Advanced Placement (AP) college-level courses and exams offer high school students the opportunity to earn college credit, stand out in the competitive college admission process and prepare for the rigors of college through challenging classes. AP courses emphasize the skills and habits needed to be successful in higher education, including demanding writing skills, problem-solving abilities, time management discipline and sharpened study habits.
Phoebe Hearst and Camellia elementary schools are Basic Schools that emphasize the development of academic skills and good study habits. Students must meet admission criteria to be accepted to the lottery for the Basic Program.
The overall goal of the school staff is to bring together the most successful traditional and new methods of instruction which emphasize academic skills and good study habits.
SCUSD is committed to supporting gifted and high-ability students.
Our students dream about their futures. They want to be engineers and nurses and chefs and video game designers and senators. They want to go to college. They want successful careers and lives filled with passion and purpose.
At SCUSD we are committed to helping all of our students achieve their dreams. Every school is focused on preparing students for college and careers through rigorous course work, positive relationships with caring adults and meaningful connections to the world at large.
SCUSD offers high-achieving students a choice of three criteria-based high school options for a rigorous, challenging education that meets University of California requirements.
Please note that these programs must be applied to through our High School Specialty Application. Each program has specific criteria for admittance. Click the posts linked below for information on each program.
Capital City School (CCS) is a voluntary, K-12 independent study school characterized by its friendly, nurturing and safe environment.
The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a non-profit educational foundation offering four highly respected educational programs that develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills needed to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world.
Schools must be authorized, by the IB organization, to offer any of the programs.
The IB has a hard-earned reputation for high standards of teaching and student achievement.
Our district is working diligently to provide opportunities for our students to expand their linguistic repertoire to meet the ever-changing needs of the global society. As a result, language immersion programs have become a pathway for our students to acquire fluent literacy skills in both English and their home language.
The Academy is a class offered during the school day (and for elective credit) to teens at risk of dropping out. Through service learning and a multi-cultural curriculum, the class aims to provide students with the tools to succeed, including teamwork, leadership, life skills, problem-solving and resiliency skills.
The Academy focuses on bringing together teachers, students, parents and community businesses and partners to provide the encouragement needed for these teens to complete high school and enroll in college.
Public Waldorf schools are places where imagination, creativity and critical thinking skills necessary for college and careers are fostered in a supportive 鈥渨hole child鈥 environment.
Waldorf education was developed by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) at the beginning of the 20th century. The Waldorf education model is used in 60 countries and there are 44 Waldorf-inspired public schools in the United States. SCUSD opened the country鈥檚 first public Waldorf-inspired high school, George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences, in 2008.
The Junior Reserve Officers鈥 Training Corps (JROTC) is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools across the United States. The program was originally created as part of the National Defense Act of 1916 and later expanded under the 1964 ROTC Vitalization Act. The purpose of JROTC, according to federal code, is 鈥渢o instill in students鈥he values of citizenship, service to the United States, and personal responsibility and a sense of accomplishment.鈥 Additional objectives include:
With rising college costs and an uncertain job market, interest is growing in non-traditional, smaller high schools that put teens on a proven pathway to post-high school success. SCUSD offers five small high schools geared to preparing students for such growing employment fields as health care, engineering, sustainability and design.
Education researchers are finding that by integrating the arts into core subjects students learn to be more creative, more innovative and better problem solvers. Art and design also pair well with science, engineering and technology as similar thinking skills are needed to plan and construct complex projects across disciplines.
Learn more about STEAM at .
Curriculum and enrichment programs that focus on student鈥檚 skills, knowledge, and abilities in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts in grades K-12.