School in Santa Ana Unified School District allows students to take college courses while in high school.

Sixty-four of the 78 seniors graduating today from Santa Ana Unified School District’s Middle College High School also earned associate of arts degrees, meaning they can start college this fall as juniors.

More than 90% percent of graduates have completed at least one year of college credits. Both of these figures are record highs for the dual-enrollment school located within the campus of Santa Ana College. Every senior also completed all A-G coursework, meaning they met admissions requirements for University of California and California State University systems.

The school’s nearly 460 students take their English, math and other core high school classes for part of the day, and take college courses alongside college students the rest of the time. Middle College High also offers a wide array of extra-curricular activities for students including film, CTE Robotics, video production, and sports clubs. In addition, students have access to all the college and career pathways at Santa Ana College, such as law, nursing, medical, computer science, and biotech.

Middle College High School opened 22 years ago as a partnership between Santa Ana Unified School District and Santa Ana College as part of an effort to help more students become college ready.

“This partnership allows our students to get a personalized high school experience in a college setting,” Principal Damon Voight said. “All students are dual enrolled at both MCHS and Santa Ana College.”