East Chicago Central High School or commonly known as Central or EC Central, is a

public high school State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

in the industrial City of

East Chicago East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census. The city is home of the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, an artificial freshwater harbor characterized by industrial and manufacturing act ...

, located east of the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...

History

The School City of East Chicago built East Chicago Central High School in 1986 to replace East Chicago's two aging high schools, East Chicago Washington and East Chicago Roosevelt High Schools. East Chicago Central's first semester began in the fall of 1986.

Academics

East Chicago Central High School is ranked 293rd out of the 397 high schools of Indiana and #12,248 in National Rankings. Central had an average composite ACT score of 22 and has a 69% graduation rate (State graduation rate average is 86%). Central students' proficiency in math is 12% (Lower than the Indiana state average of 54%). Students' proficiency in reading/language arts is 33% (Lower than the Indiana state average of 62%). Central High School placed in the bottom 50% of all schools in Indiana for overall test scores (Math proficiency is bottom 50%, and reading proficiency is bottom 50%).

Athletics

The athletic director was Cindy Wilson. The East Chicago Central's Cardinals compete in the

Great Lakes Conference The Great Lakes Conference is an OHSAA athletics conference that began play with the 2015-16 school year. The following are members: Members League history As part of a significant realignment in Cleveland-area high school leagues at the time, ...

(GLC) as well as in the state championship series sponsored by the

Indiana High School Athletic Association The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) is the arbiter of interscholastic competition among public and private high schools in the U.S. state of Indiana. It monitors a system that divides athletically-competing high schools in Indiana ...

(IHSAA) which governs athletic activities in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. School colors are Cardinal red and Navy blue. The school sponsors interscholastic teams for both boys and girls in

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, Coed

Flag Football Flag football is a variant of American football where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a Down (gridiron football), down. The sport has a ...

, Coed

Track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

, Cross Country,

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

& Diving, and

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

. Girls also compete in

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

. Boys also compete in

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

and

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

. East Chicago Central athletic teams placed in the top four of their respective class in their respective sports in IHSAA sponsored state championship series: * Basketball (Boys): State Champions (EC Washington: 1960*, 1971*) (EC Roosevelt: 1970*) (EC Central: 2007) Semi-State Champions: (EC Washington: 1947*, 1960*, 1962*, 1966*, 1971*, 1976*, 1977*, 1985*) Regional Champions: (EC Washington: 1925*, 1927*, 1928*, 1929*, 1930*, 1931*, 1936*, 1940*, 1941*, 1942*, 1944*, 1953*, 1963*, 1967*, 1978*, 1979*, 1983*) Sectional Champions: (EC Central: 1987, 19889, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2016, 2017) *Basketball (Girls): State Champions (EC Roosevelt: 1977*, 1979*) * Football: State Champions (EC Roosevelt: 1945*, 1946*, 1949*, 1955*, 1957*) (EC Central: 1994, 2017) * Wrestling: State Champions (EC Roosevelt: 1934*) *Indicates titles won by East Chicago Washington High School and East Chicago Roosevelt High School prior to merging in 1986 to become East Chicago Central High School.

John A. Baratto Athletic Center

The John A. Baratto Athletic Center is the third-largest high school basketball gym by seating capacity in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with 8,054 seats, behind Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium at Seymour High School (capacity: 8,228) and New Castle Fieldhouse at New Castle High School (capacity: 8,424), both of which are also in Indiana. The gym was dedicated in 1988 and is named in honor of legendary EC Washington basketball coach John Baratto, who went 484-170, secured 15 sectional titles, 8 regional titles, 4 semi-state crowns, and the 1960 IHSAA basketball title. Baratto was inducted into the

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. While it honors men and women associated with high school, college, and professional basketball in Indiana, an emphasis is placed on the athlete's high ...

in 1972.

Demographics

The racial makeup of students attending Central is 51%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

, 47%

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, and 1% Two or More Races. The gender makeup is 48% female and 52% male.

Notable alumni

Monica Maxwell Monica Lynn Maxwell (born December 21, 1976) is a former women's basketball player and coach. Playing career Maxwell played her high school basketball at East Chicago Central High School, leading the Lady Cardinals to a 22–1 record during her ...

- Former WNBA player, former assistant coach at

Pike High School Pike High School is a public high school on the northwest side of Indianapolis, Indiana. Athletics Conference History Varsity Sports * Baseball (boys) * Basketball (girls and boys) * Cross country (girls and boys) * Football (boys) * Golf ( ...

E'Twaun Moore E'Twaun Donte Moore (born February 25, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the 2011 NBA draft after playing college basketball at Purdue University. In high s ...

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

Player, currently playing for the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

Kawann Short Kawann Arcell Short (born February 2, 1989) is an American football defensive tackle who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue. Early years Short ...

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

player, formerly played for

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

, current free agent * Miguel Torres - Former

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

fighter

References

External links

East Chicago Central High School
{{authority control Public high schools in Indiana Schools in Lake County, Indiana Educational institutions established in 1986 East Chicago, Indiana 1986 establishments in Indiana