Frequently Asked Questions Answers

Who are we?

Scripps Ranch High School opened in September of 1993. SRHS is one of two high schools in the Mira Mesa/Scripps Ranch area, contained within the San Diego Unified School District. Both schools serve grades 9-12.

Feeding into Scripps Ranch High School are two middle schools, Wangenheim and Marshall. In addition there are currently six elementary schools, Dingeman, Hage, Jerabek, Miramar Ranch, Ellen Browning Scripps, and Walker, that are in the local area as well.

The Mira Mesa/Scripps Ranch community is a close-knit, involved community that places great value on strong academic standards. It is a growing community with homes ranging from sprawling single-family estates to established housing developments. It is also economically and socially diverse. Scripps Ranch High School has a Voluntary Ethnic Enrollment Program (VEEP) population of approximately 156 students who live outside the residential area, adding diversity to an already integrated enrollment.

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What is our mission?

San Diego City Schools has adopted a mission statement to guide the district in providing educational programs.

The mission of San Diego City Schools is to improve student achievement by supporting teaching and learning in the classroom.

San Diego City Schools has created an Institute for Learning to support high-performance learning at all school sites. The focus of the Institute is to study learning and instructional practices to improve student achievement and enhance teaching. The Institute for Learning is establishing a system that commits teachers and administrators to a common focus on instruction and learning.

The Institute has focused on literacy for the past two years. The San Diego Literacy Framework has been developed to outline and guide a balanced literacy program. The framework provides instructional approaches that will support students in learning to read, write, and speak successfully.  Next year mathematics will be a parallel focus of the Institute.

Mathematical proficiency will be achieved through a standards-based curriculum, research-based instructional strategies, high-quality professional development, and appropriate assessments.

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How are the students doing?

Standardized tests are one way to measure student progress.  Counselors monitor each student's progress in all areas of performance, including standardized tests.  Parents should talk with their child's counselor and teachers to get a complete picture.

San Diego City Schools students in grades 2-11 take the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition (SAT 9), to measure their academic progress in basic skills as part of the state Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program.  Spanish-speaking English learners enrolled in a California school of less than 12 months or enrolled in a California school for more than 12 months and receiving language arts instruction in Spanish are also tested on the Spanish Assessment of Basic Education, Second Edition (SABE/2), a Spanish Language Achievement Test measuring the same skill areas.

We encourage students to attend college.  Measures of our success include:

• Graduating seniors who took the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) exceeded the district average in both the verbal and math scores.
• Fifty-seven percent of students who took Advanced Placement tests scored at level three or higher.

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What does it take to graduate from SRHS?

One credit per semester is earned for each course completed with a grade of "D" or better.

* English -- 8 semester credits
* Mathematics -- 6 semester credits
* Social Studies -- 6 semester credits
* Science -- 6 semester credits
* World Language/Fine/Practical Arts -- 3 credits *
* Physical Education -- 4 semester credits
* Computer Literacy -- Grades 7-12
* Senior Exhibition
* Pass the California High School Exit Exam
* A minimum of 44 credits (32 credits must be earned in grades 10-12)
* A GPA of 2.0 or greater

*Option A: two semesters of world language (1 year) plus one semester of fine or practical arts.
Option B: two semesters of fine arts plus one semester of practical arts

For more detail (Click Here)

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Is the climate on the SRHS campus conducive to learning?

The climate on the SRHS campus is positive--one which facilitates learning through a variety of educational, social, and personal growth experiences. Our students represent a multitude of different countries, cultures, and beliefs; they live, study, work and play together comfortably, peacefully and with purpose. Scripps Ranch High School offers a unique learning environment supported by a highly-qualified, flexible, and ethnically diverse staff who work together on interdisciplinary instructional projects.

An ongoing effort is directed at improving relationships among the members of the Scripps Ranch High School community--students, staff, parents, and others. The school race/human relations committee meets regularly to plan activities designed to foster understanding, increase sensitivity, and promote awareness between the various ethnic groups on campus. Our 35-minute CORE/Advisory period has proven to be an excellent medium through which many of our school-to-career, reading, and race/human relations goals can be addressed and achieved.

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How are grades determined?

Each student's grade point average (GPA) is computed on a four-point scale. All semester grades earned after ninth grade are included. In the fall of the twelfth grade, a preliminary class ranking is compiled based on grades earned in the tenth and eleventh grades. A final ranking is made after the end of seventh semester.

Class ranking is based on a weighted grade point average. Advanced Placement (AP) courses will receive grade points as follows: A=5, B=4, C=3. Valedictorian selection will be tentatively determined at the end of seventh semester and will include all seniors with a weighted GPA of 4.0 and higher. Academic Distinction is also tentatively determined at the end of the seventh semester.

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Are the teachers qualified?

SRHS teachers are fully credentialed and teach in their subject areas. Approximately one-third of our 81 certificated staff are or have been district mentor teachers. More than three-fourths have completed the equivalent of a masters degree or higher. To augment our credentialed staff and enrich our adult-to-student interaction, we have 17 teacher aides.

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What courses do we offer?

Students select courses from a wide and varied curriculum. Counselors encourage students to take classes that challenge them and which promote optimum growth and learning. Curricular offerings include:

• Regular college preparatory classes
• Advanced college preparatory classes
• Advanced Placement (AP) classes
• College credit classes (Political Science and Calculus [Math 150-51] which are college courses taught at Scripps Ranch High School through the San Diego Community College District - Mesa campus. Students are admitted on the basis of academic record, teacher recommendation, and/or qualifying exam.)
• Special Education classes
• Limited English Speaking (LEP) classes

Career Training courses are also an option. The Regional Occupation Program (ROP) offers high school students who are in grades 11 and 12 or who are at least 16 years old opportunities to develop job skills and find career direction. Whether students plan to go to college or not, time can often be carved out of their class schedules, and an ROP courses. Most courses are two hours in length and give two credits. ROP courses taught at Scripps Ranch High School include the following:

• General Construction
• Computer Aided Drafting
• Business and Computer Applications
• Hospitality, Tourism, and Recreation
• TV Production/Studio
• Banking Careers

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What support services are available to students?

Scripps Ranch High School has five full-time counselors, a part-time district counselor, an Employment Outreach Specialist (EOS), an attendance coordinator, and other part-time support staff for our students. In addition, a full-time nurse, a part-time psychologist, and a librarian are on campus. The district provides students with additional psychological and professional support teams. Area colleges and universities provide personnel to counsel students about plans for post-high school education.

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What resources are available to students?

The San Diego School District committees select textbooks for an eight-year textbook adoption cycle. SRHS teachers participated in selection of new texts and materials for English, Spanish, French, history, science, and math classes. Books are provided by the district the first year of an adoption; the school site must purchase all additional texts from limited site funds as well as all supplementary materials.

The Scripps Ranch High School Library/Media Center has nearly 10,000 volumes in print and non-print collections. Included are books and materials of interest to teen readers as well as items used for class research assignments. Books circulate for two weeks and may be renewed for an additional two weeks.

Materials may be accessed from an online computer catalog. Electronic resources include a wide variety of CD-ROM programs (both indexes and full text materials) including periodical and newspaper references. Modems and telephone lines allow for online access to remote resources. A direct connection to the San Diego Unified School District Education Center's host Internet computer allows Internet access from all workstations on campus.

Computers, high-speed dot matrix and laser printers, a coin-operated copy machine and a scanner are available for student use. Students may view video tapes, listen to language cassettes, and view slides. Information literacy and information skills instruction are integral parts of every curricular subject. The librarian and teachers work as instructional teams to facilitate both physical and intellectual access to and use of information. Literature enrichment is taught by the librarian through readers' advisory, book talks, and book displays.

Extensive coordination occurs with the public library branches (Mira Mesa and Scripps Miramar Ranch), and students also have access to the Alliant Walter Library and Miramar College Library.

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How long is the school day?

* CORE. Based on their career interest, students are asked at the beginning of the year to select one of four career pathways. They are scheduled into a CORE/Advisory group with approximately 20-25 other students whose career interests and grade level are similar. The student CORE groups meet for 35 minutes four days a week. The activities of the CORE groups center around career-related experiences including interest inventories, resume writing, completing job applications, interviewing techniques, portfolio building, and other activities pertinent to the selected career pathway.

Special schedules are used to compensate for holidays. These special schedule days, called "6 no C" keep the number of minutes per class balanced. CORE classes do no meet on "6 no C" days.

Occasionally, minimum days are scheduled to provide time for staff development. These days also require a special schedule and are normally scheduled on Fridays.

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How can I learn more about SRHS?

Tours are offered twice a month throughout the school year. Please call the school at (858) 621-9020.

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What are some special features of SRHS?

• The Air Force Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (AFJROTC) is an elective program emphasizing the study and development of leadership, citizenship, patriotism, military science and service. The SRHS AFJROTC program was the recipient of the Air Force "Meritorious Unit" award.
• An Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program seeks to prepare underachieving, ethnically under-represented and/or economically disadvantaged students with academic potential for college.
• A Gifted and Talented Education (GATE Cluster) program offers qualitatively different instruction in math, science, the humanities, and world languages to gifted and talented students.
• A Seminar program is available for highly gifted students who are selected on the basis of test scores and applications. It focuses on the humanities; specifically, English and history.
• A Limited English Proficient Program (LEP) is designed for students who have limited English skills. Classes in English as a Second Language, sheltered social studies and science are provided as needed.

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Can students leave campus for lunch?

All high school students in the San Diego Unified School District will be required to stay on campus during their lunch period.

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How clean, safe, and orderly is SRHS?

The staff and students at Scripps Ranch High School are committed to maintaining a clean and orderly campus. School staff members are vigilant throughout the day, checking passes and making sure that students are where they are supposed to be.

The students are proud of their school and show this through their spirit and participation in many activities. A Zero Tolerance Policy prohibiting the possession of weapons and/or controlled substances on school grounds is in effect. Students who violate this policy may be suspended and recommended for expulsion from school.

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How can parents become involved?

Parent and community involvement activities include:

• An active governance committee established for two-way communication and assisting in decision-making
• An active Foundation
• Partnerships with five businesses; QUALCOMM, Inc., Wells Fargo, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and I Love A Clean San Diego
• A Scripps Ranch High School Foundation providing fundraising, support for academic, athletic, and extracurricular programs
• Parent support groups for extracurricular programs
• A quarterly Foundation newsletter covers school events, academic programs, clubs, organizations, parent meetings/workshops, program planning, graduation requirements, articulation, promotional activities, and other topics
• Two college nights (targeted at juniors and seniors) for parents to receive current college information, college applications, senior data sheets, scholarships, financial aid, and grant searches
• Career presentations by parents and community members to include business and industry information

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How can students make friends and feel like they belong?

One of the best ways for students to meet friends and feel like they belong is for them to get involved in the life of the school. There are many clubs, committees, and sports teams in which students can become active during their years in high school.

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