Canyon Crest Academy (CCA) is a
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, California. Founded in 2004, the school is part of
San Dieguito Union High School District
San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) is a public school district based in northern San Diego County, California. Established in 1936, the district serves over 13,000 students in five middle schools, five comprehensive high schools, ...
and is located in
Pacific Highlands Ranch (often considered part of
Carmel Valley), a residential suburb neighborhood of San Diego.
History
During the first school year (2004–05) at CCA, only first-year students were admitted into the student body, with a new class being added with each subsequent year. As a result, a complete student body did not exist on campus until the fourth year of instruction (2007–08), when the first class were in their final year. During the first school year, the students were instructed in portable trailers located in the school's parking lot. All facilities were open and construction of the original buildings was completed by the end of the second school year (2005–06). The overall cost of building the campus amounted to $103 million.
Until 2014, a lottery was held to determine admission to the school, as the number of students who wished to attend exceeded the school's maximum enrollment. However, as of 2014, the lottery is no longer held and all students in the district who wish to attend can do so. A new building, the B building, was added in early 2016, and was opened by August 2017, to alleviate the capacity issues.
The first group of students chose the raven as the school's mascot, after the
poem
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
by
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...
.
Curriculum
CCA follows a semester class schedule instead of a traditional year-based schedule, which means that students can complete eight classes in a year (four in the fall term and four in the spring term), rather than six year-long courses. Students can choose to take one free period each semester if they choose: this arrangement has its students taking between 6-8 classes a year.
Athletics
CCA is a member of the Avocado West league in San Diego, along with
Torrey Pines High School
Torrey Pines High School is a high school in the North County area of San Diego, California. The school is named after the Torrey pine tree that grows in the area. Torrey Pines High School is a member of the San Dieguito Union High School Di ...
,
La Costa Canyon High School,
Carlsbad High School,
San Dieguito Academy, and
Sage Creek High School. The mascot of Canyon Crest Academy is the
raven
A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...
. Canyon Crest Academy Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located on the school's campus.
Fall sports include Boys
Water Polo
Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...
, Girls
Golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
, Girls
Tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
, Girls
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
,
Cross Country, Girls
Field Hockey
Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...
, and Girls
Flag Football
Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of Tackle (football move)#Gridiron football, tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or ...
; winter sports include Boys
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
, Boys
Soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
, Girls Basketball, Girls Soccer, Girls Water Polo, and
Wrestling
Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
. Spring sports include
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...
, Boys Golf, Boys
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...
, Boys Tennis, Boys Volleyball, Girls Lacrosse,
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
,
Softball
Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...
, Swim & Dive,
Track & Field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...
, and
Beach Volleyball
Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...
CCA does not have a tackle football team or cheerleading squad, but a girls' flag football team was added in the 2023-2024 school year, and the program was continued for 2024-2025, now having both a
varsity and junior varsity team.
Awards and honors
The Envision Music Program has been selected as one of 130 finalists nationwide for the 2008 and 2011 Grammy Signature Schools National Award for Excellence in School Music Programs.
The school's vocal and theater arts performed ''The Drowsy Chaperone'' which was nominated for the Ben Vereen Awards in 2016, with the pit orchestra winning an award, along with awards being given for many individual actors and other school shows.
Canyon Crest's average
SAT
The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...
score in 2015 was 1892, with the national average being 1490; the average
ACT score was a 28.5 with a national average of 21.0. In 2007, the College Board announced that CCA's class of 2008 led the nation in AP World History scores for schools of its size.
[Advanced Placement Report to the Nation 2007](_blank)
, Page 78 The AP World History teacher was Mark Van Over. The AP Calculus BC teacher was Garret Happ. This accolade was published by the College Board in the ''2007 AP Report to the Nation''.
In 2012, ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'' ranked CCA as the 97th best high school in the United States,
20th best west of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
, and 10th best in California.
In 2013, ''Newsweek'' ranked CCA as the 78th best high school in the United States.
In 2014, ''Newsweek'' ranked CCA as the 72nd best high school in the United States.
In 2015, ''U.S. News'' ranked CCA as the 89th best public high school in the United States.
In 2018, CCA was ranked #1 in California and #132 nationally; however, private schools were also included in the rankings.
In 2019, CCA was ranked the best public high school in California.
In 2021, CCA was again ranked the best public high school in California.
On February 25, 2015; Canyon Crest Academy broke the world record for the biggest group hug in a school library. The record set was 191, beating the previous record of 74.
Student body
CCA's demographic is dominated by
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
and
Asian students from the surrounding neighborhoods of
North San Diego County such as
Carmel Valley,
Torrey Hills,
Rancho Santa Fe,
Del Mar,
Solana Beach
Solana Beach (''Solana'', Spanish for "sunny side") is a beach city in San Diego County, California, on the South Coast. Its population was at 12,940 at the 2020 U.S. census, up from 12,867 at the 2010 census.
History
The area was first set ...
, and
Encinitas
Encinitas (Spanish language, Spanish for "Small Oaks") is a beach city in the North County (San Diego area), North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. Located in Southern California, it is approximately north of San Di ...
. Before 2014, if the number of students who desired to attend CCA after middle school exceeded the number of spaces, a lottery was held. However, the lottery has not been necessary since 2014 and all students who wished to attend were able to. The average graduating class size is about 600 students.
CCA awards GPAs based on a 4.0 scale, with AP or weighted classes on a 5.0 scale.
Notable alumni
*
Riley Adams, baseball player
*
Matt Dinerman, broadcaster
*
Ryn Weaver, singer
*
Lili Simmons, actress (did not complete)
*
Dylan Mulvaney, actress and transgender rights activist
See also
*
Primary and secondary schools in San Diego, California
References
External links
CCA websiteCCA Foundation websiteCCA Associated Student Body (ASB) websiteCCA Athletics websiteSan Dieguito Union High School District
{{Portalbar, Schools, California, Education
Educational institutions established in 2004
San Dieguito Union High School District
2004 establishments in California
Public high schools in California
Schools in San Diego County, California
Schools in San Diego
High schools in San Diego
High schools in San Diego County, California
Education in San Diego County, California
Education in San Diego