San Diego Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical High School is a public, college-preparatory school located on the San Diego Mesa Community College campus serving approximately 200 students in grades 9-12. The Met follows the Big Picture Learning educational philosophy, that believes all students will succeed if they are provided with a personalized environment, rigorous curriculum, and support to help them achieve their goals. Big Picture Learning is an educational non-profit organization whose mission is to catalyze vital changes in American education by generating and sustaining innovative, personalized small schools that work in tandem with the real world and local universities and colleges.
Students earn attendance credit through independent study contracts. Three days per week students are engaged in academic study on campus, the other two days each week are spent Learning Through Internships/Interests (LTI). In addition, students present multiple exhibitions each year in which they demonstrate how they have mastered content standards and integrated the five learning goals through their academic work and internships. The five learning goals are Communication, Empirical Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Social Reasoning, and Personal Qualities.
The academic program at San Diego Met High School meets San Diego Unified School District graduation requirements, California State Standards, and UC a-g course requirements for admission to the University of California and California State University systems. Students receive additional academic support as they prepare for the California High School Exit Exam, PSAT, SAT, and ACT.
Following the Big Picture Learning model, students at San Diego Met work with teachers (called advisors) and design a learning plan focused on their personal interests and passions. San Diego Met High School implements school-wide practices that are consistent with the Big Picture Learning's current research on best practices.
Students are also encouraged to broaden and deepen their interests and learning through independent projects, internships and internship projects, college course work, and extra-curricular activities.
San Diego Met is defined by a commitment of teaching one student at a time based on students' unique interests, needs, and abilities, with parent support as a keyelement.
