Coronado High School (CHS) located in Coronado, California, is a school that is demonstrating what is right with public education! Working in partnership with a proud school community, CHS has become a school that boasts a widely-acknowledged rigorous academic program supported by consistently high test scores. The CHS philosophy is that the school must fit the student and not the other way around. The CHS staff is committed to doing everything it can to help the students succeed, while maintaining academic integrity.

In addition to an outstanding core curriculum, CHS believes that its students need to acquire what is termed life skills so the students are prepared for the challenges that await them following high school. These skills have been incorporated into all of the courses and include critical thinking skills; the ability to seek, process, and clarify information; problem-solving skills through cooperative learning; a fundamental knowledge of reading, writing, and math; an understanding of the cultural influences that shape each of us; an appreciation for the value of education, fostering an enthusiasm for lifelong learning; a sense of clear direction through career and guidance training; and character, self-esteem, and the integrity to become a well-rounded individual.

CHS is an example of the accomplishments that can be achieved when a school joins in a true partnership with its community. Four years of unprecedented collaboration, dedication, and hard work have resulted in a restructuring project that revealed impressive outcomes. A new school vision, the addition of over 50 new courses, a shift to more student-centered and active instructional strategies, a change in the class schedule, and a collaborative and inclusive decision-making process have resulted in a strong trend of improving test scores and attitudes.

A California Distinguished School, CHS is a four-year high school established in 1913 and located on Coronado Island across the bay from San Diego and ten miles from the Mexican Border. CHS, with an enrollment of 870 students, is the only high school in the Coronado Unified School District. CHS is unique because of its small-school atmosphere, community-based support, and its many curricular offerings. Nearly one-fifth of the staff are CHS alumni, contributing to a strong sense of tradition and pride.

The district serves the village of Coronado, Navy Base Coronado, and Silver Strand Navy Housing. Students also come from the Coronado Shores and Coronado Cays, two subcommunities outside the village of Coronado. The population of the district schools is impacted by the transient nature of naval personnel. Enrollments at all of the district schools fluctuate according to naval operations, since both military and civil service personnel are employed at the navy base. Additionally, about one-fifth of the student population live outside of the city and attend by choice through an inter-district application process.

CHS is a school that lives up to its vision statement which pledges to create a student-centered learning environment that will serve the entire student population and enable students to prepare for their future by developing the skill, knowledge, and confidence necessary for success. In conjunction with this goal, CHS prepares its students for the twenty-first century by integrating curriculum and technology. The school provides a variety of opportunities to use technology through the availability of laptop computers, computer labs, and a library technology center.

The goals for CHS are clear, the result of extensive collaboration among our stakeholders, and a direct outgrowth of the vision statement. Parents entrust their children to CHS for education and the training necessary to prepare them for a life as responsible, independent adults. Providing this benefit to the students is the primary goal.

A commitment to excellence is the cornerstone for all of our programs. The school has one of the few (24) International Baccalaureate (IB) programs in the state. CHS also offers an extensive Advanced Placement (AP) curriculum with 13 AP classes to which all students have access. CHS has developed an assessment program which is comprehensive and provides the information needed to adjust and modify a curriculum that accomplishes the school goals/ESLRs and is in accord with the state frameworks.

CHS has established such exciting new programs as: the Coronado School of the Arts (CoSA), a school-to-career program for students with a passion for the arts; Biomedics, a school-to-career program for students interested in the health fields; Oxford Academics, a self-contained classroom, established on the one-room school philosophy that allows students to take math, science, history, and English in an informal, tutorial-style classroom setting; and Power, Energy, and Transportation Technology, a school-to-career program for students interested in converting gas-powered vehicles to electric power. CHS's co-curricular and extra-curricular programs are equally impressive and are models for others to emulate.

The stellar accomplishments are evident in an increase in Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, increased number of students taking Advanced Placement (AP) tests with substantially improved pass rate, wider communication links with stakeholders, successful grant writing campaigns which resulted in over a half million dollars in state grants for special programs, a proactive discipline policy which eliminated campus violence, and a safe, secure campus free of security guards or staff monitors.

In a time of diminishing resources for education, instead of making excuses about why things can not be accomplished, CHS is making great things happen for students. From outstanding curriculum to improving the physical campus through volunteerism, CHS is a beacon of educational excellence.

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