Palisades Charter High School

About the School:

High atop a hill, surrounded by the Santa Monica Mountains, and overlooking the majestic Pacific Ocean sits Palisades Charter High (PCHS), a financially independent, comprehensive four-year high school. Its scenic views are matched only by the school’s long history of high academic standards and educational excellence. Recognized as a California Distinguished School in 2005, Palisades was recently acknowledged by Newsweek Magazine as among the top 1% of American high schools. Palisades also recently received a full six-year renewal of its accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). In 1993, Palisades’ administrators, teachers, and parents worked together to attain the school’s initial Charter. With its conversion to fiscally independent charter status in 2003, PCHS acquired even more flexibility and autonomy in furthering its efforts to support student success, create innovative instructional programs, and harness the creative energies of the staff, parents, and community.

As a financially independent charter school, Palisades receives its funding directly from the State of California and other sources and is freed from many of the local and state constraints placed on public schools. Stakeholders assume critical responsibilities for directing the school in its quest for high levels of student achievement. Palisades is proud of its diverse student body. Students representing more than 100 zip codes travel from all over the city to attend our school. And once there, they find an array of classes, programs, and activities designed to meet their interests and needs. Palisades Charter High School is committed to developing students’ talents in all areas –Academics, Athletics, and the Arts.

Palisades offers over 40 AP and Honors classes, teams in 14 different men’s and women’s sports, over 100 student clubs, a comprehensive Community Service program, and a dedicated College Advising Center. We’re proud of our nationally recognized Theatre program, which has regularly taken 1st place in the Drama Teachers’ Association Shakespeare Festival and has produced winners of the Music Center’s Spotlight Awards and numerous other accolades. Our Academic Decathlon team consistently ranks among the top ten in the State. And our athletic teams have won numerous Western Division and CIF City Section Championships in a variety of sports, including three Championships in tennis and swimming in 2005-06. Our student body of 2,710 successfully study, play, and achieve in a community striving for excellence.