Oxford Academy is a college preparatory school in the suburbs of Cypress, California for academically gifted students. The school is rigorous and highly competitive as students test to get in. According to U.S. News & World Report on December 5, 2008, Oxford Academy is ranked second in the nation among public high schools, behind TJHSST, and first among those with open enrollment systems.
A combined junior high and high school, Oxford has less than 1200 students, 200 or less in each grade 7th through 12th, and over 60 faculty members.
Although Oxford is not classified as a Magnet School, an entrance exam is required for all students. As of 2009, potential students must achieve a minimum GPA in elementary school to take the exam. Entering seventh grade students can compete for 200 spots. These spots are divided among the 8 junior high schools in the Anaheim Union High School District, with admissions for 25 students from each corresponding school. Oxford mandates minimum GPAs (2.5 for grades 7-8, 2.7 for grades 9-10, and 3.0 for grades 11-12) for all students and if students fail to stay above the minimum for 2 semesters, they are dismissed from Oxford and enrolled in their home district's junior high or high school. Because some students inevitably drop out because of poor performance or other reasons, admissions tests are also administered each year for the empty spots in 8th and 9th grades. These spots are not restricted by home schools, but it is a district wide competition. After ninth grade, admissions are closed. In the past, the senior class has been seen to shrink from 200 in freshmen year to less than 100. However, recently more students are staying longer at the school, resulting in slightly higher numbers for the upper classmen. Graduates have matriculated to Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Yale, and various University of California schools.
Dress code
Students are required to follow a dress code, which is enforced by current principal and assistant principal, Mrs. Scott and Mr. Hoshi. It generally includes red, white, gray, or navy blue polo shirts, class shirts (only worn on Fridays), or blouses embroidered with the "OA" logo, and beige, black, navy, red, or gray pants. Denim is not allowed. These rules have been amended many times. While wearing black was previously prohibited, students are now permitted to wear black pants thanks to the high school's Associated Student Body. Wearing black was allowed at the beginning of January 2007. Wearing denim is allowed on "Free Dress" days, usually given once a month. Recently, additions to the dress code have been made, including the restricted wear of jewelry and colored shoes (anything other than solid white, black, brown, gray, or blue). Junior High students are required to wear uniforms to dances unless otherwise stated. Jackets and sweaters must be in school colors only and cannot have logos that are large and visible.
Courses
Oxford offers Honors and Advanced Placement classes. This is in line with the mission statement to "provide students with a rigorous educational program in a collaborative setting, with emphasis on mastery of academics, critical thinking, effective communication skills, and character development."
Oxford Academy follows a "UC system" approved A-G course listing, meaning that all required classes meet the standards and recommendations for entrance in a University of California college. Most students consider attending a UC after graduating. In addition to the UC course listing, Oxford requires all students to choose the Business or Health pathway in their junior year.
Although students must take more required courses than other AUHSD schools, Oxford offers an array of electives, including AP European History, AP Computer Science, Band/Choir, and the opposite pathway class. Recently, Oxford has added Sports Medicine and Biotechnology as health pathway electives.
The seventh grade curriculum includes:
- English 7 HP
- World History/Geography HP
- Science 7 HP
- Pre-Algebra HP (or Algebra 1 HP, some 7th graders took Algebra 1 in 6th grade or they just know beyond the concepts of Pre-Algebra)
- Computer Skills I
- Physical Education 7
Students must also take a foreign language C/C (culture and conversation) class. Spanish, French, and Mandarin are offered at the school.
The eighth grade curriculum includes:
- English 8 HP
- United States History/Geography HP
- Science 8 HP
- Algebra 1 HP (or Pl Sol Geometry HP)
- Art I, String/Symphony Orchestra, Intermediate Strings, Concert/Jazz Band, Wind Ensemble, or Junior High Choir
- Physical Education
Students can change their foreign language course from their 7th grade year. However, 8th grade begins with Foreign Language I, so students are required to continue that language in high school. Incoming freshmen who have not yet taken foreign language at their home school are required to take Foreign Language I their freshman year. Oxford Academy currently offers Spanish and Mandarin (Japanese was once temporarily offered).
There is also a Learning Skills class which allows students to work on homework and ask for help in subjects they are struggling in.
The high school curriculum is designed to specifically satisfy the entry requirements for the University of California system, satisfying Oxford's primary mission statement "to prepare students to be ethically and academically focused for entrance into college or university post-secondary education." All students are required to take at least a few AP classes (usually when an AP class is offered, an Honors version is not offered for those who do not wish to take the AP class). The only instance where students are not required to take an honors class is if they fail their math class and must retake it as a regular class. Students are also required to take the end-of-year AP tests.
- English: Students take English class all four years of their High School career. In 11th grade they take AP Language and Composition and in 12th grade, AP English Literature. In the past, students were able to take Honors 11th and 12th grade English classes, but enrollment was low and by 2003, only AP English classes were offered.
- Mathematics: The ideal sequence for Math is Geometry in 9th grade, Algebra 2/Trigonometry in 10th grade, Pre-Calculus in 11th grade, and AP Calculus AB or AP Calculus BC in 12th grade. However, if students perform poorly in Algebra 2/Trigonometry, they are not allowed to take Pre-Calculus and instead take Trigonometry. Similarly, students in Pre-Calculus are divided into three levels. The lowest performers take remedial math classes. The mid-level students takes Calculus AB, and the upper-level students take Calculus BC. As of 2003, students who receive less than a C in any math class second semester must retake the entire year without an honors tag and must follow a separate pathway. This means that if a student receives less than a C in first semester, but receives a C or higher in second semester, they are not required to repeat.
- Starting with the class of 2012, the new math sequence, given that students pass all classes, is Algebra I and Geometry in junior high, Algebra 2/Trig. in 9th, Pre-Calculus in 10th, Calculus AB in 11th, and Calculus BC in 12th. This is tentative to change. This sequence will only be applied for those who have acceptable entrance exam scores from the math portion. For the class of 2012, only 30-35 students out of the 200 students took Algebra 1 HP.
- Social Science: In the 7th grade year, students take World History/Geography HP. 8th graders take US History/Geography HP. However, students do not take history in 9th grade. In 10th grade, they take World History/Culture/Geography HP or European History AP. In 11th grade they take AP US History (called A-PUSH by the students), and in 12th grade they take AP US Government and Economics.
- Science: During 7th grade, students take Science 7 HP, focusing on life science in preparation for biology. In 8th grade, students take Science 8 HP, studying physical and earth science. In 9th grade students take Biology Honors. In 10th grade, Chemistry Honors. In the remaining 2 years, students have the choice to take any (or all) of 4 science courses: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, Physics HP, and AP Physics. Students in the health pathway must take at least 2 of these extra science classes, one each year.
- Physical Education: Students take PE in 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th grade. 10th graders are allowed to take the class as 0 period (before the start of the normal scheduled day), and may be excused from the class if they participate in after school sports only if they take an elective. 11th and 12th graders do not take physical education, but are still encouraged to stay physically active in their spare time.
- Language: Language courses taken in 7th and 8th grades together qualify as a first year course (for example, Spanish C/C in 7th grade and Spanish I in 8th grade count as Spanish I). In 9th and 10th grades, students generally take second and third year courses to fulfill the University of California requirement of 2 years of foreign language. AP Spanish Language and French IV are offered, but not required. Most students drop language after Foreign Language III. Only one class of about 30 Spanish students (or those who pass the basic qualifying test) continue to AP Spanish Language. Generally, most students take Spanish over French. In 2007, a new language class was added and students can now take Mandarin 1 as
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