Oceana High School (California)

Oceana High School is a small public high school in northern Pacifica, California. Offering an alternative college preparatory program, the school serves just over 600 students in grades nine through twelve. The school is one of five public schools in the Jefferson Union High School District. According to the State of California, Oceana is one of the twenty-five most diverse high schools in the state.

Oceana High School
Address
401 Paloma Avenue

Pacifica
,
California
94044

United States
Coordinates37.638662°N 122.487222°W / 37.638662; -122.487222
Information
TypePublic high school
Established1962
School districtJefferson Union High School District
CEEB code052308
PrincipalApril Holland
Faculty29.43 (FTE)[1]
Enrollment599 (2018–19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio20.35[1]
CampusSuburban
Color(s)Red, White and Blue    
Team nameSharks
WebsiteOfficial website

History

Oceana High School opened in 1962. The school is a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Located in northern Pacifica, Oceana High School currently serves students from Pacifica, Daly City, Brisbane, and Colma.

The school has appeared in popular culture. Director Curtis Hanson selected Oceana High School as the setting for the fictional Ocean High School in his 2012 film Chasing Mavericks. After multiple days of filming on site,[2] Oceana High School appeared in the film, which was ultimately a commercial and critical failure.

Campus

The school was designed by architect Mario J. Ciampi to conform to the hillside[3] at the base of Milagra Ridge.

A 2002 modernization included a seismic upgrade, ocean facing classroom windows and a 350-seat theatre.[4]

Demographics
WhiteLatinoAsianAfrican AmericanPacific IslanderAmerican IndianTwo or More Races
22%24%42%1%0.5%0.3%9%

According to US News and World Report, 78% of Oceana's student body is "of color," with 31% of the student body coming from an economically disadvantaged household, determined by student eligibility for California's Reduced-price meal program.[5]

Academics

Class Schedule

The schedule at Oceana is a form of what is called a "block scheduling." This means that every student has, in total, 6 class periods, and that the student only has 3 periods per day. So, on one day, students have an "odd" day, periods 1, 3, and 5. The next day would be an "even" day, periods 2, 4, and 6. For example, if a student had mathematics as period number 2, they would only have that class every other day, on "even" days. However, in past years Oceana had what is called modular scheduling. This type of scheduling allowed for many free periods during the day. These "free mods" could go to as long as 180 min of continuous free time without classes. This time could be utilized for lunch, study, or socializing. Due to the latter, students were advised to spend most of their free time in study so that such time was not wasted or misused.

Curriculum

The curriculum at Oceana is generally project based. The class periods are 100 minutes each, so this gives the students time to work on projects, especially for English and History.

Oceana offers Advanced Placement courses in US History, Chemistry, US Government, Language and Composition, Literature, and Calculus AB.

Standardized Testing

In 2013, Oceana High School scored an 817 on the California API, the highest in the Jefferson Union High School District by a difference of +25 points.[6] According to US News and World Report, Oceana is a nationally academically ranked high school, and the 354th best in the state of California, the highest ranking of any school in the district.[7]

SAT Scores for 2013–2014 [8]
Critical Reading AverageMath AverageWriting Average
Oceana High School 516554516
Jefferson Union District 503536500
San Mateo County 546576548
Statewide 492506489

References
  1. "Oceana High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  2. http://patch.com/california/pacifica/oceana-high-school-gets-a-mavericks-movie-makeover
  3. Hunter, Chris; Drake, Bill (2002). Pacifica. Images of America. Arcadia Publishing. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-7385-2068-1. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  4. Manning, Kathleen and Bill Hall (2009-11-12). "Peek at Pacifica's Past". San Jose Mercury News.
  5. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/california/districts/jefferson-union-high/oceana-high-school-2358/student-body
  6. http://api.cde.ca.gov/Acnt2013/2013GrthAPICo.aspx?cSelect=41,SAN,MATEO
  7. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/california/districts/jefferson-union-high/oceana-high-school-2358
  8. "SAT Report - District Level Scores". California Department of Education. Archived from the original on October 26, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
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