Carlsbad High School has settled into a stout middle age. The football field is balding, but the general landscape needs to be plucked. Some of the buildings creak and sigh, but their laugh lines are worn with affection. At reunions, alumni first notice the girth and whisper that perhaps CHS should cut down a bit. At 50, our indulgences, even in good things, have begun to show.

Built originally for 1200 students, by the ’90s Carlsbad High was popping buttons. Since the ’70s, bubbles in student population have been predicted and exceeded. Property for another high school was acquired back then, but there has always been a hesitancy to build a new school. It is not just the cost, but because some felt to split the school would be to divide loyalties and give in to the reality that Carlsbad is no longer a small town. Now that there are around 3000 students at CHS—on 37 acres in an over-trafficked residential area—and projections at 4000 plus, the issue has reached critical mass.

The community of Carlsbad is known for its grassroots political movements, and it was this kind of civic energy that propelled a school bond measure, Prop P, into electoral reality. Soon, new ground will be broken for a new high school at College Avenue and Cannon Drive. CHS can accept this rivalry as sort of an older brother role model.

With the 21st century on the horizon, Carlsbad High School has had to reboot. It’s not your granddad’s CHS. What happened to lockers? When did the Dewey Decimal System give way to Ask.com? (Ask.com was founded in 1996 by Garrett Gruener and CHS alumnus David Warthen.) “Technology drives all of us,” Principal Maggie Stancchi said. Laptops have not completely replaced blue-lined notebook paper, but almost. No. 2 pencils still make an appearance, but in Drafting the T-squares and templates are merely the corner graphic on the auto-cad software.

Tom “TR” Robertson said the school newspaper staff used to go down to the old Blade-Tribune (Now the North County Times) to typeset and lay out the Excalibur. Now there is not any part of the process that is not computerized. It is the same with the yearbook, The Purple Shield.

It was about the turn of the century when CHS journalism began a broadcast option. CHSTV has become an Emmy-winning, internationally acclaimed program. Teacher Doug Green thought of using his broadcast background to make writing more relevant to his English classes. Now there is a waiting list and interview process to get into the award-winning courses at CHS and Valley Middle School. And CHSTV produces a live show every day.

Dance classes are another program some kids from out of district think ‘transfer’ over. The beginning dance class may see a few seniors looking to fill out their schedules, but competition heats up for the advanced classes. To be a part of the award-winning Excalibur dance troupe or the National Champion Lancer Dancers takes technical grace and habitual tenacity.

Like technology, culture has also produced some conspicuous Carlsbad opportunities. Gym class is a relic of the air-raid era. Yoga, pilates and weight training have replaced rope climbing and snap-up P.E. blouses. And that’s on campus. Offsite, CHS students can surf, play beach volleyball or skateboard.

Coach Bob Blackburn saw the surf club become a CIF sport in the ’90s. Denny Cooper took the whistle for 15 years before handing it off to Blackburn’s son Jake—a counselor at CHS—two seasons ago. It has seen state and national titles and has produced some solid pros including, Taylor Knox, Julia Christian, Dane Johnson, Che Stang and Kyla Langen. Through the ’90s, all of California knew it was Carlsbad, San Clemente or Huntington Beach that were the teams to beat.

Football in the 2000s has enjoyed a county-wide reputation. With back-to-back CIF Division I championships in ’06 and ’07, head coach Bob McAllister has seen 14 years of hard work rise above the purple haze. The Boys Water Polo team has been successful enough to make a Speedo almost fashionable with their five straight CIF titles. And CHS Golf has produced a young female phenom in Rachel Morris.

Is there more to learn now than there was in the ’60s? Remember when 4.0 was a perfect grade point average and 1600 was a perfect SAT score? The ’90s and 2000s have seen a considerable jump in weighted, advance placement classes so that now 5.0 is the star to aim for and 2400 is an SAT feat.

Students with no interest in vying for Harvard or Stanford have new Career Tech Ed options. CHS offers classes in fashion merchandising, small engine repair and law enforcement. CHS, besides being a California Distinguished School for several years, is a national demonstrations school for the AVID program. AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Differences.

Carlsbad High has always been the regional high school for the deaf and hard of hearing, but more recently has seen a bump up in Special Education enrollment. This is not a regional designation like the hard of hearing program, but rather brings more special needs students to their home high schools. CHS has a functional skills program, a transition program for those over 18 and a Best Buddies program, which partners special needs students with other members of the CHS student body.

The history of Carlsbad High School has been an evolution in local traditions and national transformations. TR has witnessed most of these undulations. CHS was just a tousled-haired 10-year-old when TR started teaching at CHS in 1968. With a brief hiatus in the early ’70s to serve in the Navy during the Vietnam era, TR has facilitated much of the high school’s progress.

“He is the consummate professional,” Stancchi said of him. He loves the kids and loves what he does. And he never loses his enthusiasm.” In his purple sport coat at graduation or amping the ASB as advisor, TR has become as much a CHS institution as Lancer Day or the prom. Stancchi credits his student-centered approach to his success. “Year-after-year, he never loses his energy. That transfers to his students.”

TR has taught English, Government and Economics, History and Creative Writing, before his seniority allowed him to develop and settle into his Sociology and Anthropology classes. He was handed the reins of the school newspaper from the able Dr. Beverly Bozak back in the ’70s. He has advised the yearbook staff, the gifted program and coached volleyball (He is currently a CIF volleyball official). He has moderated the academic league. He was one of the instigators of the Air Band competition that has been riotously successful.

With all that, TR was still able to coach his sons, Brian and Chris, in everything from Pop Warner to soccer. Brian grew up into a dream job—designing video games. Chris grew up to take a legacy. Even though he has a law degree, Chris has been teaching at CHS for five years. If he is a good student at the anthropology of his father, he may someday get to fill the purple sport coat. Or perhaps he’ll transfer and become the TR of the new high school and decades on he’ll be able to look back on a job well done.

At 50, Carlsbad High School looks forward to getting a little work done. Krcmar Field is about to get a full makeover. Other spots will be nipped and tucked or completely reconstructed. But retirement is a long way off for CHS. There are still championships to be won, academic laurels to garner and graduations to cry over. •