Redondo Union High School

The banner at Redondo Union High School says it is the home of scholars and champs, and the U.S. Department of Education seems to agree. The department last week gave the school its highest recognition of excellence by including the school in its National Secondary Recognition Program. The award marks the school as "excellent in every aspect," said Department of Education spokeswoman Jane Glickman. Redondo Union was among the 214 junior and senior high schools in the country to achieve the honor, and the only one in the South Bay. Twenty-four junior and senior high schools in California also won the award.

Gerald "Jerry" Klein, 66, veteran teacher and spokesman for Redondo Beach Unified and other school districts, died March 7 in Rancho Palos Verdes after a stroke. From 1997 until budget cuts forced his retirement in 2003, Klein served as director of special projects and the first public information officer for the Redondo Beach district. He had been a consultant for two years with the Los Angeles County Department of Education. Born in Sleepy Eye, Minn.

Amid charges of censorship, students at Redondo Union High School went to press today with a student literary magazine in which more than half a dozen allegedly offensive artworks, poems and stories had been altered or excised at the behest of school officials.

Marcelo Enriquez, the girls' basketball coach at Redondo, admits his team's terrific start this season is a surprise. "We're coming out a little earlier than what I expected," said Enriquez, whose team is 3-1 after reaching the final of the Brea Olinda tournament. "I thought we would be struggling early, but would be solid by the time playoffs rolled around."

Master Gunnery Sgt. Allen Roth maintained a stony silence and ramrod-straight military posture throughout his lengthy criminal trial on charges he molested one of his teen-age ROTC students. Finally, as he was found not guilty Tuesday morning in Torrance Superior Court, Roth slumped slightly, cracked a small smile and hastily wiped away a tear. A few moments later, after Superior Court Judge Francis Hourigan ordered the case closed, Roth was on his feet and embracing his wife, Barbara.

We are urging voters to vote Yes on Proposition V for school unification. Our students deserve the best education which can be provided if governed by the local Board of Education. Unification will be advantageous to North Redondo students as they can still choose to attend either Redondo Union High School or Mira Costa. The children are our future and we owe them the finest we can provide. MADISON SCHOOL PTA, Redondo Beach

The Redondo Union High School drill team has been selected to perform at the pre-Olympic festivities in Atlanta in July. It is the only cheerleading squad in Southern California invited to participate in the event. Sky's the Limit Productions in Salt Lake City, Utah, which is coordinating entertainment for the Olympic Games, invited 50 schools nationwide to perform.

The last day of school for Robert Paulson, principal at Redondo Union High School, was Monday. Paulson leaves the campus after five years to become the director of student services of the Redondo Beach Unified School District. Paulson's departure leaves a void in the school's administration. Kelly Johnson, principal at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School in Rolling Hills Estates, was planning to step in as principal at Redondo.

From the day he took over the Redondo girls' volleyball program, Coach Tommy Chaffins set the bar high. Challenging for a Southern Section championship was openly discussed. Competing for a state title was worth dreaming about. Winning a Bay League crown and, along the way, defeating Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, well, those may be the toughest tasks of all. "It's definitely up there in terms of goals," senior captain Lauren Kirk said of beating the powerful Mustangs.

Not a trace of tension emanated from the Redondo boys' tennis team as top players competed recently in the Ocean League individual tournament. As matches unfolded on a nearby court, the players' sideline banter seemed confined to lighthearted topics. But when the subject turned to the Sea Hawks' postseason fate, the rhetoric took on a more urgent tone. "This is the year for us," junior Nick Berger said. Added Coach Jim Ball: "We know our window is this season."

Redondo Beach police canvassed the city Friday, looking for a man they said had ambushed and sexually assaulted a student in a school restroom. "We want to commit a lot of resources to this investigation," Lt. John Skipper said. The attack reportedly occurred just before 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Redondo Union High School. Armed with a knife, the suspect hid in a restroom stall of the school gymnasium before the attack, police said.

Administrators at Redondo Union High School were tired of students responding apathetically to warnings about drugs and alcohol. So they decided to tell them a lie--for their own good. Although no student has been arrested this year for drunk driving, administrators, with help from police and fire officials, brought all the seniors to a special assembly Wednesday and somberly informed them that two of their classmates had been in a drunk-driving accident the night before. One was dead.

They composed the music using a keyboard and a computer monitor and edited the script in a chat room. They choreographed a dance and learned the theme song using video conferencing and worked out the kinks over e-mail. For the past seven months nearly 100 students from four high schools in three states have been using the tools of technology to create what is believed to be the first musical produced over the Internet.

An innovative program at Redondo Union High School to give all ninth-graders their own personal laptop computer for homework and assignments has been delayed. Freshmen were expecting to receive their 7-pound computers in November, but because of a manufacturing delay the computers will not arrive until February, said Pat Hosken, the school's director of technology. The school last week received 25 laptops from NetSchools Corp., the company that has the contract to provide the computers.

Redondo Shores Continuation High School in Redondo Beach is barely three years old but already it has won an award as one of California's 10 model continuation high schools. The prestigious designation is just one more piece of good news for the school that is housed in a warehouse next to Redondo Union High School.

The Redondo Beach Unified School District has hired a veteran high school administrator as interim principal of Redondo Union High School. District officials have announced that Shelley Weston will take the helm of Redondo Beach's only high school Feb. 2. and continue through the second semester of the 1997-98 school year.

An agreement that gives students living in north Redondo Beach the option of attending either Redondo Union High School or Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach has been extended for another six months while officials from two school districts evaluate whether the agreement--which was set to expire Dec. 31--should be continued.