Mesa Verde Middle School (Rancho Peñasquitos)
Encyclopedia
Feeders and Location
Mesa Verde Middle School is located in the northern part of San Diego, just west of Interstate 15Interstate 15
Interstate 15 is the fourth-longest north–south Interstate Highway in the United States, traveling through the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, and Montana from San Diego to the Canadian border...
and about 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Interstate 5
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 is the main Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific Ocean coastline from Canada to Mexico . It serves some of the largest cities on the U.S...
. To the south is California State Route 56
California State Route 56
State Route 56 runs from Interstate 5 in the Carmel Valley neighborhood of San Diego to Interstate 15. Route 56 was originally planned in 1964 to connect to the north end of State Route 125 and continue east to State Route 67, but the city of Poway worked to make sure that would not be possible...
. There are four elementary "feeder schools" of Mesa Verde: Canyon View Elementary School
Canyon View Elementary School
Canyon View Elementary School is an elementary school located in San Diego, California, United States. It is part of Poway Unified School District, and is abbreviated as CVES. Canyon View's mascot is the coyote. The principal of Canyon View is Vicki Bakki....
, Deer Canyon Elementary School, Park Village Elementary School
Park Village Elementary School
Park Village Elementary School, often abbreviated PVES, is located at 7930 Park Village Road in Rancho Penasquitos, California. It is part of the Poway Unified School District. Its principal is Ricardo Cecena.-Demographics:...
and Sundance Elementary School. Mesa Verde is located at 8375 Entreken Way. Mesa Verde is southeast of Westview High School, of which Mesa Verde feeds into. Mesa Verde also feeds into, by a smaller extent, a nearby school called Mt. Carmel High School. It is directly north of California State Route 56
California State Route 56
State Route 56 runs from Interstate 5 in the Carmel Valley neighborhood of San Diego to Interstate 15. Route 56 was originally planned in 1964 to connect to the north end of State Route 125 and continue east to State Route 67, but the city of Poway worked to make sure that would not be possible...
.
Demographics
The school contains grades 6th through 8th. It has over a thousand students and hundreds of teachers. The most popular at-home language of students' families is Ku.Programs
Mesa Verde, like almost all schools in Poway, has an after-school program called the YMCAYMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
, similar to the Extended Student Services (ESS). The school also has other after-school programs and school activities, such as Drama, Computer Club, Robotics Club, and Community Service Club. However, due to budget cuts in the 2009-2010 school year, the district-funded after school programs have been reduced to Drama, and YMCA. Other clubs continue to exist, but do not receive funding from the district. The Mesa Verde Drama Program, run by 7th grade teacher Dave Sykes and Park Village health tech Stephaney Brown, has put on many productions such as Macbeth off Kilter, The Pirates of Penzance and Tuckered Out The Echo's of Broadway. They are currently working on Madame Has Been Murdered Tea Will Be Late. The Mesa Verde Drama Program no longer receives funding from the district or school. Tech positions such as lights, stage, make-up, and costume are still available.
Awards and Recognition
The school has been recognized as one of the top three middle schools in San Diego County. It has also been recognized as a California Distinguished School and a National Blue Ribbon School.The school has won awards in a variety of extracurricular contests and activities. In the Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad is an American elementary, middle, or high school team competition which tests knowledge of various science topics and engineering ability. Over 6,200 teams from 49 U.S. states compete each year. Most teams compete in three levels of competition: regionals, states, and nationals...
, a nationwide science contest, Mesa Verde placed first in the regional competition in 2009, third in 2010, and fourth in 2011. Mesa Verde partakes in a variety of differing math competitions, including Mathcounts
MathCounts
Mathcounts is a middle school mathematics competition held in the United States. Its founding sponsors include the CNA Foundation, the National Society of Professional Engineers, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The competition is designed for sixth, seventh, and eighth...
and Math Field Day.
The school's after school band called the Select Ensemble achieved winning first place at the Festival of Gold's National Invitational Band and Orchestra Festival in Chicago, Illinois, March 2011. The Select Ensemble was one of the three middle schools in the nation that were invited to Chicago for this event. This was the first time in the Festival of Gold's 30 year history that a middle school came in first place at this prestigious event. Due to this incredible victory against the runner up, Fraser High School, by a narrow .2 points, the middle school's Select Ensemble can be considered the #1 school band in the nation (excluding colleges).
History
Due to cuts in education in the CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
state budget, the school issued dismissals to nine staff members at the end of 2009. However, the teachers voted to take a voluntary pay cut in order to save the staff, and as a result, only 3 staff members were laid off.