Eco-Minded Should Consider RUHS Alternative

With school starting up again it's easy to remember what an exciting and terrifying time this is for high school freshmen making the giant leap from middle school to the intimidating and initially confusing big-time campus.

They don't get any more big-time than Redondo Union High School's 56-acre campus, one of the largest in all of California.

With a history going back 105 years and an outstanding reputation in academics, robotics, journalism, band and so many other areas it is a very cool thing indeed to be a new Sea Hawk joining the other 2,294 RUHS students.

But there's another high school in the area that Redondo Beach students are also eligible to attend that few even know about, let alone consider applying for. At first glance you might think I'm nuts to even suggest it: I don't think any Redondo Beach resident has ever opted to attend, although kids from Lennox, Inglewood, Hawthorne, Gardena, Bellflower, Maywood, Carson and Lawndale have.

The campus is minuscule compared to RUHS and it's in a much more modest, working-class neighborhood a couple of blocks off Hawthorne Boulevard in Lawndale. It's only been around since 2000 and the total student body numbers 450 with 28 teachers. There's no football team, swimming pool, tennis courts or state-of-the-art infrastructure. Eighty percent of the students are financially disadvantaged.

But Environmental Charter High School (ECHS) is hands-down the coolest high school I've ever visited, with the most inspiring students and teachers I've ever met.

For the right students from Redondo Beach—or Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach, too, for that matter—ECHS could be the school of their dreams and the best choice they and their parents could ever make.

And the leadership these future graduates could later provide our community as sustainable stewards of our environment is something Redondo Beach is in desperate need of as we head into the danger zone of climate change.

You may have heard of ECHS this past spring when it was a finalist in President Obama's "Race to the Top" competition; many thousands saw its video entry.

ECHS defines its unique approach this way: "We inspire our students to learn about environmental issues facing our planet, how to become effective agents for change, how to implement local solutions to help address world issues and how to educate others about these vital concerns."

Is it any wonder I love the place? I first visited the campus in June when I was interviewed on "The Green Show" produced by ECHS students. I returned again last Friday to take the grand tour and find out more about several of the programs that intrigued me, including the bicycle workshop that repairs bikes for the community free of charge.

ECHS seniors Matt Dang and Rudy Sanchez were my upbeat and self-assured tour guides, and their passion and pride for their school was unscripted and unabashed. They've each got ambitious plans for what they want to accomplish in their final year in high school and they're both headed to college with plenty of options between them.

Matt is one of the founders of the school's Bike Workshop and happily manages the operation in a closet-sized room with a minimal amount of tools and supplies. They get some much-needed help from Brian Lindquist, owner of Beach Cities Cycles, who volunteers to teach bike repair skills. But they could really use a couple more bike stands and some additional old bikes to use for parts and to rebuild to give away to the community. 

I was particularly impressed with how much learning was being squeezed into such a small space at ECHS, and how every available piece of growable land was being used for thriving native gardens, vegetables, composting or propagation.  They're also harvesting rainwater and recycling and repurposing everything possible.

You can see it all for yourself by taking your own tour of ECHS on Tuesday August 31 at 11:30am, or on September 27 at 3:30pm

I've got nothing but respect and admiration for Redondo Union High School and the Sea Hawks student body, but if you're soon to become a Redondo Beach high school student or the parent of one, you owe it to yourself—and to the rest of us—to check out Environmental Charter High School and see if it is the right fit for you.