Welcome to the website of La Sierra High School! My name is Robert Cunard, and I am proud to serve our community as principal of La Sierra. LSHS is a large, strong comprehensive high school with a commitment to academic achievement. I am proud of our achievements, including:

Highly Professional Faculty: LSHS is a Professional Learning Community School. Every teacher is a member of a small team which studies student achievement data, refines essential learning standards and assessments, and shares most effective teaching strategies. Students start school one hour later each Thursday morning so that teachers are able to meet with one another to do this essential work.

Strong Advanced Placement Program: The school offers 15 Advanced Placement courses, all taught by staff who have been College Board-trained and have taught A.P. previously. The number of A.P. exams taken in 2009 increased by 10% over the previous year.

54% Increase in UC/CSU Eligible Graduates: The Class of 2009 included a record number of graduates eligible for admission to the University of California and the California State Universities, beating the record set by the Class of 2008 by 54%.

National Demonstration AVID Program: Every AVID graduate goes to college. There were 61 AVID graduates in 2009, the largest AVID class in our history We are growing the program; for the 09-10 school year there are 60 seniors and 90 students in grades 9, 10, and 11.

Additional Time and Support for Learning: Students have access to additional time and support for learning during the school day and after school. Over forty teachers work after school Monday through Thursday, providing tutoring in math, English, history, science, and foreign languages. Beginning with the 09-10 school year, an extended tutorial period at the end of second period will enable students to get extra help in classes during the regular school day.

Safe, Clean, Supportive Learning Environment: The LSHS campus is clean and beautiful, having been recognized in the Riverside’s 2009 clean campus competition. A full-time team of twelve campus supervisors maintains proper supervision and support for students. The school is supported by a full-time School Resource Officer through a partnership between our district and the Riverside Police Department.

Top 3 Academic Decathlon Team in Riverside County: The Academic Decathlon team finished third in the 2009 decathlon and second in the 2008 decathlon. Team members take a 7 th period class together in the fall semester, and we welcome all interested student into our decathlon team.

Best Visual and Performing Arts School in Riverside County: Visual artists at La Sierra routinely post the strongest results of any school in Riverside County at the annual Press Enterprise Art Show. The school’s theater productions are of the highest quality. The school hosts a regional jazz festival every spring, and the marching band finished second in its division in the 2008-2009 state championships.

Health Careers Academy: La Sierra operates the finest health academy anywhere. Academy students take science, history, and math classes together in grades 10 – 12. In their senior year they take a health occupations class and spend two hours each day working in internships at Kaiser Hospital, a founding partner in this academy.

International Business Academy: Students in the business academy take common courses in English, math, and business together. They are mentored by business leaders in the local community. During their senior year academy students create a virtual business and compete on the statewide level.

Career and Technical Education: LSHS provides career and technical education in the areas of business, computer information systems, drafting, food service and the restaurant industry, wood shop, health careers, and retailing and merchandising. Many of these programs are articulated with Riverside Community College so that students entering RCC are able to skip introductory courses since they have already completed them here at LSHS!

Strong Comprehensive Athletic Program: While other schools are reducing sports, LSHS is maintaining all sports and is increasing the number of students in athletics, increasing from 800 students in athletics (many in multiple sports) in 07-08 to 900 students in sports in 08-09. Our district recognizes the value of athletics, and is supporting this program by renovating all athletic fields in time for competition during the 09-10 academic year.

Varied Activities Program: The ASB develops a full year of activities, maintaining the school’s strong traditions. There is also a full-year Renaissance class, dedicated to recognizing student academic achievement and improvement. A Peer Assistance Leadership class (PAL) trains students each year who lead four half-day student forums on issues important to our community. Students organize over thirty clubs, each supervised by dedicated faculty.

Superb Publications: The school’s student newspaper, The Eagle’s Quill, was recognized in 2008 by the Riverside City Council as the finest student newspaper in the city. The school’s full-color yearbook, The Sunrise, is a strong contender at yearbook competitions. The literary magazine, Inkblot, publishes once each semester and features student-created fiction, essays, poetry, art, and photography. Advanced students in the schools theatre program annually produce outstanding videos which chronicle the school’s events for the year.