By: Whitney Tran
You have probably heard of Cal Hills before and wondered what the school is for. Well, Calaveras Hills High School, commonly known as “Cal Hills” by students, is located off East Calaveras and is one of the two high schools in Milpitas.
Senior Alexis Torres, who is currently enrolled at Cal Hills, has been there since the beginning of junior year, Torres said. She was told by an administrator from MHS that she was going to be transferred to Cal Hills at the end of sophomore year, she added.
Cal Hills offers students who are falling behind in credits at MHS a chance to make up those credits in order to graduate, Torres said. Students are able to earn up to ten credits per semester based on their productivity, and from participating in extracurricular activities such as school athletics, she continued.
“My classes at Cal Hills are really good, they teach us one on one and explain it to us in a way that we can understand it,” Torres said. “[Classes] are much easier than at MHS.”
Students are able to have more attention and assistance from their teachers since Cal Hills is a smaller school than MHS, Torres said. Most classes have twenty or fewer students, she continued.
Like MHS, there is also a program in Cal Hills called Independent Study, where students are able to take classes online if they are not able to come onto campus, Torres said. This program is beneficial because it allows students to focus on school work while they are able to do things outside of school, she added.
It is possible for Cal Hills students to transfer back to MHS if they have enough credits and are on track to graduate before the next semester, Torres said. Her grades are much better at Cal Hills and she is on track to graduate in June of 2019, Torres concluded.
Junior Noah Wright is also enrolled at Cal Hills. He transferred from MHS to Cal Hills at the end of sophomore year, he said. His grades have been better at Cal Hills also, he added.
“My experience [at Cal Hills] has been really great,” Wright said. “I like the teachers and the environment here.”
According to the Cal Hills website, every student at Cal Hills is assigned an advisor who is responsible for tracking their progress towards graduation. There are currently ten advisors at Cal Hills. Advisors are also there to show students video announcements and inform the students of upcoming school events.
Enrollment at Cal Hills is voluntary; students who choose to go there will need to talk to their counselor at MHS about transferring. When enrolled at Cal Hills, students and their parents will have the opportunity to talk to the principal about their plan. To find out more information about Cal Hills, visit the school website at chhs.musd.org.