South San Francisco High School

South San Francisco High School's electronic billboard along El Camino Real.

South San Francisco High School operates under a closed campus policy, prohibiting leaving the campus for lunch or meeting visitors and students during school hours. The district offices for the SSFUSD are located on the school campus at the main entrance.

South San Francisco High School is composed of a main office building, school library, auditorium, cafeteria large and small gyms, Science Garage, and nine campus wings. Wings B-G contain the majority of the school's academic classrooms. The "S" wing contains the woods, auto, ceramics, and art shops. The auditorium is located to the right of the main entrance with the cafeteria next to it. The "M" wing contains the broadcasting station and the band room. The video broadcasting class provides live segments daily through the schools cable network and online.

"Students have access to state-of-the-art equipment at the Science Garage biotech lab and classroom. Science Garage was built at South San Francisco High School with support from a $7.8 million grant from the Genentech Foundation, and opened in late 2017"[2].

On April 1, 2019, students and staff planted 14 orange, persimmon, and apple trees in a new campus orchard.

According to US News and World Report, 94% of South San Francisco's student body is "of color," with 28% of the student body coming from an economically disadvantaged household, determined by student eligibility for California's Reduced-price meal program.[3]

Wanting to provide opportunities for all students to be successful after high school whether they choose to go to college or immediately enter the workforce and begin their chosen careers, South San Francisco High Schools offers pathways for both College and Career Readiness.

College Readiness For students wishing to attend college after graduation, South San Francisco High School offers courses satisfying the A-G requirements needed for acceptance into a public California university. The rigorous academic program includes 14 Advanced Placement courses (Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Calculus AB, Language & Composition, Literature & Composition, Computer Science, World History, US History, Government, European History, Spanish, Italian, and Music Theory) and multiple honors courses[4]. While these higher level courses are not required to graduate, they are recommended for students wishing to be more competitive when applying to college.

Skyline College works closely with the high school through after school workshops about registering for classes and financial aide, concurrent enrollment, and programs such as Middle College, Kapatiran, and Herman@s. Both Kapatiran[5] and L@s Hermano@s[6] are after school seminar classes taught by Skyline College professors for which students can earn both high school and college credits.

Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) is an elective program offered at South San Francisco High School. While part of this program, students learn useful skills (such as note-taking, organization, collaboration, critical thinking, etc), conduct research on possible future colleges and careers, attend field trips to visit college campuses, and more.

Sophomore and Junior year, all students enrolled in either World History or US History compete in National History Day. This project involves three components: research paper, physical project, and presentation. Students may choose a historical topic of their choice, but it must fit into that year’s History Day Theme (previous themes include Triumph and Tragedy, Innovation, Turning Point, Rights & Responsibility, etc.). They then do in depth research of their topic in order to write their papers. Next they create a documentary film, website, performance or exhibit. Finally their projects are presented in a school-wide competition which can lead on to county, state, and national competitions. South City students have competed at the state level multiple times in recent years.

Career Readiness Career Technical Education (CTE), also known as Vocational Education classes are offered in a variety of subjects for students to explore possible career fields, including: Arts, Media & Entertainment; Building & Construction Trades; Health Science & Medical Technology; Information & Communication Technologies; and Transportation [7].

Work Experience and Community Service courses allow students to earn high school credits while gaining hands on experience outside of the classroom.

During their senior year, students complete a Senior Capstone Project in their English classes. The purpose of this project is to apply and showcase the skills they’ve learned over the all their four years of high school and to explore in depth a career field that interests them. They write a research paper about a controversial topic in their chosen career field. Next students complete at least 25 hours learning from/shadowing a mentor who works in that field, constantly updating a blog recounting the experience and creating a physical project based on what they learn. Physical projects can include but are not limited to: cellphone and computer based applications, choreographed dance routines, video interviews/montages/documentaries, and more. Finally, they present to a panel of faculty members, other students, and community members about what they learned through the whole experience.

South San Francisco High School offers a variety of sports, including cheerleading, American football, badminton, baseball, basketball, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, wrestling and cross country. In 1980 the varsity football team defeated North Monterey Co. HS, 17-7, to win the Central Coast Section Championship.[8] In 1973, the sophomore football team went undefeated and unscored upon.

Bell Game

The Bell Game is an annual tradition where South San Francisco High School plays against their rival, El Camino High School. The school that wins the football game wins the trophy, also known as "The Bell." The 2011 Bell Game was the 50th.

Clubs

One way students have of getting involved in their school community is by joining one or more of the 30+ clubs offered at South San Francisco High School. The list of South City High clubs includes, but is not limited to: ASB or Leadership, The Hermanos Club, Drama Club/Thespians Troupe, Journalism (which produces the school newspaper, the Warrior Post), Chess Club, Mock Trial, California Scholarship Federation, National Honor Society, the GSA (also known as Spectrum), Animal Rescue, Hip Hop Club, Electronics Club, Anime Club, Gaming Club, Filipino American Club, Italian Club, Folklorico, Conservation Club, and many more.

• San Mateo County high schools
• Rue Randall Clifford

• Official website