Students On Academic Rise (SOAR) High School is an

early college high school The Early College High Schools (ECHS) in the United States allow students to receive a high school diploma and an associate degree, or up to two years of college credit, by taking a mixture of high school and college classes. Designed for students ...

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the popul ...

. The high school is a joint project of the

Antelope Valley Union High School District The Antelope Valley Union High School District (A.V.U.H.S.D.) is located in the Antelope Valley area of California, in northern Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA Co ...

and

Antelope Valley College Antelope Valley College (AVC) is a Public college, public Community colleges in the United States, community college in Lancaster, California. It is part of the California Community College system. It is operated by the Antelope Valley Communi ...

. SOAR stands for Students on Academic Rise. The school was founded in 2006.Campus History Page
/ref> SOAR integrates the

Advancement Via Individual Determination Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) is a non-profit organization that provides professional learning for educators to close opportunity gaps and improve college and career readiness for elementary, middle and high school students, ...

(AVID)

college-preparatory A college-preparatory school (often shortened to prep school, preparatory school, college prep school or college prep academy) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily design ...

program as a mandatory elective course for all grade levels. Throughout its history, the school has been served by four principals: Michael Dutton, Chris Grado, Dr. Stephanie Herrera, and Wendy Johnston. Two SOAR High School students represented SOAR's InvenTeam at the 2015 White House Science Fair. Alumni have enrolled in

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

, Columbia, Northwestern,

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

, the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, and many other four-year universities throughout the United States. Interested students must apply for the program by the annual February deadline, which can be found on the school's website. Applicants are to submit a video interview, and the admissions decisions will be announced sometime in late spring. In 2022, SOAR opened a second campus on Antelope Valley College's Palmdale Center. The inaugural class of 59 students will graduate in 2026.

Student government

Each April, the student body elects the Board of Control, which consists of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Parliamentarian, and Historian, along with additional positions for which eligible candidates may run. This Board convenes weekly and authorizes the events, fundraisers, and monetary transactions of all student-led organizations. The President of the Board of Control is the leader of the Associated Student Body and the de facto student body president. Furthermore, the April elections also select the student members of the School Site Council, who are all annually elected by the entire student body, and the class officers of the following year's sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Freshman class officers are elected each summer during the mandatory Summer Bridge Program for incoming students. The current Constitution of the Associated Student Body was ratified on Thursday, August 31, 2020, and took effect immediately. Stephanie Franklin is the current Advisor to the Associated Student Body at SOAR Lancaster. Wendy Bell is the current Advisor to the Associated Student Body at SOAR Palmdale.

Academics

SOAR has very high standards for the academics of students, as a 3.0 GPA is recommended, and C's and above are the only acceptable grades if one wishes to remain at SOAR. However, there have been instances where Counselors have allowed students to retake classes if need be. The unweighted GPA is what the school looks at when deciding whether or not a student is eligible to take more than one college class. It is recommended that a student only scores B's and A's on final class grades, as C's will lead to the student falling behind the curve.

Clubs

There are more than a dozen student-led organizations on campus, each under the supervision of the Board of Control of the

Associated Student Body A student council (also known as a student union, associated student body or student parliament) is an administrative organization of students in different educational institutes ranging from elementary schools to universities and research or ...

. These clubs include: * Speech Club *

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is one of the oldest, largest, and most widely recognized cocurricular student organizations in American high schools, with 1.4 million members. The purpose of the NHS is to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to ...

Key Club Key Club International, also called Key Club, is an international service organization for high school students. Key Club International is the high school branch of the Kiwanis International family, classified as a Service Leadership Program ...

Mock Trial A mock trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisti ...

* Scholars of Science Fellowship (SOSF) * Queer Straight Alliance (QSA) * Sports Club * Asian American Pacific Islands (AAPI) *Standardized Test Preparation Club * Journalism * Yearbook * Multicultural Club * Game Club * InvenTeam * Robotics * Book Club * Christian Club * Film and Production Club *

Model UN Model United Nations, also known as Model UN (MUN), is an educational simulation of the United Nations, which teaches students about diplomacy, international relations, global issues, and how the United Nations is run. During a model UN confe ...

Club *Music Club *Programming Club *Science Club *Frat Pack *Art Pod *LatinX *Black Student Union (BSU)

References

External links

School Website
* {{authority control Education in Lancaster, California Educational institutions established in 2006 Public high schools in Los Angeles County, California 2006 establishments in California