As many of you know, PCS is ranked among the top high schools in America!  Out of about 25,000 public schools ranked in U.S. News Report’s annual high school rankings list, PCS is listed as the #1 high school in Santa Cruz area, #18 charter school in the U.S., #9 high school in California and #82 high school in the nation. PCS’s impressive rankings accurately reflect our highly academic curriculum and our wonderful teachers and staff. 

“I would point to the expertise of our teachers in providing aligned curriculum and effective instruction, as well as the hard work of our students!” Dr. Reitano, head of school, said. “Because PCS engages every student in Advanced Placement classes, we lack some of the barriers to rigorous academics that exist at other schools.” Last year, U.S. News got PCS’s ranking incorrect, when the College Board submitted wrong AP results from our school. This did not accurately reflect the academic performance of our school, and as a result, we were ranked much lower. This year, the ranking is finally precise. 

So, how are we ranked? High schools are mainly categorized by AP and IB scores. Evaluators take the percentage of students who earned a passing score on at least one of their exams. Remarkably, our high school students take an average of 7 AP classes per person, with an AP pass rate of 100%! Additionally, our state assessment performance and graduation rate are other factors that contribute to our stellar ranking. . 

“Unlike many of the top ranked high schools on US News and World Report, PCS has no admission criteria,” points out Ms. Friend, our school’s faculty dean. “Any student who chooses can apply to our lottery and the lottery is chosen at random…Our program proves that given the right support, students from all backgrounds can achieve in an exemplary college prep environment.” With the encouragement of our incredible staff and teachers, as well as our hard-working students, PCS will continue to strive towards a promising and bright future.