ACADEMIC POLICIES AND GUIDELINES
CLASS OF 2025 FACTS
• 45 students
• 1 National Merit Semifinalist
• 4 National Merit Commended
• We advise students 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
• We require students in grades 9-11 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
• We do not record grades received at other institutions; transcripts from prior schools and outside programs are attached to the Country Day transcript
• Semester Honor Roll for 3.3 and above, and High Honor Roll for 3.7 and above.
Grading System
SUBJECT AREAS GRADE
English (4 years required)
History & Social Science (3 years required)
Science (3 years required)
Mathematics (3 years required)
English 9 (Intro to Literature)
9 GRADE 10
English 10 (Literature of Migration)
World History 9 Physics Human Geography 10
GRADE
11
English 11 AP English Language & Composition*
Intro to Creative Writing
U.S. History AP U.S. History
GRADE
12
English 12 AT English Literature & Composition*
Intro to Creative Writing
AT Art History* AP Microeconomics*
Biology, AP Biology*, AT Anatomy & Physiology*, AP Chemistry*, AP Physics C (Mechanics & Electricity & Magnetism)*, AT in Applied Science*
Geometry, Geometry Honors, Algebra II, Algebra II Honors, Math Analysis and Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus Honors*, AP Statistics*, AP Calculus AB*, AP Calculus BC*, AT in Calculus (Honors)*
• 111 students
• 250 exams
• 79% pass rate
• 7 AP Scholars with Distinction
*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
2024 AP EXAMS & SCHOLAR AWARDS 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:
• 24 subjects
• 6 AP Scholars with Honors
• 9 AP Scholars
COLLEGE BOARD NATIONAL RECOGNITION AWARDS
• 3 African American Recipients
• 1 Hispanic Recipient
• 1 Indigenous Recipient
2023-25 CLASSES SAT TESTING
• 71% of students tested
• 1330 median
• 1200-1450: mid-50% range
• Provide one-on-one college counseling for each student, promoting each student’s interests, strengths, aspirations, and goals.
• 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.
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.
World Language (Level 3 proficiency required)
Visual & Performing Arts (2 semester required)
Media
Physical Education (4 semesters required)
Athletics (1 sport equals 1 semester of P.E.)
French I, French II, French III, French IV, AP French Language & Culture* Spanish I, Spanish II, Spanish III, Spanish IV, AP Spanish Language & Culture*, AP Spanish Literature* Social Movements in Latin America, Equatorial Guinea and Spain
Studio Art, AP Studio Art*, Mock Trial, Garage Band, Chamber Music, Jazz Band, Orchestra, Choir, Drama
Yearbook (VPA), Journalism, Film Appreciation (VPA), Digital Media Internship
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, Soccer, Swimming/Diving , Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball
Boys: Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Ski/Snowboard, Soccer, Swimming/Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball
Community Service Students focus their philanthropic activity in several areas on campus and outside of it. 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 mantain Country Day’s organic garden, which donates the bulk of its harvest to a local food bank.
Internship Seniors can participate in credit-earning research internships with professors at CSU Sacramento coordinated by the Science Department. Students must earn an A in Biology by the end of junior year to apply. The internships involve class work as well as hands-on laboratory research. The program exposes students to real workspaces, involves them in projects and research, and reinforces our goal of helping students to pursue their interests. On campus Digital Media Internship supports our Marketing Department.
An eight-time national Pacemaker nominee (and two-time winner), The Octagon newspaper is print-ed eight times a year and updated online. Students design and publish the Medallion yearbook, which is distributed to all students. The Mock Trial team won the Sacramento County competition in 2018, 2023 and 2024 and took 4th place in CA in 2024. Student Council, dramatic productions, dances a prize-winning literary magazine (The Glass Knife), Solar Regatta, the annual Chalk Mural, various student-led affinity clubs (Black Student Union, Latinx and Hispanic Student Union, and Asian-Pacific Islander Student Alliance, Gender and Sexuality Alliance), JEDI Council and numerous student interest clubs (Environmentalist Club, Pre-Med Club, Future Business Leaders, Quiz Bowl, Science Bowl, and Outdoor Club among others) round out the extracurricular program.
* Weighted courses AT= Advanced Topics
American University
Amherst College (1)
Arizona State University (1)
Arts University Bournemouth
Babson College (1)
Bard College
Barnard College
Bates College (1)
Baylor University
Bennington College (1)
Berklee College of Music (1)
Boston University
Bowdoin College
Brandeis University
Brown University (1)
Bryn Mawr College
Bucknell University
Caldwell University
California Institute of Technology
Cal Poly:
Humboldt (1)
Pomona (2)
San Luis Obispo (6)
California State University:
Channel Islands
Chico (3)
Dominguez Hills
East Bay
Fullerton
Long Beach (1)
Los Angeles
Maritime Academy (1)
Monterey Bay (2)
Northridge (2)
Sacramento (4)
San Bernardino
San Diego
San Francisco
San Jose (1)
Sonoma
Carleton College (1)
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western Reserve
Central Washington University
Chaminade University of Honolulu
Chapman University
Chatham University
Claremont McKenna College (1)
Clarkson University
Colgate University
Colorado School of Mines (1)
Colorado State University (1)
Columbia University
Connecticut College
Cornell College
Cornell University
Creighton University (1)
Denison University
DePaul University
Dickinson College
Dillard University
Dominican University of California
Drexel University
Duke University (5)
Eastern Washington University
Elon University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (1)
Emory University
Florida Atlantic University
Fordham University
Franklin & Marshall College
George Mason University
George Washington University
Georgia Tech (1)
Gonzaga University (1)
Grand Canyon University
Harvey Mudd College (1)
Hawai’i Pacific University
Hofstra University
Hollins University
Howard University
Indiana University
Bloomington (1)
Irvine Valley College (1)
Kenyon College
King’s College London
Knox College
Lehigh University
Lewis & Clark College (2)
Linfield University (1)
Loyola Marymount University (4)
Loyola University Chicago (1)
Loyola University New Orleans
Macalester College
Marist College (1)
Marymount University
Maynooth University, Ireland (1)
McGill University (1)
Menlo College
Michigan State University
Montana State University (1)
Morehouse College
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Saint Mary’s University
New York University (5)
Northeastern University (2)
Northern Arizona University
Northwestern University
Oberlin College
Occidental College (2)
Oklahoma State University
Oregon Tech
Oregon State University (1)
Pacific University
Penn State University
Pepperdine University
Pitzer College (2)
Point Loma Nazarene University
Pomona College (1)
Pratt Institute
Princeton University
Providence College
Purdue University (3)
Reed College
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1)
Rhode Island School of Design
Rice University
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rollins College
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Rutgers University
Sacramento City College (1)
Saint Mary’s College of California
Santa Clara University (2)
Scripps College (2)
Seattle University
Seton Hall University (1)
Skidmore College
Smith College
Soka University of America
Southern Methodist (1)
Spelman College
St. Bonaventure University
St. John’s University
St. Olaf College
Stanford University (5)
Syracuse University
Temple University
Texas A&M University
The College of New Jersey
The College of William & Mary
The Ohio State University
The University of Edinburgh (1)
The University of Texas:
Austin
Dallas
Trinity College
Trinity University
Tsinghua University, China (1)
Tufts University (2)
Tulane University
US Military Academy at West Point (1)
University of Arizona
University of British Columbia
University of California:
Berkeley (6)
Davis (8)
Irvine (6)
Los Angeles (4)
Merced (2)
Riverside (3)
San Diego (5)
Santa Barbara (3)
Santa Cruz (8)
University of Chicago (1)
University of Colorado Boulder (1)
University of Connecticut
University of Denver (1)
University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
University of Maryland College Park
University of Massachusetts Amherst (2)
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
University of Nevada, Reno (1)
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
University of Oregon
University of Ottawa
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh (1)
University of Portland
University of Puget Sound (2)
University of Redlands (1)
University of Rhode Island
University of Rochester (1)
University of San Diego (2)
University of San Francisco
University of Southern California (5)
University of Toronto
University of Utah
University of Virginia
University of Washington (3)
University of Wisconsin Madison
University of Wyoming
University of the Pacific (5)
Utah State University (1)
Vanderbilt University (1)
Vassar College
Villanova University
Washingto State University
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University (1)
Western Washington University
Whitman College
Whittier College
Willamette University
Woodland Community College (1)
Worcester Polytechnic University
Xavier University of Louisiana
Yale University (1)
DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE COUNSELING
Alicia Perla aperla@saccds.org
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.
180 students
13 average class size
55% of students identify as non-Caucasian
9:1 student/teacher ratio
97% of graduates enroll 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.
There is also a 20 minute daily morning break where students have Morning Meeting three times a week, meet with their Advisory group once a week or meet as a grade level once a week. Advisory groups provide another touchpoint and layer of support. Faculty advisors work closely with small groups of students to set academic goals, evaluate progress, and create multiyear academic plans.
() Paranthetical indicates the number of enrolled students.