the district in federal court based on the Equal Access Act (Colín v. Orange Unified School District, No. SA CV 99-1461).
In February 2000, the judge for the case issued a preliminary injunction ordering the district to allow the club to meet while the lawsuit was pending. In September 2000, the board settled the lawsuit out of court by agreeing to adopt new rules governing student clubs. The Gay-Straight Alliance gained the same rights as any other campus club, was allowed to keep their name, and had no restrictions on their speech.[2][3]
In March 2000, school district punished the new club president by having her falsely arrested and removed from the school.[4] She was later declared factually innocent in legal proceedings.
[edit] Faculty Convicted of Registrable Sex Offenses
From 2003 to 2009, several illegal sexual assaults were committed involving some of the faculty and students at El Modena High School. Four faculty members, including a principal, were convicted for offenses under California Penal Code Section 290, or offenses that require inclusion on the California "Megan's Law" Sex Offender Registry, as well as the federal Adam Walsh Act. Three of the cases resulted in guilty pleas, while one case resulted in a guilty verdict by a jury trial.
- Band director Jason Cawelti was arrested on Dec. 5, 2003, and pleaded guilty to various sexual conduct violations with a person younger than age 18 in June 2004.[5]
- Principal Brent Bailey was arrested in February 2007, and pleaded guilty for lewd sexual conduct in a public park in June 2007.[6]
- Another band director, Carlie Rose Attebury, was charged with sex with an underage male student on multiple occasions in February, 2008. She was convicted of four counts on November 24, 2010 by jury trial.[5][7][8][9]
- Janitor Luis Mejia was arrested on June 2, 2009, for a sexual assault on a mentally handicapped student. In March 2010 Mejia pleaded guilty to six felony counts of sexual assault and one misdemeanor count of child annoyance.[10][11]
[edit] Sports
A vanguard, used as the school's mascot, is a soldier in the foremost division or the front part of an army. Vanguards are the troops assembled in the front line when going into battle, which is why the school newspaper is titled the The Frontline".[12]
- Wrestling: CIF champions in 2002 and 2003.
- Softball: CIF champions in 2008
[edit] Marching Band
The El Modena Vanguard Marching Band and Colorguard is a state-recognized performing ensemble, competing in the Western Band Association circuit. They placed 5th in state in the A division in 2009 and 3rd in the AA division in 2010.
[edit] Yearbook program
Yearbook- El Modena boasts a national award-winning yearbook titled Escena, which means "scene" in Latin. The yearbook is annually sent to a national competition and has received a Gold Standard award for its book in the year 2007.[citation needed] In 2011, El Modena's yearbook staff received 12 individual and group awards before the publication of their book even began.[citation needed]
[edit] Notable alumni
 |
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability or notability policies. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources cited within this article showing they are notable and alumni or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (April 2010) |
- Wyatt Knight (1973) - Actor
- Jimmy Hodson (1979)- Actor/TV Show Host/Announcer
- Milo Ventimiglia (1995) - Actor
- Mikey Day (1998) - Actor/Comedian
- Robby Gordon - Professional racer; Nascar, Championship Off-Road Racing, Indycar
- Ronnie Creager - Pro Skateboarder
- Freddie Freeman (2007) - MLB First Baseman for Atlanta Braves
- Michael Levitt - Emmy Award-nominated television producer
[edit] References
- ^ El Modena High School - Orange, California - CA - school overview
- ^ http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/iowa/cases/record?record=121
- ^ http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/press.html?record=696
- ^ "‘I Didn’t Do It’:Teen’s suit says she wasn’t principal-biter" Daniel C. Tsang, OC Weekly, April 26, 2001
- ^ a b Denisse Salazar and Eugene W. Fields (2008-10-29). "Music teacher arrested after allegation of lewd acts with boy". The Orange County Register. http://www.ocregister.com/news/orange-144313-attebury-adams.html.
- ^ Courtney Bacalso (2007-05-31). "Ex-principal pleads guilty to lewd act". The Orange County Register. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/bailey-177329-park-high.html.
- ^ http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_16710535?nclick_check=1
- ^ Larry Welborn (2010-11-09). "Teacher sex misconduct trial gets under way". The Orange County Register. http://www.ocregister.com/news/trial-275167-sexual-attebury.html.
- ^ California Superior Court, County of Orange (2010-11-19). "Trial of Carlie Rose Attebury (Case 08CF3103)". California Superior Court, County of Orange. http://www.occourts.org/online-services/case-access/.
- ^ "Janitor charged in special-ed molestation Tuesday". KTLA. 2009-06-03. http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/orange_county&id=6845068.
- ^ "OC janitor gets 6 years for student sex assault". The San Diego Union Tribune. 2010-03-12. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/12/oc-janitor-gets-6-years-for-student-sex-assault/.
- ^ Web Page: El Modena Frontline Online
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 33°47′23″N 117°48′44″W / 33.789634°N 117.812115°W
