| San Marcos High School | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1961 |
| Type | Public |
| Principal | Julie Mottershaw |
| Teaching staff | 83 |
| Students | 2,128 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Location | 1615 W. San Marcos Blvd, San Marcos, California, USA |
| District | San Marcos Unified School District |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Navy Blue, Columbia Blue, Silver |
| Mascot | Fighting Knights |
| Website | [1] |
San Marcos High School is a high school in the North County city of San Marcos, California. San Marcos High School is a member of the San Marcos Unified School District and serves students from San Marcos, Vista, and Carlsbad.
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San Marcos High School is a professional community of learners providing a quality education on a safe and orderly campus. SMHS is a California Distinguished School and is recognized as an AVID National Demonstration School & School of Distinction. In 2005, San Marcos was ranked the 419th best high school in the nation by Newsweek magazine. San Marcos offers eighteen Advanced Placement courses and many Honors courses, both weighted and unweighted. An average of one new AP class has been added every year for the past five years, with plans for more in the near future. The graduation rate for the 06-07 school year was 92.3%. With Cal State San Marcos and Palomar College as neighbors, San Marcos works in liaison with these educational institutions to provide students with a strong foundation in secondary education, including a coordinated, sequential 9-12 Humanities Program. Award winning specialized programs such as, Bio Tech Lab, Genetics, TV News Production, Computer Assisted Drafting, Digital Video Production, and Computer Animation give students many options that prepare them for life after high school, be it college entrance or a career field. SMHS is also planning to expand the world languages department by adding American Sign Language 1 and Mandarin Chinese 1-2 as alternative languages of study for the 2010-2011 school year and beyond.
AP Classes Offered Include:
Statistics
Calculus AB
Calculus BC (beginning 2011-2012)
English Language & Composition
English Literature
Spanish Language
Spanish Literature
French Language (when there are enough students)
Environmental Science
Biology
Physics B
Psychology
World History
U.S. History
U.S. Government & Politics
Economics
Art History
Computer Science (beginning 2011-2012)
Studio Art (tentative)
Music Theory (tentative)
Chinese Language & Culture (Tentative)
Geometry
Algebra II
Trigonometry/Pre-Calculus
Biology
French III (weighted)
Spanish III (weighted)
Genetics (weighted)
9th Grade English
10th Grade English
9th Grade World History
Notable Achievements:
San Marcos Unified School District is initiating a new Chinese language program that will allow grades 6-8 at San Elijo Middle School to begin studying the Chinese language as an elective as early as the 2011-2012 school year. This sets the foundation for the growth of course offerings of Chinese currently at San Marcos High School, with an eventual full-fledged program including advanced placement Chinese Language and Culture. Course offerings currently include Years 1 & 2 at both the middle and high schools In addition, San Marcos Unified offers 4 levels of Chinese over the summer holiday for a two month span. Each level corresponds to one semester of Chinese. There is a $50 course materials fee, but tuition is FREE.
The San Marcos High School Class of 2009 includes students that have been accepted to a variety of notable learning institutions such as Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Washington University in St. Louis, New York University, UC Berkeley, UC Los Angeles, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Davis, Pepperdine, Vanderbilt, Boston University, as well as many other prestigious and accredited universities.
Water Polo
Field Hockey - Girls Varsity 2009 Valley League Champions (Coach: Jonathan St. John)
Football
Golf
Cross Country
Tennis
Volleyball
Soccer- Boys and girls teams both won the Avocado East League Title in 2010
Basketball
Wrestling
Track
Swimming
Volleyball
Baseball
Softball
Lacrosse
Dance: -The 2008-2009 SMHS JV and Varsity repeatedly won first place in many Southern California Dance Competitions. -The 2008-2009 SMHS All Female team is known across Southern California for their unique choreography and their energetic routines. Cheer- The 2007-2008 SMHS Competition Cheer Squad was crowned the American National Champions in Anaheim. Art, Dance, Chorus, Band & Jazz Band, and Color Guard The San Marcos High School Knight Regiment has won first place in many competitions. The 2010 Knight Regiment is the first school in 15 years to join the highest division (6A) in SCSBOA history.
ASB includes 5 student elected positions as well as 12 roundtable positions. The SMHS ASB coordinates pep assemblies, the Airbands talent show, music and games at lunch, and 4 dances throughout the school year. Also, each 4th period class has one representative for student congress.
The student body of San Marcos High School is one of the smallest among North County public high schools, at approximately 2000. The completion of Mission Hills High School in 2004 saw many students transfer to the new school causing population levels to dip under 1300 during the 2005-2006 school year, but levels have come back with an increase in students coming from new developments, specifically San Elijo Hills. San Marcos has an ethnically diverse campus with no single group having a majority, however the Hispanic population is near 50%. Demographic trends are showing an increase in the percentage of African American and caucasians. In recent years, the percentage of Hispanics has been slowly declining, while other ethnicities/races have fluctuated. There is an anticipated growth in the Asian-American population and caucasian population in future years as schools in the southern part of SMUSD experience an influx of these races as they move into new upscale housing developments. As the 2010 Census recently revealed, the Asian-American population of San Marcos has nearly tripled over the last decade, which indicates a future growth in the Asian student population. The majority of students come from nearby San Marcos Middle School, while approximately half of the students at San Elijo Middle School will attend.
Knight Zone after class activities provides students a safe and enriching place to be after school between the hours of 3PM and 6PM. M-F. Students are able to access academic tutoring, Advanced Placement class support as well as engage in interesting and fun activities such as dance, digital photography, multi-media presentation, and film appreciation. Students can participate simply by showing up to an activity of their choice or by showing up to the library for academic tutoring and quiet time homework help. A snack is provided half way thorough the program.
The PACE Promise, a joint program of San Marcos Unified School District (SMUSD) and California State University San Marcos (CSUSM), guarantees CSUSM admission to all district students continuously enrolled in the district from 9th through 12th grade who meet entrance requirements. This program begins with the SMUSD graduating classes of 2009.
The Promise provides a step-by-step plan of preparation for college. Beginning in seventh grade, San Marcos students must work to fulfill program expectations. Meeting these requirements also prepares them for admission to most California public and private universities and colleges. Students who meet all the program’s academic benchmarks and the financial need criteria, as determined by CSUSM, may receive monetary assistance from a private foundation associated with the Promise while attending the university.
Improving college options for this generation of students, the Promise provides dynamic, accelerated services which include tutoring and mentoring, visits to the university campus, enhanced test preparation for English and math entry-level exams, and extensive information regarding college preparation and admission. The Promise thus provides a vital link from the secondary school setting to the university.
The San Marcos Unified School District and the City of Nakagawa in Japan have shared an enriching student cultural exchange program for 20 years. Each year a delegation of eight or nine students is selected from San Marcos and Mission Hills High Schools to participate in the two-week summer program.
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