SBVC’S Middle College High School Receives High Ranking

SAN BERNARDINO>> The Middle College High School, a partnership between San Bernardino Valley College and the San Bernardino City Unified School District, has been ranked No. 11 of 2,033 California public high schools using the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress test results for 2016. According to SchoolDigger.com, a site which compiles detailed profiles of over 136,000 public schools in all 50 states across the country, gave the high ranking to MCHS. “The rating site also noted that in 2016, MCHS ranked better than 99.5 percent of high schools in California and is first among the 11 ranked high schools in the SBCUSD," said Board of Trustees President John Longville. "In just over a decade, MCHS has gone from 285th in the state to 11th. Those are incredibly impressive results for MCHS and we are understandably proud of the school. The students deserve the five gold stars the school was awarded. The students enrolled in that program have been incredibly successful, achieving higher completion rates in college courses than traditional college-age students.” Chancellor Bruce Baron said he is pleased to congratulate James Espinoza, principal of MCHS, for his wonderful work with the MCHS. "SBVC’s administration and counselors are dedicated to the success of MCHS students," Baron said. "Interim Vice President of Instruction Henry Hua and Dr. Ricky Shabazz, Vice President of Student Services, oversee the school from the college’s vantage. They work closely with April Carter, Director of Admissions and Records and two counselors, Kimberly Wingson and Susan Gasca. Guiding minors through their high school years while they are also attending college is a different set of challenges than working with adult students, and they all recognize both the responsibilities and the opportunities for success MCHS offers these young people. “MCHS is very diverse, reflecting the demographics of our community," he added. "The student body is 72 percent Hispanic, more than 9 percent African American and just over 13 percent Caucasian. More than 88 percent of the students are from families that qualify for free or reduced lunches. 90 percent are, or will be, first in their family to attend college. These students have been provided with a quality educational opportunity and they have succeeded, regardless of their economic backgrounds.” MCHS is a secondary school, and like most of the other ten MCHS programs across California, is located on a college campus. MCHS programs are designed to offer challenging academic programs that focus on both college and career preparation to serve high-potential students. MCHS features effective support services, small class size, a reduced adult-student ratio, flexible scheduling, opportunities for experiential internships, work apprenticeships, and community service and the opportunity for students to concurrently take some college classes at typically minor cost to the student. Concurrent enrollment is allowed by the California Education Code and many high school students take a college class here or there in order to explore an area of interest, make up a few credits, or to advance their graduation date. However, MCHS offers a more comprehensive program for those interested in completing high school and the first two years of college simultaneously, or at least in earning a number of those units. MCHS is the grades 10-12 program and offers Prep 9 Academy as of 2013 to allow 9th graders to prepare for future acceptance to MCHS. MCHS is also a National Blue Ribbon school, a California Distinguished School and is recognized annually by U.S. News and World Reports as one of America’s Best High Schools.