14 Mar Choosing a Charter School in San Diego
Choices are hard.
Pizza or tacos.
Beach or mountains.
Picking out a movie that everyone wants to watch.
And while we know there are many choices in choosing a high school, it doesn’t have to be difficult.
At tuition-free public SET High in San Diego, serving 9-12 grades, we have it all: strong academics, college credit, sports and clubs, supportive teachers and staff, and lots of time for passionate learning.
What is a Charter School?
A charter school is a publicly funded, independently operated public school. Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools are typically established by a team of educators and parents who identify a need in the community and create a new school to address it. Think of it like experiencing the benefits of private school without the price tag.
SET High is a charter school that was founded in 2010. Dr. Neil McCurdy, founding member, joined with the goal of providing a free, flexible, and personalized high school education. SET synthesizes his passions -learning, discovery, and inquiry- and delivers to the students of San Diego these skill sets and mindsets that are essential to finding success in the 21st century economy. At SET High, students discover and develop into their best selves as engaged, empathetic, and curious global citizens.
Charter schools are tuition-free public schools open to all students. They operate under the terms of a charter that sets forth the school’s mission, program, goals, and ways to measure success. Charter schools are financed directly by the state and exercise increased autonomy in return for accountability in both academic results and fiscal practices. In California, charters are granted by local school districts for an initial period of up to five years, after which they may be renewed.
Why Should My Child Go to a Charter School?
Charter schools create choices for parents and their students within the public school system. They increase educational opportunities for families and give children more access to quality education.
In California, children can attend a charter school anywhere within the region. For example, your child can attend any charter school within your county of residence or an adjacent county. In San Diego and the surrounding area, students can enroll in a tuition-free, public charter school outside their school district.
Whether it’s the educational philosophy, curriculum, or focus, each charter school is unique and offers different options from local district schools.
Highly qualified teachers are frequently attracted to work at charter schools where innovative teaching practices and creativity are encouraged.
Parents and community members are often welcome to get involved in different aspects of a charter school education. Families typically find unique learning opportunities available and an emphasis on social and emotional well-being.
Charter schools offer:
- Smaller class sizes
- Personalized attention
- Support for learning
- Focus on character development
How Charter Schools Stand Out
Charter schools prioritize the unique requirements of each student, often providing personalized academic programs or distinctive features. These schools are a thriving source of innovation and imagination as they offer students the freedom to chart their own path to success. Charter schools attract highly qualified teachers who are enticed by the opportunity to teach with greater creativity and less restriction or alongside colleagues who share their passion and vision.
SET High creates opportunities that bigger schools can’t offer high school students:
- 12:1 Student to teacher ratio
- 1 of 6 California Distinguished Schools in the San Diego Unified School District
- Personalized learning
- Service-based learning
- Teacher-created electives like Debunking Disney and Aerospace Engineering
- Passion Projects
- Flexible modified 4×4 block schedule
- Dual enrollment with Mesa College
- Accepting, clique-free campus community
SET High’s highly-qualified, multi-talented teachers, many with master’s degrees and PhDs, serve as the foundation to our student success. We build strong relationships with each student and go above and beyond educating students to achieve excellence. We balance each student’s academic passions with standards-based requirements.
Are you ready for your personalized learning journey at a San Diego charter school for grades 9 -12? Want to see what we’re all about? Come take a tour or take advantage of our shadow days where students observe “The SET Way.” Call (858)874-4338 or email tours@sethigh.org.
We’re certain you will get what we mean when we say “passion fuels learning.” We look forward to getting to know you and helping you build your bright future. Enroll today.
About SET High
SET High offers each student individual attention from multi-talented, highly qualified teachers. Students at our California Distinguished School (twice awarded!) build a healthy camaraderie with classmates inside an intellectually rigorous environment that brings out their talents and personality, helping them develop their individual character and direction in life. With a wide variety of electives, flexible scheduling, dual enrollment college classes and more — our students regularly exceed their academic and personal expectations. Enroll now. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Find us at www.sethigh.org.