| Elsie Allen High School | |
| Established: | 1994 |
| Type: | Public secondary |
| Grades: | 9–12 |
| Address: | 599 Bellevue Ave |
| City: | Santa Rosa |
| State: | California 95407 |
| Country: | United States |
| District: | Santa Rosa City Schools |
| Principal: | Gabriel Albavera |
| Enrollment: | 1,030 (2019-20)[1] |
| Mascot: | Lobos |
| Colors: | midnight blue, silver and white |
Elsie Allen High School (EAHS) is a high school located in Santa Rosa, California at 599 Bellevue Ave. It is part of the Santa Rosa High School District, which is itself part of Santa Rosa City Schools. The school is named after Elsie Allen.[2]
Prior to the opening of the school, the Elsie Allen High School Planning Committee was formed at Lawrence Cook Junior High, which would serve as the primary feeder school. The committee organized a vote of the student body to choose a mascot and school colors. The students voted to become the Lobos. Other choices included the Aztecs and the Eagles, which came in at a close second. [3] As for school colors they voted for midnight blue, silver and white.
Elsie Allen High School was founded in 1994. The first graduating class of the school was in 1997. It was named after Pomo basket weaver and educator Elsie Allen.[2] The University Center at Elsie Allen High School is the recipient of the prestigious 2010 California School Boards Association Golden Bell Award. The University Center at Elsie Allen High School guarantees admission to Sonoma State University and offers an annual savings of $10,000 in college tuition for students accepted in to the program.[4] In 2009, the University Center boasted the only Presidential Scholar ever to come from a Sonoma County public school; Jesse Nee-Vogelman earned perfect scores in four portions of the SAT.[5] In 2011, parents, faculty and community members came together to support Elsie Allen high School students by creating the Elsie Allen High School Foundation. The non-profit Foundation supports students by providing mentors, job shadows, career days and scholarships to college and trade schools.[6] In 2017, the Elsie Allen High Foundation received a $250,000 grant to help set up a $1 million endowment fund to provide Elise Allen High student scholarships for decades to come.[7]
The campus was also home to Midrose High School, an alternative school. Midrose was located on the northside of the campus.[8] The school was officially closed effective June 30, 2016.[9]
Elsie Allen has a number of student clubs, including the California Scholarship Federation, Rotary Interact, Key Club, and a Gay-Straight Alliance.
The school yearbook is called Phoenix and has been published annually in the spring since 1995. The school newspaper goes by the name The Tracker and has been published continuously since fall 1994. The school graduated its first class in 1997[10]
Elsie Allen has an American football team. Starting in 2011, they stopped playing in the North Bay League and became an independent team.[11] The school also has a men's club rugby team.[12] Elsie Allen also has boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, cross country, and track and field.[13] [14] There is also badminton, swim team and girls tennis.
The Arts Program has twice won the Congressional Art Competition.[15] [4] The Drama Program has received a multitude of awards over the past several years for acting, directing, and overall performance, as well as the top award for playwriting at the annual Lenaea Festival.[16] The Elsie Allen High Drum Line performs regularly for visiting dignitaries at businesses and community events.[17]
Carnell Edwards: Carnell Edwards was the founding Principal of Elsie Allen High School. He was hired in 1994 to open the school, which was the first new school in nearly three decades. His colleagues said he was a fierce advocate for students, and also had a wicked laugh and easy sense of humor.
At the very first Elsie Allen graduation assembly, Edwards teamed up with campus supervisor Fannie "Mama Lobo" Reece-Richardson to lip sync "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell. [18]
In 1999, Edwards was named High School Principal of the Year by the Sonoma County Association of School Administrators. In 2001, Edwards left Elsie Allen High School, the school he helped develop, to become the director of curriculum for Lompoc schools in Santa Barbara County.
Mary Gail Stablein: Mary Gail Stablein took over as Principal in the Fall of 2001. In 2018, Principal Mary Gail Stablein retired after serving as Elsie Allen High School's principal for 16 years. Stablein focused on preparing students for careers and higher education, boosting on campus the number of college-prep courses, student support services and job training and scholarship opportunities.[19]
Gabriel Albavera: Gabriel Albavera, a former Elsie Allen assistant principal and counselor, took over as the third Principal of Elsie Allen High School in the Fall of 2018 and is the current Principal.