Mission Bay High

A Mission Bay graduate is a well-educated and ethical citizen who is prepared to enter higher education and the workplace in an ever-changing digitally connected world.

Here at Mission Bay, we strive to provide a peaceful and rigorous learning environment with our International Baccalaureate program. We are one of two IB schools in San Diego Unified to offer these engaging and challenging courses designed to prepare students for university level work.

Mission Bay High School is located in the community of Pacific Beach, which is bordered by the Pacific Ocean and Mission Bay. The school, built in 1953, sits on a 55-acre site with: 84 classrooms, a gymnasium and newly remodeled weight room, a library with two new computer labs, a small theater, a 790-seat auditorium, landscaped green areas, and student and faculty parking lots. A new artificial turf football with synthetic track stadium and other athletic fields were completed under Prop. S construction in April of 2015.

Currently, MBHS has an enrollment of 1,100 students. As an International Baccalaureate it is a magnet school that encourages all students from SDUSD to apply for admission. Students living within the Pacific Beach area do not need to apply.

Mission Bay High School receives federal funding through Title 1 support and from a Magnet Schools Assistance (MSAP) grant that was awarded to the school in 2010-2014. This four-year MSAP grant has allowed MBHS to expand our IB program for a more diverse and accessible IB experience for all students.

We are an IB community of:

internationally minded people that value the world as the broadest context for learning and develops conceptual understanding across a range of subjects;

inquiry-based learning that engages students to think critically, express creativity, reflect, and;

service learning that encourages students to become active community members in the service they perform and in their character development as global citizens.

As MBHS students become 11th-12th graders, they have the opportunity to take our rigorous International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (DP) courses. High school students who have taken DP courses are not only more competitive candidates for admission to universities throughout the United States as our own IB graduates attest that these courses were instrumental to their success in college. As part of this process, Mission Bay High also offers a collegiate learning environment for all our 9th-12th graders by having 8 period rotating block master schedule. All students take four courses daily on alternating days with 86 minute periods. The difference here is that our high school students take these 8 courses all year long to gain a greater understanding of the course concepts over a longer period of time.

Why IB?

• International Baccalaureate Programs are designed to prepare students to engage and work within a rapidly globalizing world through interdisciplinary work, developing independent, critical thinking skills, and fostering strong emotional and socially conscious characteristics.
• Studies show that students who participated in the IB Diploma Programme enrolled in college immediately after graduating from high school, compared to the 66% of all US high school graduates.
  • University admissions officers often seek out IB Diploma Programme students.
• Pacific Beach Middle School has earned the prestigious International Baccalaureate World School status. Their program prepares students for the demanding requirements of the IB Diploma Programme offered in high school.
  • According to research, former Middle Years Programme students were 34% more likely to take at least one diploma proramme or Advanced Placement exam in high school, and are 39% more likely to earn at least one “college-ready” score on a college preparatory exam.
• Mission Bay High School offers IB Diploma courses in six (6) subject groups and the diploma programme core, comprising theory of knowledge (TOK), Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS), and the extended essay.
  • Their courses meet requirements for admission to the University of California and California State University systems.
• In addition to the academic rigor of IB programs, students gain a broader world view and have opportunities for involvement in larger community activities.
  • PB Middle School and Mission Bay High School’s IB programs encourage students to become internationally minded people who are concerned with action in local and global issues.