Preuss School at UC San Diego Once Again Ranked Top High School in San Diego

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The Preuss School UCSD has been named the top high school in San Diego County by U.S. News and World Report, which just released its annual list of “Best High Schools.” The school also received a Gold Award designation and was ranked the #6 school in the State of California based on performance on state assessments, graduation rates and college preparation. Located on the campus of the University of California San Diego, The Preuss School is a charter middle and high school for low-income students who strive to become the first in their families to graduate from college.

 “The Preuss School is a great source of pride for UC San Diego and we are honored that it has been ranked, once again, as the top high school in the region,” said UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “Preuss offers a transformational pathway to college for local students from underserved communities.”

The U.S. News rankings include data on more than 20,500 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia. According to U.S. News, the rankings evaluate schools nationwide to identify those that best serve all of their students – including historically underserved populations – and assess the degree to which students are prepared for college-level coursework.

“We are honored to be named as the top school in San Diego and among the top 10 schools in California,” said Scott Barton, principal of The Preuss School. “This prestigious recognition is a credit to our education model and the dedication of our teachers and staff.”  

The Preuss School was also ranked as one of the top 100 high schools nationally (#76) and the 25th best charter school in the nation.

Preuss is consistently recognized among the best high schools in the U.S. It was named the nation’s most transformative high school by Newsweek three years in a row. Preuss graduates are accepted to four-year colleges and universities at a rate of more than 90 percent, and almost 100 percent go on to some form of higher education.

The Preuss School is chartered by the San Diego Unified School District and operated by UC San Diego. More than 800 students come from throughout San Diego County to participate in a single-track college preparatory curriculum and take advantage of an array of academic supports including tutoring, mentoring and counseling.

A key tenet of the Preuss model is its commitment to longer learning time. Preuss students are in school longer each day and for 18 more days a year than the typical student in California, which adds up to almost an entire extra academic year over the course of their middle and high school careers. The cost of these extra days of instruction is not covered by the state and is funded, in part, by private support.

For more information on U.S. News & World Report’s “Best High Schools” visit usnews.com. For more information on The Preuss School and how you can help support longer learning time at Preuss, click here.