Cultural Mix Viewed as Plus at Cleveland

I have experienced Cleveland High both as a parent and a faculty member, and I have lived in Simi Valley for the past 25 years.

About 10 years ago, when people were flocking to places like Simi Valley to escape school integration, we chose to send our son and daughter to Cleveland High on an interdistrict transfer. They both received an excellent education at Cleveland which prepared them well for their university studies. They also made many lasting friendships with other young people from wonderfully diverse cultural backgrounds.

After our children graduated, I was able to transfer to Cleveland where I now serve as college counselor. Our school is still as diverse, perhaps even more so than when I came four years ago. This diversity and a dedicated teaching staff make Cleveland an exciting place to be as a student or as a staff member.

This year we have four students who are National Merit Scholar semifinalists and four who are National Hispanic Scholar semifinalists. We rank sixth out of the 49 Los Angeles high schools in the percentage of graduates going on to college with over 75 percent of our graduates continuing their educations at the college level. We have graduates at most of the top universities in the country: Stanford, Berkeley, Princeton, MIT, and Caltech to name just a few.

CARYL BIGENHO

College Counselor

Cleveland High