The Sweetwater Union High School District is a

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...

headquartered in

Chula Vista Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fifteenth largest city in the state of California, and the 78th-largest city in the United States. The popul ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. , the school district is the largest

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

district in

. The union high school district serves over 42,000 high school-aged students and over 32,000 adult learners. Located in the southwestern part of

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...

between

Southeast San Diego Southeast San Diego refers to the southeastern portion of the City of San Diego (excluding South San Diego) and the neighborhoods south of State Route 94 ( Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway) and east of Downtown San Diego. There are three official ...

and the International Border with Mexico, the district serves the communities of Chula Vista,

Imperial Beach Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

, National City and the

San Ysidro San Ysidro (Spanish for " St. Isidore", ) is a district of the City of San Diego, immediately north of the Mexico–United States border. It neighbors Otay Mesa West to the north, Otay Mesa to the east, and Nestor and the Tijuana River Valley t ...

portion of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. Sweetwater is one of the most ethnically and economically diverse districts in California. Approximately 87 percent of students belong to an ethnic minority group and over 40 percent of students qualify for the free or reduced lunch program. Overseen by a five-member Board of Trustees, the district operates 14

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s (11 regular, two alternative, one charter); 11 middle schools; 4 Adult schools; a regional occupational program (ROP); and

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

. The district has earned recognition for its "Compact for Success" program, a deal made with

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

that guarantees Sweetwater graduates admission to the university if they meet certain requirements all throughout their high school career.

Schools

High schools

Bonita Vista High School Bonita Vista High School (BVH) is a public, four-year (grade levels 9–12) high school located in the city of Chula Vista, California. It is part of the Sweetwater Union High School District, and offers both Advanced Placement and International ...

Castle Park High School Castle Park High School, established in 1962, is a high school in Chula Vista, California. It offers Advanced Placement classes. Along with Bonita Vista High School, it is one of only two schools in the Sweetwater Union School District that of ...

Chula Vista High School Chula Vista High School (CVHS) is a public high school located in Chula Vista, California. Founded in 1947, it is part of the Sweetwater Union High School District. History Chula Vista first opened in the summer of 1947, operating out of a tempor ...

* Eastlake High School * Hilltop High School *Independent Study High School *MAAC Community Charter School *

Mar Vista High School Mar Vista Senior High (MVH), in Imperial Beach, California, United States, is a high school established in 1951. Mar Vista has an award-winning marine science academy called Poseidon. Students spend grades 9-12 in the academy. It is frequently ...

* Montgomery High School *

Olympian High School Olympian High School is a public high school located within the Sweetwater Union High School District in San Diego County, California. The school, with a capacity of 2,500 students, opened in August 2006. It is located in the outskirts of the Otay ...

* Options Secondary School *

Otay Ranch High School Otay Ranch High School is a high school located in Chula Vista, California. Otay Ranch High School primarily serves the Chula Vista developments of Otay Ranch and Rancho Del Rey. History Otay Ranch High School (ORHS) was built in 2003 as a part ...

Palomar High School Palomar may refer to: Places * Any of several locations in San Diego County, California: ** Palomar Mountain ** Palomar Observatory, located on Palomar Mountain ** Palomar College in San Marcos, California ** Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, ...

* San Ysidro High School * Southwest High School * Sweetwater High School * East Hills Academy

Junior High school

*Granger Junior High School

Middle schools

*Bonita Vista Middle School *Castle Park Middle School *Chula Vista Middle School *Eastlake Middle School *Hilltop Middle School *Mar Vista Academy *Montgomery Middle School *National City Middle School *Rancho Del Rey Middle School *Southwest Middle School

Compact for Success

In 1999, former Sweetwater Union School District superintendent Ed Brand met with once

president Stephan Weber to try and overcome the small number of students enrolling and graduating from San Diego State University. In order to address this issue, Brand and Weber engineered the idea of compact for success which would be a long-term partnership between Sweetwater Union School District and SDSU. Before Compact for Success could be put into execution, SDSU staff and Sweetwater School Board teachers worked with one another to alter the curriculum in order to concur with the requirements for college admission in California. After the curriculum was adjusted, students within the Sweetwater Union School District would be guaranteed admission to San Diego State University if they could meet the five benchmarks set out by the partnership between Brand and Weber. In order to qualify for compact for success, students must remain in the Sweetwater District from 7th grade onward. Along with this the requirements for admission are: maintaining a 3.0 GPA, fulfilling all A-G requirements, passing the English and Math proficiency test, and lastly, taking the either the

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...

or ACT. Along with guaranteed admission through the program, students from 7th grade onward will take multiple field trips to San Diego State University and will have mentors along the way to help guide students by helping them prepare for a higher education at a university. Compact for Success went into the execution in the fall of 2000 and with that year incoming 7th graders enrolled in the district. From 2000 to 2012, compact for success has caused an 87% increase in Sweetwater students enrolling in San Diego State University; applications increased from 789 in 2000 to 1,770 in 2012. As of 2012 compact of success has resulted in 1 of every 7 SDSU students being former Sweetwater School district students. Compact for Success was recognized in June 2012 by

National Journal ''National Journal'' is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes da ...

as a “leading innovator” in higher education and has served as a template for other programs. This partnership has influenced other ones like it around San Diego County, such as the one between

Vista Unified School District Vista Unified School District is a public school district headquartered in Vista, California, United States. It serves sections of northern San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest ...

and

California State University San Marcos California State University San Marcos (CSUSM or Cal State San Marcos) is a public university in San Marcos, California. It was founded in 1989 as the 21st campus in the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. CSUSM offers 43 bachel ...

"Pay for Play Scandal"

For four years, the ex-superintendent of the Sweetwater Union High School District, Jesus Gandara, along with four of his colleagues “regularly accepted what amounted to bribes in exchange for their votes on multimillion-dollar construction projects”, using bond money from proposition O. When the law caught up with Jesus Gandara, former SUHSD Superintendent, SUHSD trustees Arlie Ricassa and Pearl Quinones, former board member Greg Sandoval, and a construction company executive Henry Amigable, they all pleaded not guilty to the allegations made against them, including but not limited to: charges of perjury, filing a false document, and offering a bribe. The individuals involved in this scandal were said to have been spending thousands of dollars visiting San Diego-area restaurants, as well as accepting tickets to popular sports events and vacation getaways on a consistent basis from the year 2008 until 2011. Four board members involved were removed from the school board and reelections began, but this time based on geographic location instead of the votes counted altogether.

References

External links

SUHSD Website
{{Education in San Diego County, state=collapsed School districts in San Diego County, California Education in San Diego Education in Chula Vista, California National City, California Imperial Beach, California South Bay (San Diego County)