The Preuss School UCSD
Encyclopedia
The Preuss School, Preuss School UCSD, or Preuss Model School (icon) is a coeducational college-preparatory charter
day school
established in 1999 on the University of California, San Diego
(UCSD) campus in La Jolla, California
, United States
. The school was named in recognition of a gift from the Preuss Family Foundation and is chartered under the San Diego Unified School District
.
Preuss uses an intensive college preparatory curriculum to educate low-income students between sixth
and twelfth grade
s, hoping to improve their historical under-representation on the campuses of the University of California
. Criteria for admission include that the student's primary guardian lacks a college education and that the student's family qualifies for federal free- or reduced-price lunches under the National School Lunch Act
.
The school, which charges no tuition
, has received a seven-year accreditation
from the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
, has been evaluated as a California Distinguished School
, has been named by The Center of Educational Reform as one of the top 53 charter schools in America, and in 2007 was listed among the top 10 American high schools by Newsweek
and US News and World Report. Preuss sends a high percentage of its graduates to four-year universities.
for minority group
s after California Proposition 209, a state measure that banned the use of affirmative action
, passed in 1996. It was their belief, as expressed by Cecil Lytle, provost
of Thurgood Marshall College
, that public universities were not active enough in creating educational opportunities for the state's most disadvantaged youth. Faculty members Hugh "Bud" Mehan and Peter Gourevitch proposed establishing a college-preparatory school that would admit only low-income youths with the potential of becoming first-generation college students. In 1997, the proposal was sent to the regents of the University of California
for approval. The regents, citing a need for private funding and strong oversight, rejected the proposal.
UC regent Peter Preuss provided a gift of $5 million through the Preuss Family Foundation, and the project was revamped. In the new proposal, the project was to be mostly privately funded and was to have an oversight agency known as the Center for Research on Educational Equity, Access, and Teaching Excellence (CREATE). CREATE would be responsible for maintaining Preuss as an example for other institutions of public education. In addition, it would coordinate efforts between the university and Preuss, including using the school for research on educational equality and for extending this research to other neighborhood schools. This second proposal was brought to the regents and, assisted by public outcry against the university and positive press for the school from the San Diego Union-Tribune, Sacramento Bee, and LA Times, it was approved.,
Doris Alvarez, 1997 National Principal of the Year, was selected to head the project. Alvarez in turn selected Janis Gabay, 1990 National Teacher of the Year, to head the faculty. After funding was obtained in 1998, the school began accepting applications. By May 1999, the school had received more than 500 applications for the charter class. About 300 of these were deemed acceptable by the admissions board, and 150 of them were then chosen by lottery
. The group included about 50 students in each of three grades—sixth, seventh, and eighth—and the school continued to add a new sixth-grade class each fall until the intended total enrollment of 800 was reached.
As the school became established, it influenced other schools. Gompers Middle School, also founded by Cecil Lytle, was modeled after Preuss and took advice from CREATE. Southeastern San Diego-based Lincoln High also used Preuss as a guide, and the University of California, Davis
, (UC Davis) and the University of California, Berkeley
, (UC Berkeley) studied it while designing their own high schools for disadvantaged youth.
To compile the list, Newsweek took each school’s Newsweek score on the list of the top 500 American high schools and multiplied it by the percentage of students that qualified for free or reduced-price lunch, the most reliable and consistent metric of socio-economic status in American high schools. Schools with selective, merit based admissions were ineligible.
From the beginning, finding a place for Preuss was a concern. It was quickly decided that it would be best for the school to be on the UCSD campus to allow students a look at university life. However, finding a suitable location proved difficult because all the land on campus was already in use. For the first year of its existence, the school was housed on the campus of the Thurgood Marshall College, in a building called "La Casa", surrounded by eucalyptus
trees and within walking distance of UCSD's main library, Geisel Library
.
In August 2000, Preuss moved to its own new campus at the northeast corner of the UCSD campus. The campus cost about $14 million, all of which came from community donors and organizations. The campus has five buildings for classrooms; each building has six classrooms, three on the first story and three on the second. The one exception to this is the science building, which requires more room for labs and hence has four rooms in its building. The campus includes an office area; a gymnasium used for physical education, music, and choirs; an outdoor cafeteria; a library that includes a media and resource center; and a lacrosse
and soccer facility. The front of the school includes a loading and unloading dock for the school buses. While an open campus for its initial years, by the 2006 school year the Preuss campus was fenced around the perimeter. During the 2007 school year, a side field formerly used for athletics was paved over and converted to two additional bungalow buildings intended to be used for music and the arts.
Every Preuss student studies Spanish for at least three years, with an option for as many as five. Each student takes math courses for seven years. On the Preuss campus, students study basic algebra, geometry, pre-calculus, and calculus for two years and later take more advanced courses on the UCSD campus, which they travel to via shuttle. Required science classes include Earth sciences, physics, biology, and chemistry. Required history classes cover Western civilization, as well as U.S. history, European history, and government and politics at the advanced placement (AP) level. English and physical education are also included in the required core curriculum.
Through all seven years at Preuss, students are required to take an advisory course known as University Prep. In addition to this and other required courses, during sixth, seventh, and eighth grades each student chooses one elective course per semester. In ninth and tenth grades students take a year-long elective, while in eleventh and twelfth they choose two year-long electives. Electives have included robotics
, engineering, drama, student's union (known as Associated Student Body or ASB), journalism, publications, music, music technology
, and public speaking. In 12th grade, each student completes a senior internship, usually on the UCSD campus.
Preuss also has a policy on advanced placement
(AP) courses. Students are required to take AP classes while in high school at Preuss, and most take their first such class in their freshmen year. This requirement is meant to improve the students' chances for college admission and to reduce the number of college courses these low-income students might later have to take and pay for. By graduation, Preuss students will have taken at least six AP courses. Inclusion of AP courses in the Preuss curriculum assisted greatly in the school's ranking of ninth on Newsweeks list of top high schools in America in 2007. Its ranking was unusually high for a school new to the list.
Preuss had the highest "academic performance index" in San Diego County as of 2005. Its students' results in the Standardized Testing and Reporting
(STAR) program, the California Standards Test (CST), and the University of California college preparatory (A–G) requirements were higher than those of other schools with similar student populations. These results led San Diego Magazine to name Preuss one of the city's great schools.
Preuss students have been getting into college. In 2005, of the school's 75 graduates, 91 percent were accepted to a four-year college or university, and 9 percent were accepted to community college. The class of 2007 surpassed these numbers when 96 percent of its members gained admission to four-year universities.
. Offered sports include cross country running
, soccer, basketball
, and lacrosse
for boys and girls, as well as volleyball
for girls only. Most Preuss teams are non-league and have yet to develop rivalries
with other schools. Preuss has yet to win a section title game, although it appeared in one in boys' soccer in 2006–07. The game resulted in a 5–1 loss to repeat champion Francis Parker
.
games played by robots they have built.
School clubs include Science Olympiad
; Oceanography
Club; and the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and the Black Chemical Engineers Club which focus on practicing for Quiz Bowl-like events. Other science-related clubs include a medical engineering club, the students well-being advocacy program (SWAP), and an organ donation
club which promotes the process to students.
Preuss encourages outreach and service clubs such as the Rotary
-sponsored Interact, an organization similar to Key Club
that helps involve students in community-service events. Others include the Preuss chapter of the National Honor Society
. NHS promotes education, its most recent project is the sixth grade buddy system. In this system sixth graders are partnered up with a junior/senior who serves as the sixth grader's tutor. The Ecology club that runs the school's recycling program, and a student-to-student mentorship
program.
Other clubs on campus include a chess
club, an urban dance league, and an arts collective. Preuss also has a choir that offers two concerts annually and has performed in other school events such as the "La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Stars in Their Eyes" concert. A tennis club has also been formed.
The internship program is possible thanks to the generosity of Sanford-Burnham Trustee Peter Preuss and his wife, Peggy, and Chair-Elect Wain Fishburn and his wife, Debby. Additional support comes from Amy Corton and Carl Eibl.
Ball and the Prom
. The students' union (ASB) also sponsors a school-spirit week, a talent show, a sports day, and a Shakespeare festival. Classic Cars for Classic Kids, an annual fundraiser featuring vintage cars and student exhibits, is held to raise the large sums, $375,000 in 2004, that the school needs to lease school buses.
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
day school
Day school
A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...
established in 1999 on the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
(UCSD) campus in La Jolla, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The school was named in recognition of a gift from the Preuss Family Foundation and is chartered under the San Diego Unified School District
San Diego City Schools
San Diego Unified School District is the school district of San Diego, California. It was founded in 1854...
.
Preuss uses an intensive college preparatory curriculum to educate low-income students between sixth
Sixth grade
Sixth grade is a year of education in the United States and some other nations. The sixth grade is the sixth school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 11 – 12 years old...
and twelfth grade
Twelfth grade
Twelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...
s, hoping to improve their historical under-representation on the campuses of the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
. Criteria for admission include that the student's primary guardian lacks a college education and that the student's family qualifies for federal free- or reduced-price lunches under the National School Lunch Act
National School Lunch Act
The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act is a United States federal law signed by President Harry S. Truman in 1946. The act created the National School Lunch Program , a program to provide low-cost or free school lunch meals to qualified students through subsidies to schools...
.
The school, which charges no tuition
Tuition
Tuition payments, known primarily as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in British English, Canadian English, Australian English, New Zealand English and Indian English, refers to a fee charged for educational instruction during higher education.Tuition payments are charged by...
, has received a seven-year accreditation
Accreditation
Accreditation is a process in which certification of competency, authority, or credibility is presented.Organizations that issue credentials or certify third parties against official standards are themselves formally accredited by accreditation bodies ; hence they are sometimes known as "accredited...
from the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
Council for Higher Education Accreditation
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation is a United States organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation in order to certify the quality of higher education...
, has been evaluated as a California Distinguished School
California Distinguished School
A California Distinguished School is an award given by the California State Board of Education to public schools within the state that best represent exemplary and quality educational programs. Approximately five percent of California schools are awarded this honor each year following a selection...
, has been named by The Center of Educational Reform as one of the top 53 charter schools in America, and in 2007 was listed among the top 10 American high schools by Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
and US News and World Report. Preuss sends a high percentage of its graduates to four-year universities.
History
A group of faculty members at the University of California San Diego first conceived the idea of establishing a college-preparatory schoolUniversity-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...
for minority group
Minority group
A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
s after California Proposition 209, a state measure that banned the use of affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
, passed in 1996. It was their belief, as expressed by Cecil Lytle, provost
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
of Thurgood Marshall College
Thurgood Marshall College
Thurgood Marshall College is one of the six undergraduate colleges at the University of California, San Diego. The college, named after Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court Justice and lawyer for the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v...
, that public universities were not active enough in creating educational opportunities for the state's most disadvantaged youth. Faculty members Hugh "Bud" Mehan and Peter Gourevitch proposed establishing a college-preparatory school that would admit only low-income youths with the potential of becoming first-generation college students. In 1997, the proposal was sent to the regents of the University of California
Regents of the University of California
The Regents of the University of California make up the governing board of the University of California. The Board has 26 full members:* The majority are appointed by the Governor of California for 12-year terms....
for approval. The regents, citing a need for private funding and strong oversight, rejected the proposal.
UC regent Peter Preuss provided a gift of $5 million through the Preuss Family Foundation, and the project was revamped. In the new proposal, the project was to be mostly privately funded and was to have an oversight agency known as the Center for Research on Educational Equity, Access, and Teaching Excellence (CREATE). CREATE would be responsible for maintaining Preuss as an example for other institutions of public education. In addition, it would coordinate efforts between the university and Preuss, including using the school for research on educational equality and for extending this research to other neighborhood schools. This second proposal was brought to the regents and, assisted by public outcry against the university and positive press for the school from the San Diego Union-Tribune, Sacramento Bee, and LA Times, it was approved.,
Doris Alvarez, 1997 National Principal of the Year, was selected to head the project. Alvarez in turn selected Janis Gabay, 1990 National Teacher of the Year, to head the faculty. After funding was obtained in 1998, the school began accepting applications. By May 1999, the school had received more than 500 applications for the charter class. About 300 of these were deemed acceptable by the admissions board, and 150 of them were then chosen by lottery
Lottery
A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...
. The group included about 50 students in each of three grades—sixth, seventh, and eighth—and the school continued to add a new sixth-grade class each fall until the intended total enrollment of 800 was reached.
As the school became established, it influenced other schools. Gompers Middle School, also founded by Cecil Lytle, was modeled after Preuss and took advice from CREATE. Southeastern San Diego-based Lincoln High also used Preuss as a guide, and the University of California, Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
, (UC Davis) and the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, (UC Berkeley) studied it while designing their own high schools for disadvantaged youth.
Blue Ribbon
On September 9, 2010, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the nation's Blue Ribbon Schools for 2010 at School Without Walls Senior High School, a 2010 Blue Ribbon School, in Washington, D.C. In the past 28 years, more than 6, 000 of America's schools have received this coveted award.Most Transformative High School in the Nation
In 2011, Newsweek magazine selected the Preuss School as the most transformative high school in the nation.To compile the list, Newsweek took each school’s Newsweek score on the list of the top 500 American high schools and multiplied it by the percentage of students that qualified for free or reduced-price lunch, the most reliable and consistent metric of socio-economic status in American high schools. Schools with selective, merit based admissions were ineligible.
Facilities
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
trees and within walking distance of UCSD's main library, Geisel Library
Geisel Library
The Geisel Library is the main library building on the University of California, San Diego campus and contains four of the six libraries located on campus...
.
In August 2000, Preuss moved to its own new campus at the northeast corner of the UCSD campus. The campus cost about $14 million, all of which came from community donors and organizations. The campus has five buildings for classrooms; each building has six classrooms, three on the first story and three on the second. The one exception to this is the science building, which requires more room for labs and hence has four rooms in its building. The campus includes an office area; a gymnasium used for physical education, music, and choirs; an outdoor cafeteria; a library that includes a media and resource center; and a lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
and soccer facility. The front of the school includes a loading and unloading dock for the school buses. While an open campus for its initial years, by the 2006 school year the Preuss campus was fenced around the perimeter. During the 2007 school year, a side field formerly used for athletics was paved over and converted to two additional bungalow buildings intended to be used for music and the arts.
Academics
A goal of Preuss is to have every student accepted to a college or university. The school shapes its curriculum around college entrance requirements, especially those of the University of California.Every Preuss student studies Spanish for at least three years, with an option for as many as five. Each student takes math courses for seven years. On the Preuss campus, students study basic algebra, geometry, pre-calculus, and calculus for two years and later take more advanced courses on the UCSD campus, which they travel to via shuttle. Required science classes include Earth sciences, physics, biology, and chemistry. Required history classes cover Western civilization, as well as U.S. history, European history, and government and politics at the advanced placement (AP) level. English and physical education are also included in the required core curriculum.
Through all seven years at Preuss, students are required to take an advisory course known as University Prep. In addition to this and other required courses, during sixth, seventh, and eighth grades each student chooses one elective course per semester. In ninth and tenth grades students take a year-long elective, while in eleventh and twelfth they choose two year-long electives. Electives have included robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
, engineering, drama, student's union (known as Associated Student Body or ASB), journalism, publications, music, music technology
Music technology
Music technology is a term that refers to all forms of technology involved with the musical arts, particularly the use of electronic devices and computer software to facilitate playback, recording, composition, storage and performance. This subject is taught at many different educational levels,...
, and public speaking. In 12th grade, each student completes a senior internship, usually on the UCSD campus.
Preuss also has a policy on advanced placement
Advanced Placement Program
The Advanced Placement program is a curriculum in the United States and Canada sponsored by the College Board which offers standardized courses to high school students that are generally recognized to be equivalent to undergraduate courses in college...
(AP) courses. Students are required to take AP classes while in high school at Preuss, and most take their first such class in their freshmen year. This requirement is meant to improve the students' chances for college admission and to reduce the number of college courses these low-income students might later have to take and pay for. By graduation, Preuss students will have taken at least six AP courses. Inclusion of AP courses in the Preuss curriculum assisted greatly in the school's ranking of ninth on Newsweeks list of top high schools in America in 2007. Its ranking was unusually high for a school new to the list.
Preuss had the highest "academic performance index" in San Diego County as of 2005. Its students' results in the Standardized Testing and Reporting
Standardized Testing and Reporting
The Standardized Testing and Reporting Program measures performance on the California Achievement Test, Sixth Edition Survey , the California Content Standards Test and the Spanish Assessment of Basic Education . The STAR Program is the cornerstone of the California Public Schools Accountability...
(STAR) program, the California Standards Test (CST), and the University of California college preparatory (A–G) requirements were higher than those of other schools with similar student populations. These results led San Diego Magazine to name Preuss one of the city's great schools.
Preuss students have been getting into college. In 2005, of the school's 75 graduates, 91 percent were accepted to a four-year college or university, and 9 percent were accepted to community college. The class of 2007 surpassed these numbers when 96 percent of its members gained admission to four-year universities.
Schedule
Preuss uses a different schedule from most schools to make room for all the courses offered. Both the school year and school day are longer than normal. The school year is 198 days (compared with 180 days for traditional schools), and the school day is 396 minutes (compared with an average of 360 minutes for traditional schools). Preuss uses a block schedule that calls for four classes to meet on Monday and Wednesday ("A" day) and the other four to meet on Tuesday and Thursday ("B" day). Fridays rotate between the two "A" and "B" days. During its early years, Preuss ran on a trimester system to match that of UCSD. In 2006, the school switched to a semester system.Graduation requirements
Every high school Preuss student who hopes to graduate must complete at least 10 volunteer hours each year and a total of 65 by the end of senior year. Parents are expected to volunteer at the school for at least 15 hours a year, although this requirement is not enforced. Each student grade 7-12 must complete an annual science-fair project that leads to a research project and presentation in the student's senior year.Faculty
The tasks of the faculty members at Preuss extend beyond teaching. On Fridays, the teachers meet for two hours to discuss staff development, trends in education, and student work, and each teacher creates an annual portfolio to present to the rest of the faculty at the end of the year. Preuss signs one-year contracts with its faculty members and does not grant tenure.Athletics
Preuss requires physical education through the tenth grade. At this point, students may chose to opt out and take another elective or try out for one of Preuss' five athletic teams. All Preuss teams compete in Division IV of the San Diego section of the California Interscholastic FederationCalifornia Interscholastic Federation
The California Interscholastic Federation is the governing body for high school sports in the state of California. It mirrors similar governing bodies in other states; however, it differs from some of the others in that it covers most high schools in the state of California, both public and...
. Offered sports include cross country running
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, soccer, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, and lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
for boys and girls, as well as volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
for girls only. Most Preuss teams are non-league and have yet to develop rivalries
Sports rivalry
A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes. This pressure of competition is felt by players, coaches, and management, but is perhaps felt strongest by the fans. The intensity of the rivalry varies from a friendly competition on one end to serious violence on the...
with other schools. Preuss has yet to win a section title game, although it appeared in one in boys' soccer in 2006–07. The game resulted in a 5–1 loss to repeat champion Francis Parker
Francis W. Parker School (San Diego)
Francis Parker School, also known simply as Parker, is an elite college preparatory independent day school in San Diego, California, serving students from junior kindergarten through twelfth grade. Parker was founded in 1912 by Clara Sturges Johnson and William Templeton Johnson, themselves recent...
.
Clubs
A majority of Preuss clubs and organizations meet after school until 5:30 p.m., when the late-activity buses take up to 256 students home. A large number of the clubs are science-related. Robotics is popular on the Preuss' campus, which has teams that compete in robotics-related events sponsored by For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), as well as teams that compete in botballBotball
Botball is an educational robotics program that focuses on engaging middle and high school aged students in team-oriented robotics competitions. Thousands of children and young adults participate in Botball’s program...
games played by robots they have built.
Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad is an American elementary, middle, or high school team competition which tests knowledge of various science topics and engineering ability. Over 6,200 teams from 49 U.S. states compete each year. Most teams compete in three levels of competition: regionals, states, and nationals...
; Oceanography
Oceanography
Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...
Club; and the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and the Black Chemical Engineers Club which focus on practicing for Quiz Bowl-like events. Other science-related clubs include a medical engineering club, the students well-being advocacy program (SWAP), and an organ donation
Organ donation
Organ donation is the donation of biological tissue or an organ of the human body, from a living or dead person to a living recipient in need of a transplantation. Transplantable organs and tissues are removed in a surgical procedure following a determination, based on the donor's medical and...
club which promotes the process to students.
Preuss encourages outreach and service clubs such as the Rotary
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
-sponsored Interact, an organization similar to Key Club
Key Club
Key Club International is the oldest and largest service program for high school students. It is a student-led organization whose goal is to teach leadership through serving others. Key Club International is a part of the Kiwanis International family of service-leadership programs...
that helps involve students in community-service events. Others include the Preuss chapter of the National Honor Society
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...
. NHS promotes education, its most recent project is the sixth grade buddy system. In this system sixth graders are partnered up with a junior/senior who serves as the sixth grader's tutor. The Ecology club that runs the school's recycling program, and a student-to-student mentorship
Mentorship
Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person....
program.
Other clubs on campus include a chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
club, an urban dance league, and an arts collective. Preuss also has a choir that offers two concerts annually and has performed in other school events such as the "La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Stars in Their Eyes" concert. A tennis club has also been formed.
Internship at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute
For four years running, the Preuss School has collaborated with the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute on an internship program. The internship program taking place at Sanford-Burnham demonstrates that the right educational opportunities have the power to get young people excited about science and perhaps change their lives.The internship program is possible thanks to the generosity of Sanford-Burnham Trustee Peter Preuss and his wife, Peggy, and Chair-Elect Wain Fishburn and his wife, Debby. Additional support comes from Amy Corton and Carl Eibl.
Events
The Preuss middle school and its high school each hold three dances per year. Two of the high school dances are the ASBStudents' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
Ball and the Prom
Prom
In the United States and Canada, a prom, short for promenade, is a formal dance, or gathering of high school students. It is typically held near the end of the senior year. It figures greatly in popular culture and is a major event among high school students...
. The students' union (ASB) also sponsors a school-spirit week, a talent show, a sports day, and a Shakespeare festival. Classic Cars for Classic Kids, an annual fundraiser featuring vintage cars and student exhibits, is held to raise the large sums, $375,000 in 2004, that the school needs to lease school buses.