San Dieguito Academy

San Dieguito Academy

Principal	Michael Grove
School type	Public
Religious affiliation	None
Founded	1936
Location	Encinitas, California, United States
Enrollment	1,548
Faculty	115
Campus surroundings	Suburban
Mascot	Mustang
Newspaper	The Mustang
Yearbook	The Hoofprint
School color(s)	Navy blue & white

San Dieguito Academy, originally known as San Dieguito Union High School and San Dieguito High School, is a high school in the San Dieguito Union High School District in Encinitas, California established in 1936. [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20050130-9999-m1m30history.html] The correct name of the school is San Dieguito High School Academy, although it is more commonly referred to as San Dieguito Academy. [http://sdafoundation.com/alumni/history/alumni-faq/#academy]

San Dieguito High School Academy was ranked 131 on Newsweek's most recent (2007) list of the Best High Schools in America. [http://www.newsweek.com/id/39380/?sort=Rank&count=1351&Search=&start=100&limit=100&year=2007&]

"The Mustang" newspaper is part of the High School National Ad Network.

The Mustang Surf Team won the Red Bull High School Cup in 2007. The surf team also won the 2007 National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) Championships that same year.

History

The school was founded in 1936 as San Dieguito Union High School, the first public high school within the new San Dieguito Union High School District, educating students in grades 8 through 12. [http://www.thecoastnews.com/articles/3294/]

As the campus had not yet been built when school started September 14, 1936, students attended classes in tents. Lillian Rice, one of the first female architects in the United States, [http://www.sandiegohistory.org/bio/rice/rice.htm] designed the school buildings, most of which are still standing. [http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/01/18/news/coastal/encinitas/21_04_361_17_07.txt]

When San Dieguito High School became a school of choice in the fall of 1996, its name was changed to San Dieguito High School Academy, but it is more commonly referred to as San Dieguito Academy.

A School of Choice

In 1996 San Dieguito High School was re-designed as a "school of choice" to offer a student centered environment for a maximum of 1,450 students. [http://www.sduhsd.k12.ca.us/html/aboutdistrict.html]

All students living within the district may enroll at either La Costa Canyon High School or Torrey Pines High School within their attendance areas, but they are also eligible to attend San Dieguito Academy and Canyon Crest Academy, both of which are designed to be "schools of choice."

One hallmark of a San Dieguito Union High School District academy is a "4x4" class schedule as opposed to a more traditional "rotating block schedule" schedule (in use at neighboring schools La Costa Canyon High School and Torrey Pines High School). This means that students may take four 90-minute classes every day during an 18-week course, completing eight classes (80 credits) a year. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Costa_Canyon_High_School#School_day] 230 credits are required to graduate. [http://www.sduhsd.k12.ca.us/pdfs/comparing%20_high_schools.pdf]

As a school of choice, any student within the district may attend, providing space is available. Typically, more students apply than there are available spaces, so a lottery of applicants is conducted to determine who may attend. New students with siblings that already attend SDA are automatically enrolled to the school.

In 1998, the school had roughly 1000 students, and by 2002, had 1500 (population limits of district high schools and academies are required to grow relative to the district). Fall 2003 enrollment was 1462.

Athletics

San Dieguito Academy is a Division 3 school and a member of the Coastal Conference; student athletes may participate in 18 varsity/junior varsity level sports. [http://teachers.sduhsd.net/jhrzina/athletics/index.htm]

From 1936 to 1995, football was a strong tradition at San Dieguito, but has not been played as a team sport on campus since the school became a district school of choice. Now the homecoming festivities center around an annual flag football game: the faculty vs. the students.

Notable alumni

*Linda Benson, World Champion surfer (retired) [http://surfingmuseum.org/linda_benson.html]
*Carl Chang, tennis player and 1996 "Coach of the Year" in "Tennis" magazine
*Tom Dempsey, professional American football NFL player (retired)
*John Fairchild, Professional Basketball Player Los Angeles Lakers and the Anaheim Amigos (Retired)
*Jon Foreman, singer/songwriter/guitarist, Switchfoot
*Tim Foreman, bassist/back-up vocals, Switchfoot
*Tak Fujimoto, cinematographer
*Tim Gale, playwright and comedian
*Aaron Goldin, winner of the 2004 Siemens Westinghouse Competition
*Kurt Grote, swimmer, Gold medalist in the 1996 Summer Olympics in the 400 Meter Medley Relay
*Frankie Hejduk, professional soccer player (USA, MLS and Bundesliga)
*Chris Hillman, Bassist, The Byrds
*Keith Kartz, professional American football NFL player - Center Denver Broncos (retired)
*Rob Machado, professional surfer (semi-retired)
*Greg Minton, Professional American Baseball MLB player - Pitcher SF Giants Retired
*Joel Raatz, reality TV producer [http://www.genderbowl.com/joel_raatz/index.php]
*Shane Salerno, screenwriter, producer and documentary filmmaker
*Anoushka Shankar, world-renowned sitar player, daughter of Ravi Shankar and half sister of Norah Jones [http://www.anoushkashankar.com]
*Jon Stanley, Volleyball Hall of Fame, BYU All American,1968 and 1972 USA Olympic Volleyball Team
*Erik Sullivan, U.S. National Team volleyball player (retired)
*Michael and Milton Willis, world champion big wave surfers, authors, founders of Willis Bros Company [http://wbsurfing.com/willis/aboutBios.html]
*Eddie Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam
*Jeff Zevely, KFMB-TV San Diego Channel 8 newscaster [http://www.cbs8.com/news_team/zevely.php]

External links

* [http://www.sduhsd.k12.ca.us/sd/ San Dieguito High School Academy]
* [http://www.sdafoundation.com/alumni Official Site of San Dieguito High School Academy Alumni]
* [http://sdafoundation.com/alumni/alumni-news/ San Dieguito High School Academy Alumni News]
* [http://www.sdafoundation.com/ San Dieguito High School Academy Foundation]
* [http://teachers.sduhsd.net/jhrzina/athletics/index.htm Mustang Athletics Site]
* [http://www.mustangsurf.com/ San Dieguito Surf Team]
* [http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=san+dieguito+academy&m=text Flickr Photo Tour of SDHS/SDA]
* [http://www.sdarobotics.org/index.htm Team Paradox Robotics 2102]