Redondo renames school to honor ‘most treasured citizen’

Pat Dreizler with granddaughters Macy, Mackenzie, Pat, Amelia and Karli. Photos

Redondo Shores School Principal Anthony Bridi introduced Patricia Dreizler by noting he stopped counting the Redondo Beach awards she has received when the number reached 100. And for the same reason, he stopped counting the community organizations she had worked with.

“Instead, I decided to simply read the titles she has held,” he said. They included administrator (Redondo Community Resources Director, 1975 to 1989), elected official (Beach Cities Health District trustee, 1990 to 1998), Redondo Woman of the Year (‘59 and ‘69), founder (Domestic Violence Victims Advocacy Program, Redondo Historical Museum), author (“Redondo Beach 1880-1930,” co-authored with Maryann Keating) and mother (four sons, two daughters, 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren).

Pat Dreizler with Anthony Bridi, principal of the newly renamed Patricia Dreizler Continuation High School.

The occasion was the renaming of Redondo Shores Continuation High School to Patricia Dreizler Continuation High School on Monday morning at the campus, located immediately east of Redondo Union High School.

The 92-year-old Dreizler, a self-described historical packrat, erased any doubts about the school board’s decision to rename the school by holding up a graduation program from the year the Redondo School District took over the former Pacific Shores Continuation School from the Manhattan Beach School District.

“I get calls from parents who are concerned that their child is being sent to our continuation school. I tell them they’re fortunate because it is such a good school,” Dreizler.

Dreizler traced her involvement with Redondo Shores back to her work at the city.

“There was a bit of jealousy between the city and school district and I became the liaison,” she said.

School Superintendent Steven Keller said when he came to the district 12 years ago, Dreizler was one of the first people whose counsel he sought.

“I spent two hours with her,” he said, and he still didn’t tap all of her institutional knowledge about Redondo schools.

School Board Trustee David Witkins described Dreizler as “Redondo’s most treasured citizen.”

“If you live in Redondo Beach, Pat has had a positive impact on your life. Renaming the school will serve as a lasting reminder of her importance to all of us.”

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