East Lake High School (Tarpon Springs, Florida)

East Lake High School
East Lake High School
Location
	1300 Silver Eagle Drive ; Tarpon Springs, FL 34688; United States
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1987
School district	Pinellas County Schools
Principal	Clayton Snare
Enrollment	2,351
Information	727-942-5419
Colors ; Mascot	Blue and Silver ; Eagle
Website	[1]

East Lake High School is a grade 9-12 public secondary school located in Tarpon Springs, Florida. It is part of the Pinellas County School District. The nine-building complex is one of the most recently constructed high schools in Pinellas County, built in 1987. It is located on 13 acres of land in northern Pinellas County. The school recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. East Lake High School's most recent attendance was 2,351. The school recently established an Engineering Academy.

Designed for flexibility, economy and adaptability, the individual units, including three two-story classroom buildings and an administrative building with the media center over it, are connected by covered walkways. The remaining five buildings are a 1,500-seat gymnasium, a theatre that accommodates 886 people, choral, band and keyboard rooms and support facility units including food services and mechanical backup. The school also has a baseball and softball field, football stadium, basketball and tennis courts, a television studio, and a drivers education range. Seventy percent of all light comes from natural outside sources. East Lake is also unique in its building design to include a Child Care Center available to faculty and community.

Academics

File:Http://www.eastlake-hs.pinellas.k12.fl.us/images/MVC-002Sa.JPG

East Lake High School is located in Tarpon Springs, FL.

East Lake High School has received an 'A' grade from the State of Florida for the last seven years in a row. The school's curriculum includes required courses in English, mathematics, science, social studies, physical education, health education, and fine arts/practical arts. Elective courses include foreign language (French, Spanish, and German), drama, music, art, physical education, engineering, and television production. Honors and Advanced Placement classes are offered along with the opportunity for dual enrollment at nearby St. Petersburg College. The school also offers vocational programs and Gold Seal Endorsements.

Engineering Academy

The recently established Engineering Academy offers courses including: Introduction to Engineering Design, Digital Electronics, Principles of Electronics, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Engineering Design and Development. East Lake High School is home to the F.I.R.S.T. Team 79 robotics team also known as 'Krunch'. The team includes students from both East Lake and Tarpon Springs High Schools. It has been recognized both regionally and nationally.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Appearance

In 2005, the school's engineering program was selected by the ABC prime-time television show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, to assist in the construction of the Dolan Family home being built in St. Petersburg. The school's students built robots for a robot-themed room for one of the Dolan children. Stars of the show, including host Ty Pennington, visited the East Lake High School campus to shoot a segment for the show.

Eagle Eye News

Eagle Eye News is East Lake High School's television production program founded in 2003. The program started airing 10-minute-long pre-recorded newscasts once a week, then twice a week, and now airs live every day of the week on CCTV channel 5. It is entirely volunteer-driven, student-run with the exception of a faculty sponsor. In the fall of 2007 East Lake High School will offer a television production class. Unlike other similar programs in Pinellas County, Eagle Eye News receives funding mainly through donations and the school's library fund. Parts of the news set were donated by WTSP-TV Channel 10 (CBS). Eagle Eye News reports have placed first in the county, state, and regional levels. In 2007 Eagle Eye News launched a website aimed at providing news to the community at all hours of the day: http://www.eagleeye5.com .

The Talon

The Talon is East Lake's Newspaper which was founded in 1987. Between 2000-2002 some staff members received Scholastic Gold and Silver Key Writing Awards in Journalism; and in 2002 one staff member received a National Scholastic Writing Award. The Talon is also home to staff members who have written for Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, The St.Petersburg Times, the FSView, and many other publications. Staff members are also known to complete the Poynter Journalism Institute classes.

Charles Bishop Incident

On January 5, 2002 East Lake High School freshman Charles Bishop flew a Cessna airplane into the 42-story Bank of America skyscraper in downtown Tampa, FL. He died at the scene. A suicide note was found claiming he acted alone, yet expressed sympathy for Osama bin Laden. He had been taking flight lessons at a nearby airport. His family later sued Accutane, claiming the acne medicine made him suicidal. The family dropped the lawsuit in June 2007.

The school newspaper, The Talon, decided to not run a story about Charles Bishop without the approval of his family. At the time the media coverage was intense and the community (his family and friends) felt bombarded with questions. Instead an ad was run in remembrance.

External links

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