High School Specialty Program Application

High School Specialty Program Application

Overview

Thank you for your interest in Sacramento City Unified School District’s high school specialty programs. Our high school specialty programs offer students the opportunity to dive deeper into an area of interest that may support a future career pathway. These free public education programs give students a chance to learn about industries outside of standard core subjects, like culinary arts, digital media, criminal justice, construction and more.

The application window is now closed to apply for a 2024-2025 High School Specialty Program. The deadline to apply was 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 17, 2023.

Log on to your SchoolMint Parent/Guardian Account to view status of your student’s application.

Step 1: Learn about the programs

Step 2: Apply online

Students who live within our district boundaries could apply to high school specialty programs October 30, 2023 – November 17, 2023.

Students who live outside the SCUSD boundaries can apply through the inter-district permit transfer process April 15 – May 3, 2024. 

Out-of-district applicants who meet the program requirements will be accepted or go on the waiting list after qualified in-district applicants per California Education Code.

Step 3: SCUSD parent/guardians must submit an Annual Update form

If your student is currently enrolled in SCUSD, you must complete an Annual Update through your Infinite Campus Parent Portal to verify your address and contact information. Acceptance into a specialty program is considered a change in enrollment and requires updated verification. View directions on how to complete the Annual Update form. 

We recommend completing this step as soon as possible so that if your student is offered a spot at a specialty program, you will simply accept the offer in SchoolMint to guarantee enrollment. No other steps will be required. 

If you do not have an Infinite Campus Parent Portal account, request an activation key from your student’s current school office to create an account. Once you have an active Infinite Campus Parent Portal account, follow the steps to complete the Annual Update form.

Step 4: Additional requirements

Only the following programs have additional requirements: 

C.K. McClatchy HISP

Students that apply to the C.K. McClatchy HISP will need to fill out survey questions designed for prospective students to review a description of the HISP Program and attest their commitment to each of the ten statements reflecting the expectations of the program that includes a writing sample that will not be scored, but instead be a writing sample for HISP teachers to understand the cohort’s baseline writing skills.

C.K. McClatchy VAPA Program

A portfolio/video/audition for one of the four specialties (visual art, theater, music or dance) must be submitted to the C.K. McClatchy VAPA program by November 17, 2023. Instructions on how to submit a portfolio can be found at http://ckmvapa.org/apply-instruct-inform

West Campus Program

SCUSD students that apply to West Campus will not need to complete any additional exams. West Campus will be using the PSAT 8/9 scores taken at school in October for SCUSD 8th Graders in lieu of extra assessments. 

All other students who apply to West Campus will be able to register to take the PSAT during a make-up session in December. Registration will be offered through the online application. 

Step 5: Receive a notification communication & new student registration

Notifications will be sent to families on January 16, 2024.  Families will receive the notification based on what preferences (email, text message or both) were selected when registering. Families can log into their SchoolMint account at anytime to see status of their application(s).

New Students Must Complete Additional Registration Form

If accepted into a specialty program, new students to the district will need to complete a full registration form. Families will need to provide photo identification, address verification, proof of birth documentation, and immunization records.

Applicants will be automatically dropped from the specialty program acceptance list, if they do not register or turn in an Annual Update by their offer deadline.

Support

Please contact Becky Petrie at becky-petrie@scusd.edu with questions about your student’s application.