Summit Shasta Celebrates Inaugural Graduating Class

Summit Shasta in Daly City celebrated its first graduating class this week, 100 percent of which were accepted to college. Shasta seniors have been accepted to some of the most prestigious colleges and universities in the country, including Duke University, Carnegie Mellon, The Juilliard School, Rice University, New York University, UCLA and UC Berkeley.

“Our commitment to our students is that we will empower them to live purposeful lives,” said Summit Chief of Schools Andrew Goldin. “We’re so proud to see a record number of our students heading to college, where they will enrich the skills and values they’ve developed at Summit as they continue down the path of creating those lives.”

Since 2007, more than 1,400 students have graduated from Summit. Once enrolled in college, Summit alumni are twice as likely to complete college than their peers. Ninety percent of graduates across all Summit schools plan to attend a two- or four-year college this fall. Three of those schools -- Rainier, Tahoma and Summit Prep -- were recently named among “America’s most challenging high schools” by The Washington Post.

Through Summit’s innovative personalized learning model, students engage in deeper learning projects and are empowered to become self-directed learners, helping them to develop the habits and skills that lead to academic and personal success, including college acceptance.

Many Summit students overcame major obstacles to reach this point. 35 percent of Summit’s graduating seniors will be the first in their family to attend college. The majority of Summit students who were accepted into a four-year college also began ninth grade at a Summit school.

Julio Cardona, a member of Summit Shasta’s class of 2017 college student and Posse Scholar, plans to major in business at the University of Puget Sound. Cardona hopes to use his degree to pursue a career in financial advising.

“Summit has given me the freedom to progress and excel at my own pace,” said Cardona. “It has also shown me that there is no limit to what I can accomplish with the help of a supportive community.”