Redondo Shores School Wins Award for Program

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. Last week, the Redondo Beach Unified School District Board selected the architectural firm of Westberg & White in Orange County to design a new building for the continuation high school that should be ready by fall, 1997.

The state Department of Education examined six criteria to measure the school that has about 100 students who have had personal or academic problems at either Mira Costa High School or Redondo Union High School. There are seven teachers on the staff.

The state also considered educational climate, guidance and counseling, school management and instructional strategies. They also weighed the curriculum and liked courses that prepare students for college and vocational schools.

Judy James, head of the school, said the judges also were impressed with the school’s different instructional techniques, such as the science class where students work on an electric mini-car that is raced against those of other schools.

Students wrote letters stating why they enjoyed attending the school. The winning letter by a female student stated that she was so far behind in getting a diploma that she might have either tested out or dropped out before finishing. Now she is back at Redondo Union High School after spending time at the continuation school.

Students also like the support groups that help turn around bad habits such as smoking or drug abuse.

Redondo Shores Continuation High School was opened in 1993 after the South Bay Union High School District merged with the Redondo Beach Unified School District and the Manhattan Beach Unified School District. Consequently, Pacific Shores Continuation High School in Manhattan Beach closed, and Redondo Beach had to locate a home quickly for a new continuation high school.

Redondo Beach school officials found the vacant warehouse conveniently located next to Redondo Union. The site allows continuation students to take some classes at the regular high school.

If the continuation school does this well in a makeshift school building, teachers can’t wait for the $940,000 school to be built.

But for now, the state’s accolades are making up for the lack of a new building.

“You never know how you stack up when you are only a little more than two years old,” James said. “It was a very nice thing to happen. We felt very validated.”