El Dorado High School is a 9th–12th grade public
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
located in
Placentia, California
Placentia () is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States. Its population was 51,233 during the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 46,488 in the 2000 United States Census, 2000 census. This includes the community ...
. Established in 1966, El Dorado is one of four high schools in the
Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, and serves the northern parts of Placentia, and
Yorba Linda far eastern Fullerton, (east of the 57 freeway), and a small portion of
Brea. The EDHS campus is located at 1651 Valencia Avenue, approximately 29 miles from downtown
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and 18 miles from the California coastline.
The school currently has an enrollment of over 2,400 students. The school's first graduating class was the class of 1969. The campus received a major renovation in 2002. The EDHS gymnasium is dedicated to Joe Raya, a former Athletics department staff member. The theatre is dedicated to Mrs. Gai Jones, who directed the theatre department from 1967 to 2002. The tennis courts are dedicated to Coach John H Cyrus III, who was teaching and coaching there until 2018.
In 2004, Athletic director Sally Reclusado was selected as the
CIF Southern Section
The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CI ...
Athletic Director of the Year. Librarian Linda Birtler was awarded the
Orange County Department of Education's Outstanding Contribution to Education Award. El Dorado has also won the prestigious
Blue Ribbon
Blue ribbons are typically a symbol of high quality. The association comes from The Blue Riband, a prize awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by passenger liners and, prior to that from Order of the Holy Spirit#Cordon Bleu, Cord ...
Award.
The school is home to the El Dorado Golden Hawks Marching Band; the band's past achievements include a performance in the
Sydney Olympics Opening Ceremony, the
Tournament of Roses Parade
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
and top honors in two trips to the Hawaii International Competition.
Marching band
El Dorado has an award-winning marching band, wind ensemble, symphonic band, winter drumline, colorguard, and three jazz ensembles.
The band has performed in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
, and
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
, as well as at the
2000 Sydney Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...
and
2005 and 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade. Also, the drumline and color guard performed in the opening ceremonies for the
2011 Tournament of Roses Parade. The Hawks have also performed for former
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
and former President
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
.
During the 2007 marching season, El Dorado was undefeated in field tournament competition receiving sweepstakes awards at the Irvine Field Tournament, the Mira Mesa Field Tournament, the Vista Field Tournament, and the Arcadia Festival of Bands Field Tournament.. And in the 2019 season, they finished off their season with 2nd place, medaling silver at the
SCSBOA 6A Championships.
El Dorado's four jazz ensembles are also well known for their high-level musicianship and straight-ahead jazz style. The three bands have consistently received top honors at local and regional competitions. In Spring 2006, El Dorado's jazz ensemble 1 was distinguished as the "Outstanding Instrumental Ensemble" at the Reno International Jazz Festival.
Athletics
School teams have won various competitions as follows:
*1975: the water polo team won the CIF SS (Southern Section) title in an exciting game played at East LA College. The Golden Hawks beat Indio High School 8–6.
*1976: the baseball team, featuring all-CIF pitcher
Dan Petry
Daniel Joseph Petry ( ; born November 13, 1958) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers (1979–87 and 1990–91), California Angels (1988–89), Atlanta Braves (1991) and Boston Red Sox (1991). He currently se ...
, won the 2-A baseball championship.
*1989: the baseball team, led by all-CIF SS players Pete Janicki,
Matt Luke, and
Phil Nevin, won the 5-A baseball title, beating
Millikan High School in the title game 2-0.
*2003: the roller hockey team won the NARCh Varsity cup to become the best high school team in the country by beating
Santiago High School 5–4 in overtime.
*2006: the football team won the CIF Southern Section Championship for the first time in school history by beating
Charter Oak High School
Charter Oak High School is a four-year comprehensive secondary school in the Charter Oak Unified School District. It is located in the City of Covina, California, in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles. The school serves 9th, 10th, 11th an ...
17–6.
*2007: the football team won the CIF Southwestern division championship by defeating
Trabuco Hills High School
Trabuco Hills High School is a high school in Mission Viejo, California, United States. It is in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District.
Awards
THHS has received:
*2002 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.
Demographics
The demog ...
13–12.
*2007: the wrestling team won the CIF Central Division Championship with 188 points, edging out
Canyon Springs High School &
Calvary Chapel High School of Santa Ana.
*2008: the wrestling team won the CIF Central Division Championship with 186.5 points, edging out
Millikan High School &
Calvary Chapel High School of Santa Ana.
*2010: the varsity cheer team won their first USA Spirit High School National Championship after finishing second in 2009.
*2011: the varsity cheer team became the first California School in 23 years to win the UCA National Cheerleading Championships in Orlando Florida. Their performance was broadcast on ESPN and warranted a Foxnews LA feature upon their return. This team finished their second undefeated season and captured CIF, State as well as both the UCA and USA National Championships.
*2017: the boys soccer program were crowned CIF Division 3 Champions and then followed it up by becoming CIF Division 3 SoCal State Regional Champions. After starting the season poorly, the team went 19 games unbeaten, winning 17 of those games and ending the season on a 10-game winning streak.
Principals
*Howard Roop (1966–1969)
*Marvin Stewart (1969–1973)
*Jerry Jertberg (1973–1986)
*Alvin Hawkins (1986–1988)
*Richard Bernier (1988–1991)
*Joann Ball (1991–1994)
*Joe Quartucci (1994–1999)
*Karen Wilkins (1999–2010)
*Cary Johnson (2010–2012)
*Carey Cecil (2012–2015)
*Joe Davis (2016–2024)
*David Okamoto (2024-present)
Notable alumni
*
Bret Boone
Bret Robert Boone (born April 6, 1969) is an American former professional baseball second baseman who is a hitting coach for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). During his career, Boone was a three-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glo ...
–
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
player
*
Chris Buck
Christopher James Buck (born February 24, 1958) is an American film director, animator, and screenwriter known for co-directing '' Tarzan'' (1999), '' Surf's Up'' (2007) (which was nominated for the 2007 Oscar for Best Animated Feature), '' F ...
–
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People and fictional and mythical characters
* Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar
* Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
-winning director of ''
Frozen''
*
Michael Chang
Michael Te-pei Chang (born February 22, 1972) is an American former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked world No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in 1996. Chang is the youngest man in history to win a singl ...
– Retired pro tennis player
*
Christie Clark – Actress, ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...
''
*
John Crawford – Co-founded alternative rock group
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
*
Peter Daut – News anchor,
KCBS-TV
KCBS-TV (channel 2), branded CBS Los Angeles, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship station of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the n ...
*
D-loc
Dustin Garett Miller (born May 2, 1977), best known by his stage name D-Loc, is an MC in the rap rock group Kottonmouth Kings and rap group Kingspade. The group was signed to Suburban Noize. Miller has been a part of the Kottonmouth Kings s ...
–
Rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...
Kottonmouth Kings
The Kottonmouth Kings is an American hip hop group formed in Placentia, California in 1996 by D-Loc and Saint Dog. The group advocates for legalizing cannabis, and their lyrics contain frequent references to marijuana consumption. The grou ...
and
Kingspade
*
Chris Dressel – NFL tight end,
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...
and
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
*
Janet Evans
Janet Beth Evans (born August 28, 1971) is an American former competition swimmer who swam from 1989 to 1992 for Stanford University and specialized in distance freestyle events. Evans was a world champion and world record-holder, and won a to ...
–
Olympic medal winning swimmer, and former world record holder
*
Jason Freese – Keyboard player for the band
Green Day
Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...
*
Josh Freese
Joshua Ryan Freese (born December 25, 1972) is an American drummer. A member of punk rock band the Vandals since 1989, Freese has also been a member of new wave band Devo since 1996. He was previously a member of hard rock band Guns N' Roses ...
– Drummer for the band
The Foo Fighters,
Weezer
Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, keyboards, backing ...
, and
The Vandals
The Vandals are an American punk rock band, established in 1980 in Orange County, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums, three live albums, three live DVDs and have toured the world extensively, including performances on ...
*
Till Kahrs – Recording Artist/Singer-Songwriter, Author, Communication Skills Expert
*
Dan Kennedy – Professional soccer player currently with
Chivas USA
Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conf ...
*
James Levesque – Bassist and founding member of
Agent Orange
Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the tactical uses of Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1971. T ...
*
Matt Luke – Retired Major League Baseball player
*
Chris Cron –
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
player
*
CJ Cron –
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
player
*
Travis Miguel – Guitarist for the band
Atreyu
Atreyu is an American metalcore band from Yorba Linda, California, formed in 1998. The band's current line-up consists of clean vocalist Brandon Saller, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist and unclean vocalist Marc "Porter" McKn ...
*
Dylan Moore –
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
player
*
Phil Nevin – Retired Major League Baseball player
*
Kherington Payne
Kherington Taylor Payne (born January 26, 1990) is an American dancer, actress, choreographer, television personality and singer who camas a contestant in Season 4 of the hit reality-dance show '' So You Think You Can Dance'' as the sixth fema ...
– Dancer (Top 10 of ''
So You Think You Can Dance
''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...
'' season 4) and actress
*
Audrina Patridge – Actress, ''
The Hills''
*
Dan Petry
Daniel Joseph Petry ( ; born November 13, 1958) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers (1979–87 and 1990–91), California Angels (1988–89), Atlanta Braves (1991) and Boston Red Sox (1991). He currently se ...
– Retired
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
pitcher
*
Norm Rapmund – American comic book artist
*
Shawn Ray – Former professional bodybuilder
*
Steve Soto
Steve Soto (August 23, 1963 – June 27, 2018) was an American musician. Soto was the founding bassist of California punk rock bands Agent Orange and the Adolescents. Soto was also a member of Legal Weapon, Joyride, Manic Hispanic, Punk Rock ...
– Bassist for bands the
Adolescents
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with ...
and also founding member of
Agent Orange
Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the tactical uses of Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1971. T ...
*
Brett Tomko – Major League Baseball pitcher
*
Deborah Voigt –
Soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
opera singer
Public school review page on Placentia HS
Accessed May 29, 2009.
*Pete Woods
Peter Woods is an American comic book artist, known for his work on titles such as ''Backlash (Marc Slayton), Backlash'', ''Deadpool (comics), Deadpool'', ''Robin (comics), Robin'', ''Catwoman'', ''Amazons Attack'', and ''Action Comics''.
Career ...
– American comic book inker
References
External links
*
EDHS Alumni
El Dorado Band & Colorguard
{{Coord, 33.8922367, -117.8561696, format=dms, display=title
High schools in Orange County, California
Placentia, California
Public high schools in California
1966 establishments in California
Educational institutions established in 1966