Of
great importance to families and companies considering
a community is the quality of
its educational
system. According to recent statistics, the Bear Valley
Unified School District has been outstanding. For instance,
55.4%
of the students in the Class of 2000 had completed the
coursework required for entrance into the University
of California and
California State University Systems. This was not only
the highest among major areas of San Bernardino County,
it was
15% above the second place Rim of the World District
(39.7%) and far above the California average (34.8%).
Further,
under Stanford-9 procedures where California students
in grades
2 - 11 are tested in a variety of skills, in 2000
Big Bear area's students ranked 1st in reading and
math, 7th in spelling and 10th in language, compared to
16 major
San Bernardino County districts with elementary schools.
The
district's schools include three elementary schools,
one middle school, one high school and one continuation
school. The K-12 instructional program promotes
student success in language, arts, math, science and history, and offers
a comprehensive extra-curricular program. Enrichment
and
remedial programs provide a wide range
of studies to meet individual student needs, and an Independent Study program
is available. Other programs offered by the District include Healthy Start,
Support for English Learners, Community Based English
Tutoring for Adults, Rainbow Kids
Club (an academic before-and-after school child care program), State Pre-School,
Head Start, and the Steven G. Mihaylo Education Foundation, which provides
scholarships for higher learning to local high school
graduates.
Higher
and continued education is also important to every community.
The San Bernardino Community College
District offers courses in Big Bear with the opportunity
to obtain an Associates degree in two years through the courses offered
locally.
Also, within a short distance from Big Bear are 21 public and private
colleges.
Bear
Valley Unified School District
