San Marcos High School, 9-12 (Public)

My two daughters have received a great education and the since of community is extraordinary.

Wow what a fantastic school! I am so pleased with the interest my daughter now shows in school. The teachers are wonderful!! Every interaction I have had with the staff has been pleasant and professional.

San Marcos HIgh School is a great school. It has friendly staff and the campus is kept fairly clean. I am going onto my sencond year at this school and I am proud to be a Knight!

San Marcos High School is one of the best high schools in San Diego County. It combines student diversity with a competitive environment which enables students to grow and succeed. SMHS, overall has improved tremendously, receiving a 9 in the similar schools ranking, meaning that SMHS performs better than 90% of its most comparable schools based on socioeconomic status, ethnicity, etc. Sports and academics have improved greatly in only the last couple of years. And the recent valedictorian will be attending Harvard on a full ride scholarship.

I live in San Marcos and was doing my best to move to any school in the Poway district. Anything but San Marcos. I am so glad we stayed. I graduated from Vista and at that time San Marcos was known for its teen girl s ability to increase the campus size after a nine month period. Boy how times have changed. While my child was still in eighth grade, SMHS had an orientation to introduce the faculty, programs and staff to the upcoming ninth graders. Then a week before school your child gets the chance to meet a Senior, Junior and Sophomore that will show them around and help them through graduation. SMHS also has a parent orientation as well. Things are much different since I went to HS. The kids are required to rent lockers and locks and no PE the last two years of HS. SMUSD is doing a good job.

I actually transferred my child in to this school based on academics, diversity and the growing sports departments. Less students= better education with awesome faculty. The music program is awesome~! Boys volleyball, basketball, baseball and football are all improving with the new coaches that they have hired. The sports program is the new talk of the town. Watch and see - this school is on the map. More and more parent involvement is occurring due to the higher education level of parents that are purchasing homes in the newly developed San Elijo homes. I am proud to have my child attending this school. We have AP classes that are supporting students graduating to enter Stanford and UCLA.

After homeschooling my girls for nine years, and then sending them to a small charter school for two, we decided to send them to SMHS. We have not looked back. I have been extremely impressed with the teachers and admininstrators. The academic work load is harder that what my girls got at the charter school, and they are happy that they are learning more. Don't judge this school by what you may have heard in the past - go visit it, talk to the principal and some teachers. The principal, Julie Mottershaw, is extremely focused and dedicated. You will be impressed with her. I'm not involved in the PTO because of my work load, so I can't comment on it. Otherwise - very happy with SMHS!

I have a one child who just graduated this year & is on his way to a four year university. My daughter who will be a sophmore this year has excelled & is enrolled in all AP classes. I could not be more excited about they way they treat each student with individual attention. Talk to the teachers & principal before you make your decision. They are open, honest & make SMHS a excellent school for your children to grow & learn. I am proud to say my children go to SMHS!

San Marcos High school is the secret jewel of North County. Ask any parent or student who has attended this underrated school. All the tools are in place for academic excellence and kids are encouraged to get involved. So many parents who were reluctant to send their child to this school but did soon learns what a good place it is for their kids. Lots of opportunity to achieve!

It appears Ms. Peterson has the school moving in the right direction. The athletic program needs to improve.

My son transferred from Scripps Ranch High School. I was worried because he was content at Scripps and played Varsity ball. He was welcomed with open arms by both students (to my surprise) and faculty. The administration has an open door policy and has been prompt when responding to my needs or questions. I have found the parents of the other students concerned and involved in the development of their young men/women. Overall, I am quite pleased with my son's education. R. Moore

I am pretty happy with SMHS. My daughter graduated 5 yrs ago and went onto a great private 4 yr college. My son is currently in the 10th grade and doing pretty good. The high school is much nicer since it has a amaller student population.

Driven by the need to normalize the behaviour of the students. Everything else secondary.

We were worried that the high school was not the right place for our daughter. Now that she is there she is involved in everything and is loving it. The one concern we have is that there are no business classes like the other school in the district.

Academics need more funding, but the school spends the money on the athletic fields. Parent involvement is nearly non-existent.

I have 3 students at San Marcos HS in San Marcos, CA (not San Marcos HS in Santa Barbara!) My freshman are in the traditional 11th grade math curriculum. Their Honors Biology text is college level. No other high school in California, perhaps in the United States, offers an Honors Genetics and a Biotechnology Laboratory course that prepares students for advanced level college work. Music, with a new director in 2004, posted first and sweepstakes prizes at Marching Band competitions; Jazz and Concert Bands are ranked superior (see www.smhsmusic.com). However, the academic side would be unbalanced without the rest of the campus experience. My daughters'friends' parents speak Spanish, Hungarian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Polish and Italian as well as English. Regardless of economic background,students learn teamwork. As a parent volunteer I spend many Fridays on campus. Spend a day at the school before judging it based on second-hand comments.

SMHS has shown lots of improvement recently, especially since the entrance of the new principal, Mr. Craig Morgan. Fund raisers are a big part of the school program, which gives many opportunities to students to venture beyond the limits of the highschool. The performing arts programs are accelerating, and SMHS is very suitable if your child is interested in a performing-arts background. Over the past year the quality of SMHS has sky-rocketed, well done.

Everything is really impersonal! Most teachers don't care about your personal situations and the principal is very impersonal.

This is certainly a school on the way up. I am consistently impressed with the effort shown by the teachers and I can't count the number of times the teachers praise the administrators. A very positive environment!

San Marcos School District just opened its second comprehensive 9-12 School, which dropped the enrollment of SMHS to about 1500 students. The faculty and administration are attentive and effective in their responsibilities to the students. The curriculum is challenging. The new Humanities Program ties together History, Literature, English and Social Science making a more comprehensive approach for learning. Although the school is 40 years of age, millions of dollars have been spend to keep it current including a new science building, refurbished library, synthetic turf football field and campus landscaping. Principle Nancy Peterson provides effective leadership and strong values. Parent support from Boosters and the Parent Teacher Organization is strong. My challenge to the District is to provide more counselors to assist students in their educational pursuits in High School and and beyond.

I have had two students who have graduated from San Marcos High School, one in 2003 and one this year 2004, both were accepted to great universities. I was very impressed with the quality of education my students received. I would like to thank the teachers, counselors and staff for the support they gave to my students. I would also like to mention that the commencement ceremony was the most impressive commencement ceremony I have ever been to. I thought it was great last year and this year it was even better. Thank you so much for making it so special for the students and the parents.

My son is graduating from San Marcos High School this year. We live in Carlsbad but are in the San Marcos School District, so he attended La Costa Meadows Elementary School, San Marcos Middle School, and San Marcos High School. I admit I was anxious when the middle school and high school years approached. After all, most of my neighbors moved out of the district so their children could attend La Costa Canyon High School and my husband and I questioned our decision to stay numerous times. But I can honestly say that he received a great education while in a good, safe environment. Thanks to all the teachers, counselors, and administrative staff.

San Marcos High school received a CC&R Review from the state (Coordinated Compliance Review). The person reported she always sees schools with high academic scores but she had never sees a school that meets needs of so many different students as well as this school. SMHS is a school where kids from many different backgrounds have the opprotunity to achieve and find their nitch. The emphasis on higher education is strongly encouraged. Many students are accepted at top Universities while many continue their education at community colleges. I have one that graduated and is attending University and two currently enrolled. I am pleased that they all have a positive experience, have access to an adequate number of honor or AP classes, and most importantly they do not have to deal with the social issues that often is associated with some high socio-economic schools. Kids are happy here!

My son has been at SMHS for 4 years, graduating in 2 months. I've loved SMHS and feel it it a great school in a great district!

Both my children left San Marcos High school and went directly to top universities. This would not have been possible in this, or any other California high school, without a huge amount of parental involvement, specific counseling on course requirements, expensive extracurricular activities on and off campus, and daily encouragement. Even though San Marcos provides the tools for college prep, it has had a history of minimal expectations for teachers and students. That is now changing for the better thanks in part to money being tied to academic success. Younger, energetic teachers are replacing many retirees. There is a new, enthusiastic principal on board this year. A new high school is due to open in the fall of 2004 for grades 9 to 11 reducing unmanagable overcrowding. I have been involved with this school for ten years and I am pleased to see excellent, solid plans for the future.

This school has had the same problems for the past 20 years or more. Too many teachers and counslors that are only there to pick up a pay-check. I can't remember that last time that they had an Athletic-Director that could accomplish any thing other than a power trip. This school is failing not only academically but also with athletics.

It is a shame that SMHS is moving in the wrong direction. Programs for 'gifted' kids continue to be inadequate. These kids deserve great teachers and programs. Transportation is a huge problem now. New principal might help improve things, if she can be a true leader. Administrators need to stop blaming the budget problems and focus on solutions. (You are beholden to the kids, not your union.)My 10 yr. old will NOT be going to SMHS.

This information is not correct. This school no longer provides transportation. Students may utilize public if they live with in a 3 mile radius of the school; however, student live upto 10 miles away (in town) parents are stuck with the burden for the next year. And one final note the traffic on the two major roads to the high school are under constuction because these roads are unable to handle the traffic. Insult to injury you might say.