Initiatives

Across San Diego Unified, you will find that our neighborhood schools put the health and safety of all students as our number one priority. Beyond strong academics and top-notch teachers, the foundations of a San Diego Unified education include: access to the arts and music in every school; advanced technology, offering every student access to laptop computer; scholarship-level athletics in high school and a focus on health and wellness at every grade; and an education in leadership and civic responsibility. These are the commitments we make to all students and to every family.

Civics

San Diego Unified graduates include Hall of Fame sports stars, along with some of the nation’s top scientists, singers, actors, writers and civic/business leaders. c We encourage student leadership through student government, environmental clubs, gender-sexuality alliance clubs and civic leadership clubs like the Cesar Chavez service clubs. We help students develop the skills to engage in difficult conversations on equity, bullying, and restorative justice.

Civic engagement begins in the classroom, where children are exposed to history and government lessons as early as Grade 3. Action activities may include researching laws and the freedoms they are designed to protect, or writing to elected officials about an issue the student is passionate about.

Athletics

San Diego Unified School District is committed to excellence in athletics as part of a larger commitment to excellence in education. That excellence also includes a commitment to the physical and emotional well-being, social development of student-athletes as well as the development of their sense of citizenship, dedication to sportsmanship and fair play, the development of individual and team skills, the exertion of best effort, the will to win, and general conduct that brings credit to San Diego Unified and is a source of pride and enthusiasm for all members of the San Diego community.

Academics

The San Diego Unified School District is proud to call itself one of the top large urban school districts in the United States. Measures include our top scores on state and national tests, and our leadership in areas such as academic excellence, technology, the arts, and student health. Strong academics are at the core of our mission to make sure every child graduates ready to succeed in college, a career, and the community where they live.

We have acted to raise graduation standards and students have responded by achieving the highest graduation rate of any big-city district in the state. We have schools across the city that offer Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) programs, International Baccalaureate® (IB) instruction, Advanced Placement (AP) courses, courses for college credit, and dual-language classrooms.

Arts and Music

San Diego Unified promotes artistic literacy, innovation, creativity, and excellence in the arts by providing a high quality, sequential, TK-12 arts experience for all students. The Visual and Performing Arts are essential to the growth and development of every child. That is why all our schools offer access to these vital programs. Our students have performed everywhere from the Rose Bowl Parade, to Carnegie Hall, but your child does not have to be a future celebrity to benefit from learning to express themselves through the arts.

Advanced Technology

Every single San Diego Unified student has computer access. Our STEAM-themed classrooms and Genius Labs are filled with high-tech tools like 3D-printers, engineering software, computer programming software, coding robots, and more hands-on equipment aimed at introducing and educating our students in subjects that are increasingly essential for college and careers of the future. Companies like Google and Qualcomm and Intuit Education have partnered with the district to help students collaborate with one another online and learn to become better problem-solvers.

Health and Wellness

Personal fitness and school-based activities that promote well-being are important parts of every student’s education in San Diego Unified. Not only do all our schools have comprehensive wellness plans to improve students’ health, high school students have access to scholarship-level athletic programs and innovative PE courses, including mindfulness and dance. San Diego Unified also leads the state in clean drinking water for students, following a city-wide testing program to eliminate lead in school site fountains.

Through our District Wellness Initiative we work to inspire students to develop lifelong healthy habits that include a good diet and regular physical activity. San Diego Unified schools have received national recognition as America’s Healthiest Schools. The award is granted by Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program, an evidence-based national initiative to create healthier school environments where children can thrive. The award demonstrates our district’s commitment to fostering the health of our students and staff. In addition, The American Heart Association also honored San Diego Unified for building a culture of health within our school district.