Currently a senior here and enjoying it! Spent most of my 4 years here, minus one month of…read moretransferring. 4.3 GPA up to my senior year. Attending UC Santa Barbara in the fall!
Academics: 4.5 Stars
Excellent. We have the IB program which is a great college prep program similar to AP. IB is just different in the sense that it's known all around the world whereas AP is just known in the US. We have the second highest STAR test score in our county, right behind PCS which is almost a private school and are crazy smart! We have the highest passing rate of the CAHSEE (high school exit exam) in our county as well. In 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, & 2010 Scotts Valley High School was rated nationally among the top 5% of public high schools by Newsweek magazine and earned an honorable mention in the California Distinguished High School Recognition Program.
Many of our students are very committed to higher education. Around 98% of our graduates go on to college, not just community colleges either! Some of our 2011 graduates currently attend UCLA, Princeton, Berkley, Cal Poly SLO, UCSB, UCSD, and many more. Not bad eh? :)
Teachers: 4.5 Stars
Fantastic teachers! I'm taking harder classes but overall the staff here is very nice, professional and intelligent. I actually felt like I was learning something here! With every school there are teachers who aren't so great, but in general we have an excellent group of teachers! Hanson, Wahl, Freeman, Brooke, Brandt, Schafer, Crawford, Carey, McQuestion... Seriously the list goes on.
Student Life: 3.5 Stars
The students are pretty nice here. It's a small community that's been growing together for many years. I've gone to school with a good portion of my class for almost 10+ years now. Very modern, contemporary culture. Good student government that throws many rallies and assemblies.
Downside is that there isn't much diversity. Almost all students are Caucasian and a handful not. No fights, rare bullying. Some students have thought there was a bullying issue here. If there is, which i cannot tell, it's definitely underground and an emotional attack. Since there is not much diversity here, if one seems to be slightly different or an 'outcast', they may have a hard time finding friends. Some students here can be very judgmental. Overall, good students!
Athletics: 4 Stars
We have an awesome Athletic Director names Louie Walters who takes care of literally everything. We're known for our football (with one girl on the team), which never fails to to make SCCAL finals. Our track and cross country teams are insanely good with excellent runners that get many scholarships to colleges. In tennis, both girls and boys teams finished top in our county. Basketball, baseball, swimming, and waterpolo are competitive but not what we're known for. Volleyball is extremely lacking.
Reputation:
We get this reputation for being conservative, religious, rich, white and snobby. Eh... well we are very white! Most, well 90% of our students are Caucasian. We are more slightly on the conservative side than other schools in the county. Our student's families range in the middle to upper middle class families. I don't see much stuck-up attitudes here fortunately.
Community:
Scotts Valley is a pretty small town that's very different than the neighboring Santa Cruz. SV is much more conservative and well off than people in SC. It's not a terrible thing. The students know each other well and have been attending schools together for many, many years. If you go to Safeway or any popular store here, chances are, you'll see someone you know! I've been here for 15 years and I gotta say this town really does grow on you. I've lived in other areas and gone to a very diverse school in Fremont and find Scotts Valley is a great place to be!
