About Us
Welcome to Santa Maria High School,
"Home of the Saints."
Santa Maria High School: A Tradition of Excellence
Santa Maria High School, founded in 1892, is located on California’s Central Coast, midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, in the Santa Maria Valley. Our city of about 110,000 residents is a small urban community in a vibrant agricultural region. SMHS is proud to be the second-oldest high school in California still operating on its original site. We will celebrate our 133nd Commencement on June 11, 2026.
We serve over 3,000 students with a dedicated staff of caring educators who engage learners through innovative practices to ensure a high-quality education. Our graduates have gone on to excel at prestigious universities nationwide—including Harvard, USC, Brown, the U.S. Military Academies, and all CSU and UC campuses—and to make significant contributions in education, medicine, law, government, agriculture, and business. Notable alumni include former California Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado and Santa Maria Mayor Alice Patino.
Programs & Opportunities
We strive to meet the diverse needs of our students and families. Un Cafecito—or Coffee with the Principal—provides English- and Spanish-speaking parents a welcoming forum to learn about school initiatives and share feedback. Students can participate in a wide array of programs and organizations, including AVID, FFA, FBLA, CSF, Spanish Honor Society, and many other clubs. We also offer Advanced Placement (AP) courses in English, foreign languages, mathematics, social sciences, and sciences.
With a proud legacy of excellence, tradition, and distinguished graduates, Santa Maria High School looks forward to continuing to serve and inspire the next generation of leaders.
Community
Santa Maria High School is located halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, on the Central Coast of California, in the Santa Maria Valley. Santa Maria has a population of approximately 110,000 residents. It is a small urban community in a rural agricultural area.
School Overview
Santa Maria High School is a comprehensive four-year high school (grades 9–12) offering a full college preparatory program in core academic subjects, visual and performing arts, and world languages, along with four career technical education departments that serve the diverse student body. In 2019, the school earned a six-year accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
SMHS is also home to one of California’s most distinguished agriculture and Future Farmers of America (FFA) programs—the largest of its kind in the state. In the 2020–2021 school year, ten agriculture instructors served 1,087 students, offering five specialized agriculture pathways. Every agriculture student is a member of both the California and National FFA Organizations, gaining access to leadership development conferences, hands-on industry experience, and opportunities to grow personally and professionally. Students also participate in public speaking, entrepreneurship, and raising, showing, and selling livestock at the county fair.
In recognition of its excellence, the Santa Maria High School Agriculture Education Program was named the Best in the State by the California Agriculture Teachers’ Association in September 2021.
NOTE: This information will meet MINIMUM graduation requirements only. Students planning to continue to a four-year college will be required to pursue a more rigorous sequence of courses in English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Foreign Language, and arts.
ACADEMIC SCHOLAR DIPLOMA SEAL
The Board of Education encourages students to take academically challenging courses and to go beyond the minimum local and State graduation requirements. To recognize students who avail themselves of this academically enriched course of study, the Board of Education will bestow the Academic Scholar Diploma Seal to those students enrolled at the comprehensive high schools who have successfully completed the following requirements:
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Achievement of a cumulative grade point average (non-weighted) of 3.5 or above from the beginning of the ninth-grade year to the end of the first semester and/or second term of their senior year.
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Completion of the minimum University of California (A-G) requirements for college admission.
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Completion of 230 or more credits.
SCHOOL DEMOGRAPHICS
Santa Maria High School is home to over 3,000 students, 172 credentialed faculty, and 97 classified support staff. Over 86% of students are socioeconomically disadvantaged, 16% are experiencing homelessness, and 21.2% are English Learners.
Students can participate in over thirty-five clubs/organizations, seventeen sports, Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP), Migrant Education Program, Associated Student Body (ASB), and Link Crew.
GRADING SCALE
A (90% - 100%) Outstanding Achievement
B (80% - 89%) Above Average Achievement
C (70% - 79%) Average Achievement
D (60% - 69%) Below Average Achievement
F (0 – 59%) Little or No Achievement
I Incomplete* [AR5121] *If, for some extraordinary reason, a student is unable to complete a class (i.e., poor health), the student may receive an “Incomplete.” The student must complete the work by the end of the first 6 weeks of the following term, or the “Incomplete” will turn into an “F” grade.
GRADING SCALE
The GPA is the total average of grade points earned by a student. Points are assigned to each letter grade:
According to the University of California guidelines, an extra point is given for Honors (H) and Advanced Placement (AP) classes for 11th and 12th graders only. Tenth-grade students may receive the extra point if they take junior or senior Honors or AP classes, but only for calculating their high school GPA. This will not be included in the UC system GPA calculation.
• A = 4
• B = 3
• C = 2
• D = 1
• F = 0
• A = 5 for Honors and AP Courses
• B = 4 for Honors and AP Courses
• C = 3 for Honors and AP Courses
DUAL ENROLLMENT
Santa Maria High School students have the opportunity to take a variety of college-level courses on the high school campus from our local community college, Allan Hancock College. Allan Hancock College is the only community college serving the Santa Maria Valley and its surrounding areas. The college credit earned is added to students’ Santa Maria High School transcript, and the student is given an additional grade point if they earn a C- or above.
ALMA MATER
On the Fertile Valley Floor, Glorious to view SM High is proudly standing Hail Oh, Hail to You.
Fearless Saints ever onward, wave your colors bright; Hail to you, our ALMA MATER, hail our Red and White.
Red and White, Red and White, Come on, Saints, Fight Team Fight Fight!