Sequoia Union High School District

Sequoia Union High School District serves students who bring a wide variety of talents, abilities and interests to their high school experience. Our students are culturally and economically diverse, mirroring the demographics of our region. We aim to help each student, regardless of their background, maximize their academic potential. As reflected in our new 2024-27 Strategic Plan, in the area of academic growth and mastery, our goals include:

 

 

In short, we want to offer each student the most challenging and meaningful experience appropriate to their ability and level of preparation. 

 

Our curriculum and classes are strategically designed by our educational leaders to serve students based on the latest research and best practices available to us from leading universities, including our neighbor, Stanford University, which often works directly with us as we evolve and improve our instructional strategies.

 

Our four large comprehensive high schools – Carlmont, Menlo-Atherton, Sequoia and Woodside – TIDE Academy,  a small, comprehensive school focused on dual credit, humanities and technology pathways, and Redwood High School, a smaller comprehensive school offering personalized learning for 11th and 12th grade students, each offer a unique mix of classes and academic opportunities to help students prepare for college and career.  East Palo Alto Academy is a district-sponsored charter school serving 9th-12 graders. 

 

Students at all SUHSD schools have the opportunity to take courses that prepare them for college and offer college credits, and they can choose to take a wide variety of Career Technical Education classes. Each of the four large comprehensive high schools offer 20+ advanced classes, many of which allow students to earn a “grade bump”, meaning the opportunity to raise their grade point average (GPA), which is considered in college admissions. Students at TIDE have the opportunity to take 18 semester dual credit college courses taught by Foothill College faculty. Students living within the boundary of any of the four comprehensive high schools also may apply to participate in the Middle College Program, in which juniors and seniors enroll in three Middle College high school classes and two-four college campuses on the Canada College campus. Courses offered at the schools may change from year to year, based on enrollment demand.

 

Scroll down for information on how students are placed in ninth grade classes.

(Districtwide, more than 120 AP/IB/AS/DC classes are offered in 2025-26, including but not limited to the list below. This partial list includes Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced Standing (AS), and Dual Credit College Courses. The list of courses may vary from year to year based on student enrollment and staffing at each site.)

To view a list of courses at EPAA, please click here. 

During the ninth grade year, students are placed in classes for all subject areas that widen their course options in grades 10-12. The first year of high school is an important transition time, when students are exploring their interests and learning what they are capable of. Some students find they can achieve more than they ever imagined academically, and many are learning how to navigate the higher demands of high school classes. In alignment with our strategic plan goal of increasing proficiency and participation in advanced classes, we aim to offer as many students as possible the opportunity to take classes that qualify them for AP, IB or dual enrollment credit classes in 10th, 11th and 12th grades. 

Participation and test pass rates for AP and IB classes are rising: