HIGH SCHOOL PROFILE
Sacramento Country Day High School encourages students to explore, improvise, and take risks as they discover and fully express themselves. Students grapple with complex issues, engage with conflicting points of view, make connections across disciplines, and collaborate with peers and faculty. Our inclusive community works together to promote equity and understanding through meaningful conversations that welcome a variety of voices and celebrate individuality. We empower students with curiosity, confidence, and resilience to thrive in an evolving world.
w
180
students
13
average class size
9:1
student/teacher ratio
HEAD OF SCHOOL Lee Thomsen lthomsen@saccds.org
HEAD OF HIGH SCHOOL Brooke Wells bwells@saccds.org
DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE COUNSELING Susan McGuire smcguire@saccds.org
ACCREDITATION & MEMBERSHIPS Western Assoc. of Schools & Colleges National Assoc. of Independent Schools California Assoc. of Independent Schools
Sacramento Country Day School 2636 Latham Drive Sacramento, CA 95864 www.saccds.org • 916.481.8811
55%
of students identify as non-Caucasian
100%
of 2026 graduates enrolled in 4-year colleges and universities
87%
of teachers have advanced degrees
INTENTIONAL SCHEDULES & INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT We use a two-semester calendar totaling 36 weeks. Grades are issued four times a year, with quarterly grades used only to indicate progress. Transcripts only reflect semester grades. Over a six day rotating cycle, each day has five 52 minute academic periods, a 60 minute open block for electives and special classes, and a 30 minute flex period. Our schedule intentionally provides space for students to reach deeply in subject areas of their passion, have internships, meet individually with teachers, excel in athletics, and have space to take courses that go well
beyond the traditional Advanced Placement model. During a daily 20-minute morning break, students participate in all High School meetings three times a week, grade-level meetings once a week, and Advisory Groups once a week. Advisory groups provide another touchpoint and layer of support. Faculty work closely with small groups of students to set academic goals, evaluate progress, and create multi-year academic plans.
ACADEMIC POLICIES AND GUIDELINES • Students are advised to enroll in 5 academic classes and 1 elective annually • Some electives are offered on a Pass/Fail basis. A passing grade for Pass/Fail classes is 70% • Most rigorous curriculum possible: 8 weighted courses by the end of senior year • Students in grades 9-11 are required to take AP exams if enrolled in the class. Seniors may take one course not required for graduation Pass/Fail and are not required to sit for AP exams • Grades received at other institutions are not officially recorded; transcripts from prior schools and outside programs are attached to the Country Day transcript
Grading System Weighted courses receive an additional point when calculating a weighted GPA*. The highest grade awarded is “A” and the passing grade is “D-”
A AB+ B BC+ C CD+ D DF
4.0 3.7 3.3 3.0 2.7 2.3 2.0 1.7 1.3 1.0 0.7 0
93-100 90-92 87-89 83-86 80-82 77-79 73-76 70-72 67-69 63-66 60-62 below 60
• Semester Honor Roll for 3.3 and above, and High Honor Roll for 3.7 and above. *Unweighted and weighted GPAs include only grades from core academic classes taken at Country Day. Weighted courses receive an additional point when calculating a weighted GPA.
THE COLLEGE COUNSELING PROMISE With senior class sizes below 50 students, our college counselor is able to provide personal attention to students during the college application process. As we guide and support students through the transformational process of applying for college, we promise to: • Provide one-on-one college counseling for each student, promoting each student’s interests, strengths, aspirations, and goals.
CLASS OF 2027 FACTS • 36 students • 1313 average SAT score (25-26)
• Offer resources for students and their families throughout the college application process. • Help students discover colleges that are a good fit for them academically, philosophically, socially, and financially.
TUITION & AFFORDABILITY
2026 AP EXAMS & SCHOLAR AWARDS • 104 students • 233 exams • 23 college-level courses • 87% pass rate • 3.8 average score
40%
of students receive financial support
We strive to make our unparalleled program financially accessible to families for whom our mission and programs are a fit. In addition to the large number of students who receive tuition assistance, our Scholars Program offers two newly enrolling ninth grade students the opportunity to enroll with tuition and expenses fully covered. Learn more about tuition assistance and our Scholars program at www.saccds.org/admissions/tuition.
Curriculum SUBJECT AREAS English (4 years required)
GRADE 9 English 9 (Intro to Literature)
GRADE 10 English 10 (Literature of Migration)
HIGH SCHOOL
GRADE 11
GRADE 12
English 11
English 12
AP English Language & Composition*
AT English Literature & Composition*
Intro to Creative Writing Heroes, Anti-Heroes & Villains History & Social Science
World History 9
Human Geography 10
(3 years required)
Science
Physics
Chemistry
(3 years required)
Mathematics
U.S. History
AT Art History*
AP U.S. History*
AT Human Behavior*
Biology, AT Molecular, Cellular, & Developmental Biology*, AT Anatomy & Physiology*, AP Chemistry*, AP Physics C (Mechanics & Electricity & Magnetism)*, AT in Applied Science*, AT Environmental Studies*
(3 years required)
Geometry, Geometry Honors, Algebra II, Algebra II Honors, Math Analysis and Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus Honors*, AP Statistics*, AP Calculus AB*, AP Calculus BC*, AT Calculus*
Computer Science
AP Computer Science Principles*, AP Computer Science A*, AT Computer Science (VPA)*
World Language
French I, French II, French III, French IV Honors*, AP French Language & Culture*, Spanish I, Spanish II, Spanish III, Spanish IV Honors*, AP Spanish Language & Culture*, AP Spanish Literature*, AT Social Movements in Latin America, Equatorial Guinea and Spain, AT Spanish Cinema
(Level 3 proficiency required)
Visual & Performing Arts (2 semesters required)
Physical Education (4 semesters required)
Athletics (4 semesters required) 1 sport equals 1 semester of P.E.
Community Service (50 hours required)
Studio Art, AP Studio Art*, Garage Band, Chamber Music, Jazz Band, Orchestra, Choir, Drama, Yearbook, Journalism, Film Appreciation To promote individual responsibility and flexibility, students design their program with various physical activities and sports in which they may wish to participate for years to come. Independent P.E. provides credit to students who participate in outside competitive programs for more than 10 hours per week. Girls: Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Ski/Snowboard, Softball, Soccer, Swimming/Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball Boys: Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Ski/Snowboard, Soccer, Swimming/Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball Students focus their philanthropic activity in several areas on and off campus. Students volunteer for Breakthrough Sacramento, a community-based organization, which operates its summer program on Country Day’s campus. They spearhead fundraising for the annual Run to Feed the Hungry on Thanksgiving Day as well as the annual Turkey Drive. Students also help maintain Country Day’s organic garden, which donates the bulk of its harvest to a local food bank. * Weighted courses AT= Advanced Topics
COLLEGE ACCEPTANCES & DESTINATIONS 2022-2026
American University Arizona State University (2) Azusa Pacific University Babson College (1) Bard College Bates College (1) Bath Spa University (UK) Baylor University (1) Belmont University Bennington College (1) Bentley University Boise State University Boston University Brandeis University Brown University (1) Bryn Mawr College Bucknell University Caldwell University California Lutheran University California Polytechnic: Humboldt (3) Pomona (2) San Luis Obispo (6) California State University: Bakersfield Chico State (2) Dominguez Hills East Bay Fresno State Fullerton Long Beach (1) Los Angeles Monterey Bay (2) Northridge (2) Sacramento State (2) San Bernardino San Diego State San Francisco State San Jose State (1) San Marcos Sonoma State Carleton College (1) Carnegie Mellon University Case Western Reserve University (1) Central Washington University Chaminade University of Honolulu Chapman University (3) Chatham University City College of San Francisco (1) Claremont McKenna College (3) Clarkson University Colgate University (1) College of Charleston Colorado School of Mines (1) Colorado State University Columbia University (2) Connecticut College Cornell College Cornell University (1) Creighton University Dartmouth College (1) DePaul University Dickinson College Dominican University of California Drexel University
Duke University (4) Eastern Washington University Elon University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (1) Emerson College Emory University Florida Atlantic University Fordham University (1) Franklin & Marshall College George Mason University George Washington University Georgia Institute of Technology Gonzaga University Grand Canyon University (1) Grinnell College Hampton University Harvey Mudd College (1) Hawai’i Pacific University Hofstra University Hollins University Howard University (1) Indiana University, Bloomington (1) John Cabot University Kenyon College King’s College London (UK) Knox College Lafayette College Lehigh University Lewis & Clark College (3) Linfield University (1) Long Island University Loyola Marymount University (6) Loyola University Chicago (1) Loyola University New Orleans Macalester College Marist College (1) Marymount University Maynooth University (Ireland) McGill University (Canada) (1) Menlo College Miami University, Oxford Michigan State University Middlebury College Montana State University (1) Morehouse College Mount Saint Mary’s University Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles New Jersey Institute of Technology New York Institute of Technology New York University (5) North Carolina A&T State University Northeastern University (2) Northern Arizona University Northwestern University Oberlin College Occidental College (2) Oklahoma State University Oregon Institute of Technology Oregon State University (1) Otis College of Art & Design (1) Oxford Brookes University (UK) Pace University Pacific University Pennsylvania State University (1) Pepperdine University
Pitzer College (3) Point Loma Nazarene University Pomona College Princeton University (1) Providence College Purdue University (2) Reed College Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1) Rice University (1) Rochester Institute of Technology Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Rutgers University Rutgers University: Camden New Brunswick Newark Sacramento City College (1) Saint Mary’s College of California Santa Clara University (1) Sciences Po (France) (1) Scripps College (1) Seattle University (1) Seton Hall University (1) Skidmore College Southern Methodist University Southern Oregon University (1) Spelman College St. Bonaventure University St. John’s College St. John’s University St. Olaf College Stanford University (7) SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry SUNY-Binghamton University SUNY-Stony Brook University Syracuse University Temple University Texas A&M University Texas Christian University The College of New Jersey The College of William & Mary The New School The Ohio State University The University of Alabama The University of Edinburgh (UK) (2) The University of Montana The University of Texas at Dallas Tufts University Tulane University of Louisiana (1) Ulster University (UK) University College Cork (Ireland) (1) University College Dublin (Ireland) University College London (UK) University of Arizona University of British Columbia (Canada) University of California: Berkeley (7) Davis (9) Irvine (6) Los Angeles (3) Merced (1) Riverside (3) San Diego (3) Santa Barbara (2)
Santa Cruz (6) University of Chicago University of Colorado: Boulder (2) Colorado Springs University of Connecticut University of Denver (1) University of Dundee (UK) University of Hawaii at Manoa University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1) University of Iowa University of La Verne University of Limerick (Ireland) University of Maryland, College Park (1) University of Massachusetts: Amherst (2) Boston Dartmouth Lowell University of Miami University of Michigan (1) University of Nevada, Las Vegas (1) University of Nevada, Reno (1) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of Oregon (2) University of Ottawa University of Pennsylvania University of Pittsburgh University of Portland University of Puget Sound University of Redlands (1) University of Rhode Island University of Rochester (1) University of San Diego (4) University of San Francisco University of Southern California (4) University of Texas, Austin University of the Pacific (3) University of the West of England (UK) University of Toronto University of Utah University of Vermont University of Washington (5) University of Wisconsin, Madison University of Wyoming US Military Academy at West Point (1) Utah State University Vanderbilt University (1) Vassar College Villanova University Washington State University Washington University in St. Louis (1) Wesleyan University (1) Western University-Canada Western Washington University Westmont College Whitman College Whittier College Willamette University Woodbury University Xavier University of Louisiana Yale University (2)
() Paranthetical indicates the number of enrolled students.