Lick-Wilmerding High School: Where Serious Academics Share the Day With the Shop Floor

Classes, shop work, and commute

Four long blocks, a rotating calendar, and a useful midday pause

The current school day runs from 8:50 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Students move through an eight-day rotation spread across ten school days.

Most days have two 70-minute classes in the morning and two in the afternoon. A 40-minute Tutorial or Community Time period sits before lunch, which runs from 12:05 to 12:55.

A ninth grader takes English, math, biology, world language, Body-Mind Education, Contemporary Media and Art, and Design & Technology. An eighth course can be added only in performing arts.

The school itself asks families to consider the value of a free block before adding performing arts. That is sensible advice in a program with long classes, homework, a commute, and after-school commitments.

Older students usually take six or seven courses. Prerequisites, staffing, section balance, and lotteries can affect access, so a catalog listing is not a seat guarantee.

The program that changes the decision

Every student learns to design, build, troubleshoot, and try again

Every student completes at least four semesters of technical arts. Ninth grade begins with a yearlong Design & Technology course across wood, metal, electronics, and computer or digital fabrication.

Students later choose one Design & Craft course and one Design & Engineering course. Current examples include jewelry, furniture, welding, wood joinery, sewing, textiles, 3D printing, circuits, computing, and game design.

The school frames this work around design, prototyping, project management, teamwork, persistence, and craft. Those are educational aims, not measured outcomes for every graduate.

This is not a separate vocational track. Technical arts courses carry graduation credit beside four years of English, three years each of history, math, and science, and the rest of a college-preparatory program that the school says exceeds UC and CSU subject minimums.

Access still has gates. Students must pass ninth-grade Design & Technology before later shop courses; some second-level classes have prerequisites, and a student repeating a popular course receives lower scheduling priority when it is over-requested.

A student does not need prior shop experience. The more useful question is whether the student enjoys learning through materials, imperfect first attempts, and work that cannot always be finished the night before it is due.

Safety needs its own conversation

The public rules are a starting point, not the whole shop-safety picture

The handbook requires closed-toe shoes in technical arts. It also asks families to flag medication that could affect safe machinery use and requires prompt reporting of accidents needing attention.

The school carries supplemental accident coverage. Public material does not give machine-certification rules, protective equipment by course, ventilation standards, supervision ratios, or injury counts.

Academic model

There are no AP courses, but there is advanced work

LWHS phased out AP courses in 2011 after a yearlong community review. The school says teacher-designed courses can be more current and mission-aligned, and that AP exams interrupt teaching in May.

That is the school's rationale, not independent proof that every course is more rigorous than an AP class. Families should inspect actual reading lists, assessments, and student work in the subjects that matter most.

The current catalog includes Honors, Accelerated, and Advanced courses. Examples include Honors Precalculus and Calculus, Accelerated Algebra 2 and Spanish 2, Advanced Architecture, Advanced Jazz, Advanced Music Production, and Advanced Stagecraft.

Advanced access is structured rather than automatic. Incoming students take math and world-language placement tests; later moves into accelerated or honors language courses depend on teacher recommendations and grades; several ensembles require an audition or instructor permission; and upper-level science follows published prerequisites.

Current graduation requirements include four years of English and three years each of history, math, and science. Students also complete a substantial world-language sequence, two years of technical arts, one year of visual arts, and a semester of performing arts.

GPA is unweighted, students are not ranked, and the school does not publish a GPA distribution. College readers receive school context, but a family should ask how course rigor is communicated without AP labels or rank.

Grades 11 and 12 can propose independent studies, and teaching assistantships are available. Outside courses generally cannot replace graduation requirements except for approved credit recovery.

Homework and pressure

The policy says up to three focused hours; the real range is not public

Teachers are asked to design homework averaging up to 45 minutes per day in a Grade 9 or 10 course. The upper-grade guideline rises to 60 minutes.

The handbook turns those course guidelines into a practical student expectation of as much as three focused hours each day. It tells a student who is regularly spending much longer to contact a teacher, adviser, or dean.

Students should not receive homework over named holiday breaks or designated homework-free weekends. The school also limits a day to two major tests, papers, projects, or presentations.

These are policies, not a time study. LWHS does not publish homework by course, student sleep, late-work volume, stress data, or the added hours for teams, theater, shop projects, and service.

Learning support

There is a thoughtful accommodation process, with a clear service ceiling

The Learning Strategies Center has a director and coordinator. It helps students understand learning profiles, use strategies, coordinate accommodations, and seek outside evaluation when needed.

Formal accommodations require a current, comprehensive psychoeducational or neuropsychological evaluation from a licensed professional. A pediatrician or therapist screening alone is not enough.

Evaluation can take months, and the school cannot determine eligibility until the final report arrives. Documents received less than a month before finals wait until the next semester.

The four-year Learning Profile process gradually moves self-advocacy from adults to the student. Ninth grade begins with an adult-led meeting; by Grade 11, the student writes and presents a personal profile.

This is an access-and-strategy model. The public evidence does not establish daily remediation, modified academic requirements, a reduced load, frequent one-to-one coaching, or school-funded outside testing.

When work starts to slide

The school can add support, and it can also restrict activities

A first level of academic concern brings the dean, adviser, and student together for an action plan. Referrals can include counseling or Learning Strategies.

A D+ or lower, and sometimes several C grades, can trigger a more formal level. The school may require tutoring or other support and may restrict extracurricular privileges.

The handbook says failure or unwillingness to use assigned support may affect continued enrollment. A family should ask how often that occurs and how much outside tutoring it may need to arrange and fund.

Mental-health support

School counselors help, but they do not replace a student's therapist

The counseling office is open every school day. Its public scope includes individual and group support, peer conflict, crisis stabilization, outside referrals, and Spanish-language support.

LWHS names two counselors for a school of about 560 students. That does not create a reliable ratio because counselor schedules, other duties, and active caseloads are not public.

The school draws a useful boundary. Its counselors are trained therapists, but they do not provide ongoing psychotherapy, diagnosis, or treatment.

A student who needs weekly care should arrive with an outside plan. Ask about counselor availability, after-hours crises, and how the school coordinates with a clinician during a difficult stretch.

Life beyond the core

Arts run deep, athletics are broad, and Grade 9 teams are no-cut

Performing arts includes music, drama, dance, and stagecraft. The current 2026–27 theater season lists Romeo and Juliet, Head Over Heels, and a One-Acts Festival.

Athletics offers 30 teams across 10 sports, and the school says more than 75% of students participate. Grade 9 teams are no-cut, but that is not a universal no-cut promise for older students.

Clubs and public purpose

Service is built across four years rather than saved for one day

Clubs span affinity, arts, outdoors, service, debate, environment, technical arts, and wellness. Active clubs meet once per rotation and host a community event, fundraiser, or service activity; passive clubs meet at least monthly.

Public Purpose begins in Grade 9 with Ethnic Studies and local partnership or service work. Grade 10 requires 40 service hours.

Grades 11 and 12 move toward courses, nonprofit work, or independent projects. A senior independent project requires an adviser, nonprofit agreement, and public presentation.

The framework is substantial. Public pages do not show partner quality, student choice, travel hours, supply costs, or how students with demanding outside commitments fit it into the week.

Geography is part of the fit

Excellent transit access does not make every late afternoon easy

The Ocean Avenue campus sits near City College and Balboa Park transit. It includes technical-arts shops, a gym, climbing wall, theater, library, Civic Center, café, courtyards, and hillside outdoor space.

LWHS does not operate a school bus. Families use public transit and carpools.

Current SFMTA information places the J, M, 8BX, 29, 43, and 49 near school. Balboa Park BART adds several regional lines.

The handbook says the school prefers to provide transportation for school-sponsored off-campus events, but it also permits approved alternate arrangements. That is not a promise of a ride home after every practice, match, rehearsal, or service placement.

Some route names in the school FAQ look stale, including 8X and KT. Plan from current transit information instead of copying the school list.

Test the commute for an 8:15 arrival and a 5:30 departure. A manageable morning can feel very different after practice, rehearsal, or a missed connection.

Transit help

Discount fares are current; the linked Clipper subsidy is not

The 2026–27 handbook says students can buy BART discount tickets and Muni Fast Passes through the Business Services Office. It does not describe the discount, eligibility, or whether Flexible Tuition changes the price.

LWHS still links instructions that describe adding funds twice yearly to youth Clipper cards for Flexible Tuition students. The document specifically references spring 2025.

Do not put those deposits into the family budget until the school confirms they continue. Ask about the amount, eligibility, renewal, and today's secure process for connecting a card.

Health and campus safety

The handbook names the framework; families still need the operating details

The handbook says LWHS regularly practices emergency protocols, uses AlertNow for drill and emergency messages, and designates City College as its long-term evacuation site. Detailed protocols sit in the family portal.

It also names a Health Coordinator and a dean as the contacts when a student needs medical attention. Prescription medication requires a form; physician authorization governs self-carry; and a family must supply an EpiPen for a student with a life-threatening allergy.

The school identifies cameras at exteriors, entrances, exits, hallways, and the parking lot. It does not publish drill cadence, health-staff credentials or coverage hours, security staffing, AED locations, shop injury rates, or after-hours response details.

Ninth grade begins as a closed-campus year. Older students may leave and return when their schedules permit, using the school's sign-out system.

Culture and reporting trust

The 2022 student walkout deserves a direct, current answer

In April 2022, more than 300 students walked out to raise awareness about sexual assault and harassment. Organizers described a rape and hookup culture in their community and asked for more accountability and less silence.

School leadership said most students participated. It told SFGate that it did not know of one specific event behind the protest and worried that harmful experiences might be going unreported.

Much of the reporting concerned off-campus parties and peer culture. It should not be rewritten as a finding of staff abuse or an adjudicated complaint against the school.

Current policies now address consent, harassment, reporting, and adult boundaries in detail. An independent educator also lists consent and relational-ethics programs delivered to LWHS students and parents during 2024–26.

Programming shows a response, not proof of present safety or reporting confidence. Ask what changed after the walkout and how the school now measures whether students trust the process.

The current price

Start with tuition, then add the parts the headline leaves out

For 2026–27, returning-student tuition is $64,900. A new student pays $65,900, including a one-time $1,000 charge.

The FAQ calls that charge a facilities fee, while the affordability page calls it a new-student fee. Confirm the contract language and what happens if enrollment is deferred or interrupted.

Tuition includes lunch, books, course materials, yearbook, co-curriculars, and class retreats. The FAQ also lists athletic uniforms.

The school offers full payment, three payments, or ten monthly payments. The two installment plans add a $50 fee.

Every student needs a supported laptop with 16 GB of memory and a 512 GB drive. Chromebooks, tablets, and ARM-based Windows devices are not accepted.

The family should also budget for transport, device insurance or repair, personal sports gear, arts needs, trips, and outside testing, tutoring, or therapy. The school does not publish which of these expenses Flexible Tuition may adjust.

The 2027–28 price is not yet public. Use the 2026–27 figure as a baseline, not a quote.

Flexible Tuition

This is indexed pricing in practice, with important numbers missing

LWHS calls the program Flexible Tuition. In practice, it is an indexed-price model: Clarity reviews a family's finances and the school assigns a contribution.

The current page gives a $1,000-to-$50,000 contribution range and reports about 33% participation and $7.8 million in annual grants.

The school profile uses a different denominator. It says nearly $8 million reaches more than 33% of enrolled students, while the admissions FAQ refers to families.

Without the number of recipient students or households, a reliable average grant cannot be calculated. The school also withholds median awards, income bands, need-met rates, renewal results, and appeal outcomes.

The Clarity application is due January 5 and costs $60, with automatic waivers for qualifying families. Separate households must each apply.

One current instruction heading mentions 2025 tax information, while the text asks for 2026 returns and schedules. Confirm what is due January 5 and what may follow by March 1.

An older brochure remains linked with older tuition ranges, income bands, and program totals. Treat it as background on the method, not Fall 2027 price guidance.

The real doors into the school

Grade 9 is the plan; later entry depends on someone leaving

For Fall 2027, LWHS expects an entering ninth-grade class of about 140. The school says it has received 850 to 1,000 applications annually during the past five years.

Those two numbers do not produce an acceptance rate. Schools usually make more offers than they have seats because some admitted students enroll elsewhere; without the number of offers and the yield, no responsible admit-rate percentage can be calculated.

Rising Grade 10 and Grade 11 applicants are considered only when attrition creates space. Grade 12 transfer is not available because a new senior could not finish the technical-arts sequence and other graduation requirements.

A transfer family should ask whether a seat exists before investing in the application. It should also request a written graduation plan that maps prior credits and every remaining shop, arts, public-purpose, language, and academic requirement.

The public site does not give Fall 2027 transfer deadlines, seat counts, credit rules, or a transfer-specific checklist. Admissions asks transfer families to contact the office directly.

The live admissions calendar

Open the file in August and protect the January 5 deadline

The Fall 2027 application opens in Ravenna on August 26, 2026. Start by creating the student profile, selecting LWHS, and submitting the Intake Form.

The Parent or Guardian Application, Student Application, and Student Activity & Interest Form are due January 5, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. The nonrefundable fee is $100, and the school offers a hardship-waiver request.

Families delegate three recommendations: one from a principal, counselor, or administrator, plus current Grade 8 English and math teachers. Grade 7 and Grade 8 transcripts are required, including the first available 2026–27 grading period.

Recommendations should be delegated by January 5, and transcripts are due January 22. The school says it will contact a family if a recommendation is missing and will not punish the applicant for an adult's delay.

Decisions are mailed March 11 and released in Ravenna after 4 p.m. on March 12. Flexible Tuition agreements are due March 18 at noon; full-tuition agreements are due March 19 at noon.

The school may contact wait-pool families in late March or early April if space opens. It says movement is usually limited and may continue through summer.

What the school actually sees

The file is familiar; the required small-group conversation is not

LWHS reviews essays, transcripts, recommendations, the Cub Conversation, and the student's fit with its mission and educational approach. The committee also considers the composition of the class across identity, geography, socioeconomic background, and co-curricular interests.

The Cub Conversation is the school's required interview-like step. It places two applicants with one faculty or staff member and asks about interests, passions, goals, and what the student wants from high school.

Conversations run in the afternoons from September through January. Registration opens August 26, and a student can schedule before submitting the full application.

The live Applying page is internally inconsistent: one paragraph calls the meeting one-on-one, while the same page and FAQ describe two applicants with one adult. Treat it as the two-student format unless the Ravenna confirmation says otherwise.

The school says no preparation is needed. A useful student can still practice speaking plainly, listening to another applicant, and explaining why required making and public-purpose work are appealing.

Sibling and legacy relationships are described as meaningful but not guaranteed. The school does not publish how much weight they receive.

Submitting early brings no stated advantage. A thoughtful, complete file matters more than being first in the queue.

Testing and campus contact

Test-free is clear; Fall 2027 visit dates are not

LWHS is test-free, not test-optional. It will not accept or evaluate standardized admissions tests, and it asks families not to send substitute material.

A Grade 8 applicant may attend an optional shadow visit with two classes and a campus tour. Open houses add presentations and conversations with faculty, students, and parents.

Transfer applicants cannot use these optional visit programs. That makes a direct request for a visit or conversation especially important for a family considering Grade 10 or 11.

Exact Fall 2027 shadow, open-house, and information-session dates are not visible on the public site. They appear to sit inside Ravenna, so register early rather than waiting for the full application to be finished.