School district in California
| San Dieguito Union High School District |
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 |
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710 Encinitas Boulevard
, California, 92024
United States |
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| Type | Public |
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| Motto | Engaged, Inspired, Prepared |
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| Grades | 7–12 |
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| Established | 1936; 88 years ago (1936) |
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| Superintendent | Anne Staffieri |
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| School board | Rimga Viskanta
Katrina Young
Jane Lea Smith
Michael Allman
Phan Anderson |
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| Schools | 10 |
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| NCES District ID | 0634380[1] |
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| District ID | 3768346 |
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|
| Students | 13,001 (2020–2021) |
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| Teachers | 515.28 (FTE) |
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| Staff | 938.8 (FTE) |
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| Student–teacher ratio | 25.23:1 |
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| Website | www.sduhsd.net |
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San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) is a public school district in northern San Diego County, California.[2] Established in 1936, the district serves over 13,000 students in five middle schools, five comprehensive high schools, and one alternative high school.[3][4]
History
Prior to 1936, students who lived in coastal North County attended high school in Oceanside. In January 1936, the communities of Encinitas, Cardiff, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Green Valley, and Olivenhain voted in favor to form a new high school district.[5] San Dieguito Union High School, now San Dieguito High School Academy was the flagship school of the district, in which the first classes were held in September 1936. Architect Lillian J. Rice was hired by the district board to design the school.[6][7]
The district now serves students from five elementary school districts in North County: the Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, Cardiff, Solana Beach, and Del Mar School Districts. Students from those school districts matriculate through the middle schools and high schools.[8]
Subjects of Study
Students in the SDUHSD district have to take 3 years of math, 2 years of sciences, 3 years of humanities and histories, 4 years of English, and 3 years of a foreign language.
Board of trustees
The district is governed by a five-member school board, called the Board of Trustees.[9] Since 2017, trustees are elected directly by voters from five separate areas within the district's boundaries.[10]
The current board trustees include Rimga Viskanta, Katrina Young, Jane Lea Smith, Michael Allman, and Phan Anderson.[11] Viskanta and Smith have served as board president and board vice president since 2023. Allman and Young were elected to the board in 2020.[12] Anderson, Smith, and Viskanta were elected to the board in November 2022.[13]
Viskanta is a policy analyst, and former board trustee for the Encinitas Union School District.[14] Smith is a businesswoman, and former school teacher and administrator.[15] Young is a community volunteer who previously served as chairman of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.[16] Allman was former chairman, president, and CEO of Southern California Gas Company at Sempra Energy.[17] Anderson is a software engineer.[18]
Leadership and staff
The president of the board of trustees is Rimga Viskanta. She has served as president since December 2022. Viskanta previously was a member of the Encinitas Union School District board of trustees from 2016 to 2020, where she also served as board president.[19] Dr. Anne Staffieri, former superintendent of the Escondido Union High School District, has served as superintendent since July 2023.[20]
On May 10, 2023, the district announced in a press release that Dr. Anne Staffieri would serve as superintendent pending board approval of her contract beginning July 2023. Dr. Staffieri was superintendent of Escondido Union High School District since 2019.[21] Staffieri succeeds Tina Douglas, associate superintendent of business services, who had served as interim superintendent since April 2022.
Cheryl James-Ward, professor at San Diego State University and former CEO of E3 Civic High School, was hired in November 2021.[22] James-Ward was placed on administrative leave in April 2022 after controversial comments she made about Asian Americans during a board workshop.[23] Board trustees Muir, Allman, and Bronstein voted in the affirmative, while Young voted against it. The board subsequently voted unanimously to terminate her contract on June 26, 2022, effective August 15, 2022, without cause.[24][25]
The board appointed Lucile Lynch as interim superintendent in May 2021.[26] She served in the role until the board hired James-Ward in November 2021. Lynch was preceded by Robert Haley, who served in the role beginning on November 1, 2018.[27] He resigned in April 2021.[28]
School sites and properties
High schools
There are five high schools in the district, including four comprehensive schools and one alternative school. Although officially named academies, there is no official academic or educational difference between San Dieguito and Canyon Crest Academies and Torrey Pines and La Costa Canyon High Schools. SDUHSD uses school choice, which allows any student within the elementary and middle school boundaries to attend any of the four comprehensive high schools.
San Dieguito High School Academy (SDA), formerly San Dieguito Union High School, San Dieguito High School, and San Dieguito Academy, is the district's flagship school.[29] Opening in 1936, the school is located in Encinitas around one mile from the coast. Similar to Canyon Crest Academy, SDHSA uses a semester class schedule, which allows students to take year-long courses in one semester. During the 2020-2021 school year, 2,059 students were enrolled.[30]
Torrey Pines High School (TPHS) was established in 1974, located in the Del Mar Highlands area of San Diego.[31] Torrey Pines enrolled 2,547 students during the 2020-2021 school year, making it the largest school in the district.[32] It is a traditional high school, using a rotating block schedule with year-long courses. The school's rival is La Costa Canyon High School.[33]
La Costa Canyon High School (LCC), located in south Carlsbad, opened in 1996 and is the smallest high school in the district. The district's only International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, La Costa Canyon enrolled 1,834 students during the 2020-2021 school year.[34] It is one of the district's two traditional high schools, using a rotating block schedule. La Costa Canyon is best known for its athletic programs, producing numerous professional sports players.[35] The school's rival is Torrey Pines High School.
Canyon Crest Academy (CCA) opened in 2004 in the Carmel Valley area of San Diego.[36] The school uses the semester class schedule similar to San Dieguito Academy. During the 2020-2021 school year, CCA enrolled 2,503 students making it the second largest school in the district.[37] Canyon Crest has been ranked the #1 high school in the state since 2018.[38]
Sunset High School
Sunset High School is the district's alternative high school located in Encinitas.
Middle schools
The San Dieguito Union High School District currently operates five middle schools. Earl Warren Middle School is the district's first middle school located in Solana Beach.[39] Oak Crest Middle School in Encinitas opened in 1957.[40] Diegueño Middle School in Encinitas was established in 1985, located four miles away from La Costa Canyon High School.[41] Carmel Valley Middle School opened in 1999 in the Carmel Valley community of San Diego.[42] Pacific Trails Middle School was built in 2015, a half-mile away from Canyon Crest Academy.[43]
