Preuss School - Academics

Academics

The Preuss curriculum is shaped around college preparatory course requirements known within the University of California and California State University system as A–G courses. Preuss also takes the pedagogical position that all students should be given the opportunity to take the same courses. As such, Preuss has an untracked curriculum that requires all students to attend the same college preparatory courses.

On the Preuss campus, students study basic algebra, geometry, pre-calculus, and calculus and later can take more advanced courses on the UCSD campus, which they travel to via shuttle. Required science classes include Earth sciences, physics, biology, and chemistry. Required history classes cover Western civilization, as well as U.S. history, European history, and government and politics at the advanced placement (AP) level. Every Preuss student studies Spanish for at least three years, with an option for as many as five. English and physical education are also included in the required core curriculum. As a result of these required courses, 100% of Preuss graduates complete the A–G course list. Only 38% of San Diego United students do the same.

Throughout this curriculum, Preuss students are required to take courses at the advanced placement (AP) level, when offered. This requirement is meant to improve the students' chances for college admission and to reduce the number of college courses these low-income students might later have to take and pay for. By graduation, all Preuss students will have taken at least six AP courses.

Through all seven years at Preuss, students take an advisory course known as University Prep with the same teacher. This homeroom-like experience enables one teacher to become well-acquainted with students, their growth, their families, and their domestic situation. In addition to University Prep and other required courses, during sixth, seventh, and eighth grades each student chooses one elective course per semester. In ninth and tenth grades students take a year-long elective, while in eleventh and twelfth they choose two year-long electives. Electives have included robotics, engineering, drama, student's union (known as Associated Student Body or ASB), journalism, publications, music, music technology, and public speaking. In 12th grade, each student completes a three-part senior wheel course, which includes a course on service learning, a research seminar leading to a senior thesis, and an internship on the UCSD campus.

A significant portion of Preuss students matriculate to four-year institutions of higher learning. In 2005, of the school's 75 graduates, 91 percent were accepted to a four-year college or university while the other 9 percent attended a community college. The class of 2007 surpassed these numbers when 96 percent of its members gained admission to four-year universities. In 2011, 95 percent of graduates were admitted to four-year universities with 79 percent of graduates matriculating to one. 19 percent of the class of 2011 attended a community college.