It's Great to be a Sund-evil
Building for Success
MCHS is the beneficiary of Prop U and Prop C funding. Check out the "Building for Success" site which highlights the plans and progress for reconstruction. Click here - Mt. Carmel High School highlights and photo gallery.
Mission & Vision of the School
Reach 'em with Relationships, Teach 'em with Rigor, Let 'em Soar with Relevance
This motto summarizes the mission of Mt. Carmel High School, and stands for what we believe is the vision and purpose of our school community from our positions as educators, parents, students, and community members.
Reach 'em with Relationships: Provide a caring environment where students feel connected to one another and the community.
Teach 'em with Rigor: Ensure students learn the knowledge, skills and habits of mind to be successful and productive members of society.
Let 'em Soar with Relevance: Enable students to find their future by creating learning opportunities that connect to the real world.
The staff at Mt. Carmel has agreed to the following commitments in order to realize our vision:
- We will meet the needs of ALL learners in our classrooms
- We agree to restructure the school day to allow for increased teacher collaboration.
- We will establish and implement common course curriculum aligned to standards and measured by common course assessments and to developing consistent grading policies.
- We will establish a system for reaching struggling students and supporting them in their learning.
- We will hold students accountable for school wide policies
- We will develop the means for all MCHS students to be involved in a co-curricular activity.
History
Nestled in the rolling hills of Rancho Peñasquitos, you will find Mt. Carmel High School. Opened in 1975, Mt. Carmel has long been the focal point of the community. The expansive campus offers performing arts and athletic facilities, as well as classrooms including 12 science laboratories, visual arts labs, and a library, to students and the community. The campus finished a three year 56 million dollar renovation project. For the 2006-07 school year MCHS opened a new cafeteria facility, administration center and the new SUN Center housing grade level teams of assistant principals, counselors, guidance technicians, as well as student services, records, attendance, finance and health offices. This renovation is a direct result of district voters having passed Prop 'U', a facility improvement bond measure in 2002.
Rancho Peñasquitos is a predominantly middle-class area with more than 47,000 residents in over 14,000 households living in apartments, condominiums and single-family houses. Seventy-two percent own their homes and 28% are renters. Slightly less than four percent of families have incomes below the poverty level. Twenty-two percent of families have incomes of less than $49,999 per year, 68% between $50,000 and $149,999 and 10% have incomes of $150,000 or more. The predominant racial/ethnic groups of the community are African-American (4%), Asian (13%), Filipino (14%), Hispanic (9%) and White (53%). More than one-quarter of Peñasquitos residents are foreign born and one-third speak a language other than English.
Parent and community involvement at Mt. Carmel is deep and positive. With an emphasis on the common goal of educating young people academically, physically and emotionally, Mt. Carmel maintains excellent relations with parents. We sponsor parent events throughout the year, such as Back to School Night, Eighth Grade Night and College Night to keep parents informed and involved. Numerous parent booster groups support the teams in our wide-ranging interscholastic athletic program. Similar parent groups support our award winning instrumental, orchestral and vocal music programs. The PTSA acts as a force for positive change including offering grants to staff members and scholarships to students.