School Description
Established in 2005 as a response to parental demands for a specifically rigorous learning environment, University Preparatory (UP) is a comprehensive middle/high school located in the San Bernardino County, high desert city of Victorville, California. The school began with 323 (7th and 8th grade) students, to which a grade level was added each subsequent school term, with 2010 our inaugural graduation year.
Our propelling philosophy is to provide no excuse academic attainment for all of our students towards university admission. Our mission is to promote academic and character excellence, to foster effective instruction, support and to tailor resources such that each student is able to access a world-class education. We strive to produce effective members of society who are able to contribute to their community intellectually, socially and ethically. Our vision is to ignite a passion for learning and illumine paths for its obtainment.
Our stakeholders play an integral role in the governance of University Preparatory. Staff adheres to professional standards, including dress and demean or policies and students adhere to uniform and comportment policies. We have seven classes daily, with the first five classes of each day rotated and the last two classes always fixed to accommodate seniors and allow for an expanded curriculum. This format affords students extra classes and it affords a focus of studies with less repetition, boredom and stagnation. It presents the ability to more quickly earn high school credits and potentially up to years-worth of college credits through completion of AP classes.
Our intent was to create a college-going climate in which every student has access to a rich and rigorous curriculum. Today, the depth and breadth of our determination to prepare our students for university admittance remains unaltered. Changing demographics bring the inevitability of challenges, both academic and social.
Our students are not excuses, but rather inspirations for us to work collaboratively both within and across grades, systems and disciplines to make our mission realities. Our adoption of a no excuses approach for all students, using inquiry-driven methodologies, drilled-down data analysis and teaching strategies germane to the changing demographics and learning proclivities have netted greater student achievement and greater stakeholder satisfaction.
Our academic accomplishments and recognitions distinguish us as a notable institution and engender pride and satisfaction that we are on a proven course of success. We achieved a 900 score on the California Standards Test (CST) for 2011, only 1 of 37 high schools in California. Our 900 score places UP as the highest ranked high school in San Bernardino/Riverside County and places us in the top 5% within the state of California.
In 2009, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), awarded us a three-year accreditation upon its initial visit. In 2009, 2010 and 2011, we received the Title-1 Academic Achievement Award. In addition, we were placed on the California Business for Education Excellence School Honor Roll. In 2009 University Preparatory received the California Distinguished School Recognition Award and in 2010 we were awarded the National Blue Ribbon Award.
University Preparatory has been a US News and World Report Gold Medal School for four years in a row. It is currently ranked 70th in the state and #403 nationally. UP also received its second National Blue Ribbon Award in 2016. It is still the highest ranked school in San Bernardino County.
For more than a decade, UP has maintained a high level of excellence and achievement. Our alumni continue to succeed at universities throughout the state.