San Francisco University High School

Coordinates: 37°47′27.58″N 122°26′43.72″W / 37.7909944°N 122.4454778°W / 37.7909944; -122.4454778

San Francisco University High School

Location
San Francisco, California USA
Information
Type	Private, Coeducational
Religious affiliation(s)	None
Established	1973, Opened 1975
Head of School	Julia Russell Eells
Faculty	66
Enrollment	389
Average class size	16 students
Student to teacher ratio	8:1
Campus	Urban, three city blocks
Color(s)	Red, White
Athletics	22 sports
Mascot	Red Devils
Average SAT scores (2011)	Critical Reading 710 Math 700 Writing 730
Newspaper	Devil's Advocate
Website	www.sfuhs.org

San Francisco University High School (familiarly known as UHS or simply "University") is a college preparatory high school located on Jackson Street in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The school was established in 1973.

Mission Statement

"University High School welcomes students of demonstrated motivation and ability to engage in an education that fosters responsibility and the spirited pursuit of knowledge. We are a school where adults believe in the promise of every student, and together we work to build and sustain a community of diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and talents. UHS challenges each individual to live a life of integrity, inquiry, and purpose larger than the self."

Academics

The median GPA at University is 3.54 with a grading scale of A–F, including plus or minus. In order to graduate, students must take two years of art (including the mandatory Western Civilization course in their sophomore year), four years of English, three years of a foreign language (with Mandarin, French, Spanish, and Latin offered), two years of History excluding Western Civilization, three years of Mathematics, and two years of Science in addition to Community Service Learning requirements.^[1] University High School currently has a 1:1 iPad program in place for both students and faculty. In 2012, the school began implementing its mentoring program, which supports ninth-grade students as they navigate their first year of high school.

Tuition

The cost of attendance at University High School for the 2014–2015 school year was $39,000. In 2014-2015, students at University High School received a total of about $2.1 million in financial assistance, with 21% of students receiving financial aid.^[2]

Facilities and Campus

The school is made up of four buildings, commonly referred to as Upper, Middle, Lower, and South campuses. Upper and Middle are connected and located between Jackson and Washington streets, while Lower is across the street, between Washington and Clay. South is two blocks farther down, located at Lyon and Sacramento streets.

Upper Campus is the oldest and most historic part of campus. Originally designed by Julia Morgan, it was first used to house the Katherine Delmar Burke School, a girls' school, from the early part of the 20th century until 1975, when the building was sold to the newly created University High School. It houses the History and English Departments. Middle Campus, connected to Upper Campus by a bridge, houses the school library; the 400-seat theater; the student center and cafeteria; state-of-the-art science labs; and music rooms; including an electronic music recording room. Lower Campus is home to the Math and Science Departments. It also holds the fitness center, changing rooms, gym, and athletic offices. Indoor sports are played at the gym, while field sports are mainly played at fields in the nearby Presidio. South Campus, newly opened in the 2006–2007 school year, is the home of the Foreign Language Department, the Art Department, the College Counseling offices, and the Summerbridge program, UHS's pioneer program to help talented middle school students from local public middle schools get the resources they might not have access to in their own schools. Additionally, South Campus contains a language lab, a large photography studio and darkroom, and art studios.

Rankings

In 2013, the Washington Post ranked University the 15th best private high school in a nation-wide list of "schools that have done the best job in persuading average students to take college-level courses and tests".^[3]^[4]

Notable Alumni

Graduates in the 37 classes of alumni of University High School have made significant contributions and received recognition for outstanding achievements in a variety of fields, including the performing and visual arts, education, literature, medicine, law, philanthropy, and entrepreneurship. The names below are only a few of the distinguished alumni in 15 different occupational areas to be found in a more up-to-date directory prepared by the UHS Alumni Director on the UHS website, After UHS..

Writers

Ethan Canin, author
Ben Casnocha,^[5] author
Vendela Vida, author

Professional Athletes

Tyler Walker, MLB baseball player, Washington Nationals

Artists/Musicians

Tauba Auerbach, artist
Slater Bradley, video artist
Ari Gold, filmmaker, actor, musician
John Morris, actor
Sol Sender, graphic designer
Deke Sharon, musician
George Watsky, musician, poet, internet phenom
Ali Wong, comedian