Sacramento Country Day School (SCDS) is an independent, co-educational, college preparatory school serving pre-kindergarten

Kindergarten

A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

 through grade 12 since 1964. SCDS is located in the unincorporated Arden Arcade neighborhood of Sacramento, California

Sacramento, California

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

, and serves students from all surrounding areas, including Carmichael

Carmichael, California

Carmichael is a census-designated place in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 61,762 at the 2010 census, up from 49,742 at the 2000 census.-Geography and geology:Carmichael...

, Davis

Davis, California

Davis is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Elk Grove

Elk Grove, California

Elk Grove is a city in Sacramento County, California, located just south of the state capital of Sacramento. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 153,015...

, Penryn

Penryn, California

Penryn is a census-designated place in Placer County, California, in the United States. Geographic location is . Penryn is located northeast of Rocklin. The community's ZIP code is 95663 and the area code 916...

, Folsom

Folsom, California

Folsom is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States. Folsom is most commonly known for its famous Folsom Prison. The population was 72,203 at the 2010 census....

, El Dorado Hills

El Dorado Hills, California

El Dorado Hills is an unincorporated census-designated place located in El Dorado County, California, east of the state capital of Sacramento. The population was 42,108 at the 2010 census, up from 18,016 at the 2000 census...

, and Shingle Springs

Shingle Springs, California

Shingle Springs is a census-designated place in El Dorado County, California, United States. The population was 4,432 at the 2010 census, up from 2,643 at the 2000 census. It is located about 40 miles from Sacramento in the historic Gold Country foothills and sits directly on Highway 50...

. The mission of Sacramento Country Day School is to provide a traditional, college preparatory education

University-preparatory school

A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...

 to students from a variety of backgrounds who possess both strong academic potential and respect for others, and to develop in them the qualities of self-confidence, creativity, integrity, and responsibility.

Middle school

SCDS's middle school consists of grades six through eight. Seventh and eighth grades have specialized teachers for each subject, in addition to a home-room teacher, and a rotating schedule. Each student is required to take two electives per semester

Academic term

An academic term is a division of an academic year, the time during which a school, college or university holds classes. These divisions may be called terms...

. There are no final exams for middle school students. An additional foreign language, Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, is available for students from seventh grade onwards. This is in addition to Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 and French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

.

Each middle school grade spends a week on an educational class trip, including an eighth grade class trip to Washington DC.

High school

The high school consists of roughly 150 students grades 9 through 12. There are many student clubs. Community service is required to graduate, as well as the completion of a senior project in a subject area of the student's choice. There are many varsity sports teams. Sacramento Country Day School has a no-cut policy. Therefore, if a student meets the academic requirements and is willing to participate fully, he or she will play on the school team. The students must take at least three consecutive years of French, Spanish, or Latin in order to graduate. Arts and drama activities are also available. According to SCDS publications, 100% of students go on to a higher education institution, including universities such as Columbia

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

, Yale

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

, UCLA

University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...

, Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

, Swarthmore College

Swarthmore College

Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....

, Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

 and other top-tier schools.

Sponsorships

Sacramento Country Day School sponsors the Breakthrough Sacramento program. One of 34 programs that together form the Breakthrough Collaborative

Breakthrough Collaborative

Breakthrough Collaborative is the umbrella organization of a collaborative of programs across the United States and in Hong Kong that aim to affect positive change in urban schools...

, this is a college preparatory program for students from under-resourced schools in selected urban neighborhoods of the city. Each summer over 70 middle school students attend a rigorous academic enrichment program where they are taught by 24 high school and college students. The program's dual goal are to prepare the younger students for success in college-preparatory high school programs and provide support to thrive in university while preparing future educational leaders to schools or advocates of educational equity in their career choice. The program's motto is "Students Teaching Students" and was founded locally in 1993. The current directors are Adolfo R. Mercado and Marianne Ceballos.

Octagon

The Octagon is an established school newspaper with a staff of 22 students. The publication has previously won the Pacemaker award

National Pacemaker Awards

The National Pacemaker Awards are awards for excellence in American student journalism, given annually since 1927. The awards are generally considered to be the highest national honors in their field, and are unofficially known as the "Pulitzer Prizes of student journalism."The National Scholastic...

, an award equal in prestige to a Pulitzer Prize

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...

 for high school journalism, and is a finalist for its 08-09 publications. It is a part of the High School National Ad Network and can be viewed online at SCDS Octagon webpage.