Each of five San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) high schools awarded students more than $1 million in college scholarships, with the total scholarships awarded to all SBCUSD graduates totaling $8,134,645.
Students at San Bernardino High School earned $1,856,489 in scholarships, the most of any SBCUSD high school. Cajon High School students earned the second largest amount, $1,680,014, which included $646,000 in military academy appointments and scholarships for the U.S. Army, Marines, and Coast Guard.
“I’m not surprised that San Bernardino High students earned so many scholarship dollars,” said Corina Borsuk, whose family funds an annual scholarship for SBHS graduates. “As the oldest high school in the area, many famous and successful people have graduated from the school, and they often give back by establishing scholarships specifically for Cardinal City graduates. Once a Cardinal, always a Cardinal.”
The San Bernardino High School mascot is a cardinal, and the school is a chartered city known as Cardinal City.
With 481 scholarship recipients, Cajon High School boasted the largest number of students earning scholarships. Arroyo Valley High School had the next largest group of scholarship recipients, totaling 293 deserving students.
Cajon and Arroyo Valley High Schools both offer the prestigious International Baccalaureate (I.B.) program, which awards both a California diploma and an internationally recognized diploma to students who successfully complete the rigorous coursework. Earning top grades in these classes is often a sign that students will do well in college and attracts scholarship donors.
Of Middle College High School’s 79 graduates, 72 earned scholarships. That’s 91 percent of the graduating class. More than 87 percent of San Bernardino High School’s graduating class of 287 students received scholarships.
Unlike other SBCUSD high schools, Middle College High does not have attendance boundaries. Interested students must apply to attend, and those who are accepted are enrolled in high school classes on the Middle College campus and college classes at San Bernardino Valley College. SBCUSD covers the cost of attending SBVC, including text books.
While Middle College High serves high school students who want to get a jump on their college education, Inland Career Education Center (formerly San Bernardino Adult School) serves adults who are returning to school to earn a G.E.D. or high school diploma. The 197 members of the ICEC class of 2017 earned $22,450 in scholarships.
Rounding out SBCUSD high schools, Indian Springs High School graduates earned $540,001 in scholarships, Pacific High School graduates earned $424,511, San Gorgonio High School graduates earned $1,156,858, San Andreas High School graduates earned $23,700, and Sierra High School graduates earned $43,322 in scholarships. SBCUSD graduates received scholarships from a variety of public and private donors, but a large share of the scholarship money came from the Making Hope Happen Foundation and the San Bernardino Community Scholarship Association.