CA Charter School Produces Two Heisman Trophy Finalists; First Time in History of Award that Two Graduates from Same Public High School Selected as Finalists

Business Wire, Dec 13, 2004

SAN DIEGO -- Helix Charter High School, a California charter school, produced two of the five 2004 national Heisman Trophy finalists, which is college football's highest individual honor. The 2004 Heisman ceremony marked the first time in the 70-year history of the Heisman award that two graduates of the same high school were selected as finalists.

The two charter school graduates, quarterback Alex Smith of the University of Utah and running back Reggie Bush of USC, played together at Helix Charter High in 2000 and 2001. Smith, Helix Charter High's Senior Class President, graduated in 2002 with enough AP credits to finish his undergraduate program in May and begin postgraduate work in Economics this fall. Bush, a 2003 Helix Charter High graduate, is currently a psychology major at USC.

"Not only are students in California's charter schools competing academically, but they are demonstrating their successes in a variety of venues, including athletics," said Caprice Young, CEO of the California Charter Schools Association. "Helix Charter High School is to be commended for producing two fine scholar-athletes and two outstanding role-models."

"It's funny, but we're not obsessed with athletics here," David Schultz, an academic advisor to Bush, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "For us, athletics is a vehicle to foster the academic development of our students."

"You may never see anything like this again. Two guys from the same school?" Highlander football coach Donnie Van Hook, who described both scholar-athletes as humble and hard-working, also told the Union-Tribune. "We knew these guys were special. They were so well-rounded. They weren't going to fail."

The 2004 Heisman Trophy was awarded on Saturday evening to Bush's teammate, USC's star quarterback Matt Leinart.

About California Charter Schools

Charter schools are independent public schools that give teachers and the local community flexibility in deciding their own curriculum, staffing and budgets with the goal of improving student achievement.

About the California Charter Schools Association

The California Charter Schools Association is the membership and professional organization serving over 500 public charter schools serving approximately 180,000 charter school students in the State of California.