About Us

Nestled in the rolling hills of Rancho Penasquitos, you will find Mt. Carmel High School. Opened in 1974, Mt. Carmel has long been the focal point of the community. The expansive campus offers performing arts and athletic facilities, as well as classrooms including 12 science laboratories, visual arts labs, and a library, to students and the community. The campus finished a three year 56 million dollar renovation project. For the 2006-07 school year MCHS opened a new cafeteria facility, administration center and the new SUN Center housing grade level teams of assistant principals, counselors, guidance technicians, as well as student services, records, attendance, finance and health offices. This renovation is a direct result of district voters having passed Prop 'U', a facility improvement bond measure in 2002.

 

Mt. Carmel is dedicated to studying the "student experience" to better attend to the needs of the students and families in our community. To coordinate services for students, the counselors and administrators are organized into Alpha Teams that follow each student through their four years at Mt. Carmel. The Sun Center houses counselors and guidance technicians, as well as student assistance services. The adjacent administration building houses the records, attendance, finance and health offices as well as offices of administrators. The neighborhood surrounding Mt. Carmel is predominantly middle-class with more than 57,000 residents in over 17,000 households living in apartments, condominiums, and single-family houses.  Approximately thirty-two percent of families qualify for free or reduced lunch, 2% are English Language Learners and 19.5% are reclassified ELL, and 13.5% receive special education services. The predominant racial/ethnic groups at Mt. Carmel are African American (3%), Asian (15%), Filipino (8%), Hispanic (22%), White/Caucasian (33%), and two or more races (19%).  Over 50 languages are spoken at Mt. Carmel and approximately one-third speak a language other than English at home.

Mt. Carmel emphasizes the Sundevil Core Experiences, which include College Readiness, Advanced Placement experience and Career Experience. Our students take over 1,200 Advanced Placement tests per year with passing rates at 80% or above. Our students participate in seven different Career and Technical programs and are supported by our Education Foundation through seminars on finance, job interviews and resume writing. Our students can take part in over 50 different clubs, 60 athletic teams, and 11 performance groups. The Mt. Carmel athletic teams have a tradition of success with over 80 CIF championships and our performance groups have numerous honors and awards. Our marching band hosts the largest band competition in the County, which features a community parade each year.

 

Parent and community involvement at Mt. Carmel is deep and positive. With an emphasis on the common goal of educating young people academically, physically and emotionally, Mt. Carmel maintains excellent relations with parents. We sponsor parent events throughout the year, such as Back to School Night, Eighth Grade Night and College Night to keep parents informed and involved. Numerous parent booster groups support the teams in our wide-ranging interscholastic athletic program. Similar parent groups support our award winning instrumental, orchestral and vocal music programs. The PTSA acts as a force for positive change including offering grants to staff members and scholarships to students.
 

Building for Success
MCHS is the beneficiary of Prop U and Prop C funding. Check out the "Building for Success" site which highlights the plans and progress for reconstruction. Mt. Carmel High School highlights and photo gallery.