Multiple coaches at El Camino Real placed on administrative leave amid investigation
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- El Camino Real in Woodland Hills, which recently replaced its head of school and assistant principal in charge of athletics, is now investigating coaches.
- Parents confirmed that multiple coaches were escorted off campus Thursday.
Multiple teachers and coaches at El Camino Real have been placed on administrative leave, the latest in a series of changes at the Woodland Hills charter school.
“All I can confirm is that there is an investigation,” El Camino Real interim executive director Emilie Larew wrote in an email to The Times. “I am unable to comment on details related to a pending investigation.”
The investigation, which the school referred to a third party, centers on an allegation CPR and first-aid certification cards might be fraudulent because they were not listed in a Red Cross database even though they were approved last year by the school’s athletic director, according to a person with knowledge of the probe not authorized to discuss it publicly. Coaches are required to earn CPR certification every two years. The coaches took an online course that other schools have used in the past, a source told The Times.
Athletic director Richard Russell did not respond to a text message from The Times seeking comment on the investigation.
Here is the Los Angeles Times’ nine-part series on top returning high school football players for the 2026 season, plus preseason top 25 rankings.
Brad Wright, chairman of the school’s board, said he was unaware of which coaches were under investigation even though he was on campus earlier this week.
Parents confirmed that multiple coaches were escorted off campus Thursday. One of them was El Camino Real’s decorated baseball coach, Josh Lienhard, who has guided the team to five City Section championships. Lienhard was not at school on Friday and declined comment in a text message.
Coaches who are also teachers will be receiving help from United Teachers Los Angeles representatives.
Larew sent out a community email on Monday saying it could take “weeks” for the investigation to be completed. Parents, through a petition on change.org., have asked for an expedited investigation to return coaches as soon as possible.
Parents have been concerned about the school since the summer when executive director David Hussey and assistant principal in charge of athletics Jason Camp were ousted. Hussey, a former soccer coach, had been the executive director for 10 years.
Parents and athletes are waiting to see whether the coaches will be reinstated before deciding what action they will take.
During Wright’s tenure, El Camino Real has replaced the football coach, boys and girls basketball coaches, the tennis coach and the athletic director. El Camino Real’s acclaimed softball program also lost its coach.
