El Cerrito High School is a public school in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. It is located on Ashbury Avenue in El Cerrito, California, United States.
The original main school building was built in the late 1930s as a WPA project. The school opened to students on January 6, 1941.
Student population quickly outgrew the facilities, and the campus became a collection of small, outlying buildings. As concern grew over the building's safety and structural stability, plans were made for more integrated buildings and, in the summer of 2005, demolition of the old campus began. By 2007, the campus had been demolished, and the terrain was leveled in preparation for reconstruction. During the reconstruction, all classes were held in temporary buildings located south of the campus on the former baseball field. The new campus opened on January 5, 2009.
El Cerrito's student body is 35.6% African-American, 23.7% Hispanic, 17.2% Asian, 16.7% Caucasian, and 2.5% Filipino. Many of these students are actually mixed race, making El Cerrito a very diverse high school. Over one third of students come from families with a low enough income to qualify for free or reduced price lunches under the National School Lunch Act. Many students come from the neighboring city of Richmond, which is also served by the West Contra Costa Unified School District.
Clubs and organizations
El Cerrito High School offers a variety of clubs, including:
ASL ClubAnimal Rights ClubAsian Student UnionBlack Student UnionBreakfast ClubChess ClubCircle of FriendsComics ClubThe Creative ClubDance AssociationDragon BoatingDungeons and DragonsECHS Mountain Bike ClubECHS Photography ClubECHS Ultimate Frisbee ClubFilm and Literature ClubFIDM Fashion ClubGarden ClubGaucho Dance CompanyGuitar ClubHighschoolers Uplifting God (HUG)InteractJapanese Soran BushiJuggling ClubKey ClubKorean Culture ClubMock TrialLatino Student Union / Latinos UnitedMath ClubNepali ClubQueer-Straight Alliance (QSA)Rising StarsRobotics, Engineering, & Design (R.E.D.)Science ClubSpeech and DebateSPIRE @ ECHSStudents for Social AwarenessSouth Asian Student UnionThespian SocietyTibetan ClubUrbex ClubWomen of All Collors AllianceIt also operates the KECG radio station.
Dwain Anderson, MLB infielder, Oakland Athletics 1971-1972, St. Louis Cardinals 1972-1973, San Diego Padres 1973, Cleveland Indians 1974Jerry Bell, NFL tight end, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1982-1987Ernie Broglio, MLB pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals 1959-1964, Chicago Cubs 1964-66Mike Burns, NFL playerLes Cain, MLB pitcher, Detroit Tigers 1968, 1970–1972John Flavin, MLB pitcher, Chicago Cubs 1964Drew Gooden, NBA power forward/center, Washington WizardsCornell Green, NFL defensive back, Dallas Cowboys 1962-1974Pumpsie Green, MLB infielder, Boston Red Sox 1959-1962, New York Mets 1963Mario Hollands, MLB pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies 2014-preseRoddy Lee, Olympic athleteMike McGrath, professional bowler, top money-maker in 1970Jamir Miller, NFL linebacker, Arizona Cardinals 1994-98, Cleveland Browns 1999-2002Bill Nelson, NFL defensive tackle, Los Angeles Rams 1971-1975Bob Newman, football playerChris Roberson, MLB outfielder, Philadelphia Phillies 2006-07Terrell Roberts, NFL playerHarvey Salem, NFL offensive tackle 1983-1992Todd Spencer, NFL running back, Pittsburgh Steelers 1984-1985, San Diego Chargers 1987John Thomas, NFL player 1958-1967Lamont Thompson, NFL defensive safety 2002-2007Paul Baloff (d. 2002), former vocalist of ExodusStephen Bradley, touring member of the band No Doubt; music producerDoug Clifford, member of the band Creedence Clearwater RevivalLawrence Coates, novelistStu Cook, member of the band Creedence Clearwater RevivalJohn Fogerty, member of the band Creedence Clearwater RevivalCynthia Gouw, TV news host, model and actressPhil Lesh, musician, of the Grateful DeadLarry Lynch, drummer best known for his work with The Greg Kihn BandMaria Remenyi, former Miss USAAdam Sessler, host of G4's X-PlayMark Whitaker, former band manager of Exodus; produced albums for Exodus and MetallicaSteve Wright, bassist best known for his work with The Greg Kihn BandMartin Eberhard, founder of Tesla MotorsByron Lars, fashion designerAmy Chua, law professor at Yale Law SchoolLawrence Coates, professor at Bowling Green UniversityJeffrey B. Van Duzer, provost and former business school dean at Seattle Pacific UniversityFrank C. Shallenberger (1941–1947)Claude D. Samples (1947–1968)Frank E. Granucci (1968–1975)James G. Nelson (1975–1982)Cameron E. Blackwell (1982–1988)Ronnie Van Zant (1988–1992)Paul A. Daniels (1992–1998)Michael Aaronian, Jr. (1998–2002)Vincent J. Rhea (2002–2007)Jason D. Reimann (2007–2011)David Luongo (2011–2016)Edith Jordan-McCormick (2016– )