East Ridge High School (Florida)

East Ridge High School is a school in Clermont, Florida and one of seven public high schools in Lake County. East Ridge is the largest school in Lake County. It was however intended to hold only 1,800 students at the most, This was not large enough for the ever growing population of Clermont it has more than doubled in the last five years. In total there are 3,084 Students enrolled as of January 14th. East Ridge has a good reputation and is known for its athletic programs as well as its band department receiving many national and state awards. The picture displayed is from 2002, now there is a new building labeled the "Freshman Building" officially building 21.

Infobox School
imagesize = 200px
name=East Ridge High School

type=Public
location=13322 Excalibur Road
Clermont, FL
information=[phone]
established=2002
grades=9-12
enrollment=approx. 3,000
principal=Aurelia M. Cole
mascot=Knights
school Color=Black and Gold
website= [http://www.lake.k12.fl.us/school-erh//www.lake.k12.fl.us/school-erh/]

Official School Website

[http://lake.k12.fl.us/erh/site/default.asp East Ridge High School]

History

East Ridge High School was constructed at 13322 Excalibur Road in 2002. It is currently the newest high school in Lake County, Florida. The school was built to stop the overcrowding of their mother, now sister school, South Lake High School, which is located in Groveland.

tudents

Student enrollment at East Ridge High School is currently 3,084 as of January 14th, East Ridge has a very diverse population.

ports

The sports teams at East Ridge train in their practice fields or gym or at the National Training Center about a mile from campus. They play the majority of their home games in "The Dungeon" or in their gym. Their sports include (in seasonal order): women's volleyball, co-ed basketball, co-ed golf, men's football, co-ed soccer, co-ed tennis, women's softball, men's baseball, co-ed swimming/diving, and co-ed lacross. In their short history, some of the athletic teams achieved great success. Except for the men's lacrosse teams, who still suffer defeat at the hands of their ill-equipped and under-educated inner city rivals. In their second year (2003), the volleyball team reached the Final Four in the 5A division. In 2005, The basketball team reached the Final Four in the 5A division. However, the most noted sports team is their football program. The east ridge golf team was undefeated in the 2007-2008 season. Their record was 14-0.

Football

The East Ridge Knights football team is the most well known athletic team for the school, especially during its unbeaten winning streak. After the streak had ended it had mild success however it couldn't beat the Edgewater Eagle Curse for the previous three years East Ridge has played Edgewater in the playoffs for three years running, losing by a close margin every time. East Ridge was ranked No.9 for the 2008 football year in all central Florida counties, the Orlando Sentinels teamed up with www.fridaynightfootball.net to give the ratings.

chool Ratings

The Florida Department of Education gave the school a "D" rating in 2003-2004.

East Ridge received a "C" rating in the 2004-2005 school year.

It also was awarded a "C" rating in 2005-2006, and in the 2006-2007

school year East Ridge High School received a "D" rating. Most

recently, the school earned a "B" rating in the 2007-2008 school

year.

Band Program

The [http://erhknightsband.com/eastridgehighmarchingknights/index.html ERHS Band Program] is under the direction of Jack Hart. The band program at East Ridge High School provides a well-rounded musical experience for its students with special emphasis placed in the area of Marching, Jazz and Concert Band performance, as well as Color Guard, Winter Guard, and Indoor Percussion. Since the school has been opened, the band program has consistently received a superior rating, with the exception of the 2004-2005 concert band received a rating of excellent.

Concert Season

In the 2006-2007 school year, East Ridge High School's Wind Ensemble went to State Competition receiving scores of good, excellent and good resulting in an overall good rating. This is the first time East Ridge has gone to State Competition for Concert Band. The band was directed by Jack Hart and was composed of 51 students.

Jazz Band

The East Ridge Jazz Band constantly gets superiors year round. The past 2 years, the jazz band won grand champions at Lakeside Jazz Festival at Port Orange. Also, for the first time in school history, and Mr. Hart's career, the jazz band got straight superiors at state competition at West Port High School in Ocala.

Marching Band

The East Ridge Band is most known for its Marching band program, which have received straight superiors since their inauguration. Since 2003, they have become the largest marching band in Lake County, and in their district in the Florida Bandmasters Association.

On October 27th, 2007 the Marching Knights went to the Ancient City Presentation of Bands in St. Augustine where they received a final score of 85.5, winning their first ever competition.

Although the band tried their hardest they could not make it to the finals at the state competition in 2007. They placed 9th in class 5a with a score of 82.34

Percussion

The East Ridge Percussion and Drumline (was) directed under Ryan Wright. Since his arrival in 2005, the percussion have received their highest ratings in marching and indoor percussion, in which he started for the school. The indoor percussion have even brought in band members from other instruments to play.

In 2006-2007, the East Ridge Percussion section competed for the first time ever in FFCC Indoor Percussion competitions. Throughout the season, the section competed with various other schools' groups, each varying in size and skill. At every competition, East Ridge's line placed no lower than 3rd, and receiving the highest scores in 2 competitions, only to place 2nd in one of the two due to a timing penalty. At State championships, the section brought together all of their hardwork and practice to place 3rd overall, narrowly missing 2nd and first by less than a point.

In 2008, Mr. Wright left East Ridge to become the head director of rival school, South Lake High School. A new director has be hired to oversee the percussion section. Named Mr.North

chool Clubs

The school offers a wide variety of clubs:

*Anime
*Robotics (Has a team for FIRST competitions)
*Key Club
*FFA
*Television Production
*Video Games
*Fellowship of Christian Athletes
*Student Government Association
*The Riot (spirit)
*Knights Marching Band
*Concert Band
*Jazz Band
*Chorus
*National Honor Society
*Future Business Leaders of America
*Graphic Design
*Thespians (Drama)
*Tri-M (National Music Honor Society)

--Section needs organization to clubs, and is probably not all the clubs availble.--

Discipline

East Ridge High School has received numerous bomb threats and rumored gun shootings, starting in 2006 a day before spring break started for Lake County students. A bomb threat was called in on April 7, stating that a bomb was located within the first four buildings. Students were taken to the football field and later, the auditorium. This lasted for over 3 hours.

These threats became more frequent in 2007 when four bomb threats were called in. One of these threats was in March, and the other three were called in April. Two of the threats were called within the same week. After the last bomb threat, students were found in a bathroom making the call and were expelled from Lake County Public Schools.Fact|date=June 2007

Gun Shooting rumor

On May 7, 2007 a rumor was spread [http://www.wftv.com/video/13305923/detail.html] , supposedly from a junior, about a shooting that would occur on the seniors' last day of school (May 11, 2007). It was initially said that seniors would be shot, but it soon changed to killing those wearing green (the senior color), and eventually athletes. By Thursday, many students believed that this rumor was false and that the shooting was not going to take place. However, over 1,200 students were absent from school, including 300 seniors.

Tardy Policy Protest rumor

In the 2006-2007 school year of East Ridge High School, a rumor circulated around the school that there was going to be a riot over a new, strict tardy policy. The rumor was said to have started as a topic made on the school's MySpace forum and circulated among the students. The rumor was first said to be secret and only for students, but of course it reached its way to teachers, administrators, and the entire school.Fact|date=April 2008 The protest was to take place on the first day of the new policy and was to happen in the courtyard between the main buildings between first and second period. It was said that hundreds of students were going to participate in the protest. On the day that the new policy was to take place, an extra number of police officers were at the school to confront the protesters. They had extra handcuffs to restrain the predicted amount of protesters, and teachers were also outside to get pictures of people that tried to attend the protest. When it came time for the protest, there was only a mediocre group of students (around 130) in the courtyard. They were not rioting but simply standing. There were also students in the hallways yelling "Hell no, we won't go!" The principal announced during morning announcments that the students in the courtyard will be either suspended or expelled. There were no rumors that anyone was arrested. The tardy policy stayed in effect.

References

* [http://www.fridaynightfootball.net Friday Night Football]
* [http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/fl/5302 School Statistics]
* [http://www.clermont.govoffice.com Clermont Population]
* [http://cityofclermont.com Clermont Information]
* [http://www.orlandosentinel.com/springfootball Rankings]