Students, faculty and even the U.S. agree that Redondo Union High School is the home of scholars and champs.

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.

Glickman praised the school. “It is not only strong academically, but has a positive and open relationship (among) its teachers, students and the community,” she said.

But most of the 1,552 students at Redondo Union already know that.

“I knew this was a good school the first week I was here,” said senior Frances Edwards, who transferred from San Pedro High School this year. Edwards, who is black, said some students at San Pedro--which has a racially and ethnically mixed population--often addressed her with racial slurs. She left the campus after being jumped twice on the way to school.

At Redondo Union, where a large majority of the students are white, Edwards, 17, said she was accepted immediately. “People here are so nice, everyone mixes together, and the teachers really care about you,” she said. “This a place where you really get a chance to learn.”

Dozens of her fellow students say teacher concern for students is apparent.

Senior Laura Feister, 18, said her advanced French class meets weekly at her teacher’s house for an extra study session. “I feel so comfortable with my teacher, I could tell her anything,” Feister said.

More than 80% of Redondo students go on to college, and the school ranks in the top 5% of schools in the California Assessment Program.

Students who seem to be on the verge of dropping out get special attention too. At a time when the school district has been laying off teachers because of a steadily declining budget and enrollment, Redondo Union began hiring teachers four years ago to save potential dropouts, said school officials.

The programs aimed at these students include substance abuse counseling and special classes for students who are falling behind academically.

Jan Ball, who teaches one of these classes, said: “Normally, kids like this get ignored and their problems never get resolved. Here we try to get them to open up, let them talk about family problems and help them through that. After that, they’re able to concentrate on school again.”

But the close involvement by teachers and the administration, as well as a strict approach to discipline, has its pricklier side as well, some students said.

“They can get on a power trip at times,” said Senior Anneka Blair, 18. “Sometimes you get barked at just for dropping a piece a paper or something.”

Many also complained about a school computer that automatically calls parents when a student misses class.

The students agree that many of the successes of the school would have been difficult to achieve if hard-core drug problems or gangs existed there. Most of the drug use by students is limited to marijuana and alcohol, they said, and any type of violence is not tolerated. Earlier this week, a student who struck a teacher was arrested promptly by Redondo Beach police and automatically expelled.

South Bay Union School district spokeswoman Kay Conrad agreed with the students’ observations about the built-in strengths the community offers the school.

“It is very much to our advantage that our district consists of three schools and is mainly middle class. But to our credit, many districts exist like that, so we must be doing something right on our own.”