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San Marino High School: Gold Medal
Education Oct 23, 2015
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– Courtesy Photo
By May S. Ruiz
Year after year US News & World Report’s Best High Schools gives San Marino High School (SMHS) the Gold Medal Award. It is ranked #52 in California, making it one of the very best in terms of academic achievement. It has a college readiness index of 61.3, well above state average.
Based on the Academic Performance Index (API) Survey, SMHS scored 932 points out of a possible 1,000 points. Great Schools rated SMHS 10 out of 10 as it has consistently topped all performance indices. It is also a California Distinguished School, a National Blue Ribbon School, and Bravo Award School.
Located in a predominantly affluent residential area in the western San Gabriel Valley, SMHS has a total enrollment of 1,165 students, 53 percent of whom are male and 47 percent female. Sixty-nine percent of its students are classified as minorities, with three percent economically disadvantaged.
SMHS has a rigorous curriculum, with an impressive number of Advanced Placement courses in Math, Science, English, History/Social Science, Foreign Language and Art/Music Theory. Its students are involved in a vast array of extra-curricular activities including the school newspaper, the Titan Shield; the yearbook, Titanian; Speech and Debate; Robotics; Marching Band; Chamber Choir; orchestra; fashion merchandising; media arts; and drama; among others.
With nine college counselors providing its 12th graders guidance for college applications, it has the lowest student/counselor ratio in all the public schools in L.A. County. Ninety seven percent of SMHS graduates attend college – with 84 percent going to four-year university and 13 percent attending a two-year college.
Dr. Alex Cherniss, Superintendent of the San Marino Unified School District (SMUSD), this year initiated a ground-breaking partnership with The Huntington, for a UC-approved Honors Humanities course. This is taught by a SMHS teacher, and once a week students take a class with the Library’s curator, with the rest of the class being taught online. This format gives students a blended learning course, which simulates the delivery of courses in college.
In the Spring, another partnership with Pasadena City College (PCC) will offer a college-level Anatomy class. Attending and passing this course give students the same credit as if they passed an AP Bio course.
As part of its college and career readiness initiative, SMUSD started an expansive Regional Occupational Program (ROP) in business. Students learn the realities of the field – starting a business, running and managing one in the real world. The district also recently created a new position for a dedicated career and college counselor to seek various partnerships with organizations throughout L.A. County.
As successful as they are, San Marino Unified School District and San Marino High School do not rest on their laurels. Dr. Cherniss asserted, “Because we are a small district we are able to offer the best for our students. We don’t worry about our ranking, we look at our programs and the ranking will take care of itself. We will continue to offer the most innovative, rigorous programs in the state of California. And we will continue to reinvent ourselves.”
