El Camino High School (Oceanside, California)
| El Camino High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
400 Rancho Del Oro Drive Oceanisde, CA United States | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1975 |
| School district | Oceanside Unified School District |
| Principal | Alexander Bennett [1] |
| Faculty | 144 |
| Number of students | 3,000+ |
| Color(s) | Brown and Gold |
| Athletics | CIF San Diego Section, Avocado West League |
| Mascot | Wildcat |
| Rival | Oceanside High School |
| Newspaper | the sun |
| Website | http://echs-ousd-ca.schoolloop.com/ |
El Camino High School is one of two high schools of the Oceanside Unified School District, located at 400 Rancho Del Oro Drive in Oceanside, California. Declared a California Distinguished School in the early 2000s, it was originally named "Oceanside High School East", and officially became El Camino High School in 1976. El Camino's Truax Theatre was built in the early 1980s and houses a large performance venue, an adjacent classroom with stage and large music and drama rooms. It also recently built a new Science and Technology Building and is undergoing constant construction to clean up the campus. El Camino maintains a close athletic rivalry with Oceanside High School. The ECHS mascot is the "Wildcat" and the school colors are brown and gold.
Notable alumni
- Michael Booker, former NFL player
- Toniu Fonoti, former NFL player, he transferred after his sophomore season
- J.C. Pearson, former NFL player
- Antwain Spann, former NFL player
- Ken Stills, former NFL player
- Toussaint Tyler, former NFL player
- Bryant Westbrook, former NFL player
- Dokie Williams, former NFL player
- Denise Richards, American actress, former fashion model, animal welfare advocate and philanthropist
Media attention
The school drew national media attention in June 2008 for staging a controversial fake car accident, telling students their classmates had died as part of an anti-drunk driving program called "Every 15 Minutes--Extreme".[2] The hoax was orchestrated by counselor Lori Tauber. "I would rather see a couple people (disturbed), versus see a couple people dead," offers Tauber.[3] However, the tactics have been criticized in the media, and by students, one of whom remarked, "You feel betrayed by your teachers and administrators, these people you trust,". At school assemblies, some students held up posters that read: "Death is real. Don't play with our emotions."[4] The Chronicle Herald said "While their objective was laudable, school officials deliberately lied and, far worse, did so in an elaborate hoax. In trying to instill one important message, school officials undermined their credibility and weakened their authority by such an unconscionable stunt."[5] while The Daily News Record said "Each day, driving under the influence kills a young American full of life and hope for the future. Plenty of frightening tragedy is in that truth. Manufacturing such trauma was stupid, insensitive and possibly dangerous, and we can only hope that a similar ill-conceived idea does not surface here."[6]
References
- ^ http://echs-ousd-ca.schoolloop.com/cms/page_view?d=x&piid=&vpid=1240065089008
- ^ Baram, Marcus (2008-06-06). "Scared Straight or Scared Stiff: Do Alcohol Awareness Programs Sometimes Go Too Far?". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
- ^ Video clip of ABC interview[dead link]
- ^ The Associated Pres: Teachers defend shock tactics in DWI program Archived June 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca[dead link]
- ^ "A School Fakes Death - Bad Idea Doesn't Help A Bad Problem". Dailynews-record.com. 2008-06-14. Retrieved 2011-05-22.