2023 Best Public High Schools in the Santa Barbara Area

• Santa Barbara Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.95 out of 5  476 reviews

Junior: My experience at Dos Pueblos High School this far has been filled with many memorable experiences and moments of self growth. The teachers, admin, and classmates I have met here have all contributed to my incredible experience. Everyday, I am challenged academically by my teachers and peers, striving to be the best version of my self. As a result of this, I have become more independent and gained self confidence, something I never thought I would have and feel. The culture at the school and relationships I have built with my teachers and friends have allowed me to express my full self and never be afraid of failure. Every class I have taken has offered numerous opportunities to learn and grow. The incredibly dedicated teachers make each class engaging, leaving me with more knowledge about a topic or field, than I came into the class with. I am looking forward to the rest of my time at this school.... Read 476 reviews

• grade A+

• Students 2,018

• Student-teacher ratio 25:1

• Santa Barbara Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.91 out of 5  368 reviews

Sophomore: I absolutely love San Marcos High School! The teachers are nice and school spirt it high! They offer many sports and rigorous AP classes so I always feel challenged. There are also 3 different academies one can apply for (The Health Academy, AAPLE (leadership) Academic, and the Entrepreneurship Academy). The campus is clean and the school has many available resources such as a great library, many science labs, a kitchen, music room, computer lab, weight room, pool, gym, beach volleyball courts, basketball courts, auditorium, baseball fields, football stadium, etc.... Read 368 reviews

• grade A

• Students 2,028

• Student-teacher ratio 24:1

• Santa Barbara Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.8 out of 5  353 reviews

Junior: Santa Barbara High School is a very beautiful place. One of the best things about my school is that there is a lot of diversity. You see people from many different backgrounds and everyone has their own story to tell. SBHS offers a wide variety of programs including academics, clubs, academies, athletics, and other extracurriculars that students can be a part of. Being a student at Santa Barbara High School really reveals to me how fortunate we are to be able to receive this type of education and support. Especially nowadays Santa Barbara High School has done everything to show support to the student body during these hard times, even when we had remote learning due to the pandemic the staff showed so much care and support for their students. Santa Barbara high school is a school where we are connected as one, you might not know everyone on campus but we are united, we are the dons family!... Read 353 reviews

• grade A

• Students 2,185

• Student-teacher ratio 24:1

• Santa Barbara Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.93 out of 5  15 reviews

Junior: The opportunity to create my high school schedule out of college classes, for both high school and college credit was amazing. I allocated time where I thought it was needed, allowing me to get a job, and specializing in career fields not offered at the high school. The teachers were also extremely understanding, working with me to specialize the curriculum so that it progressed my, individual learning journey.... Read 15 reviews

• grade A minus

• Students 109

• Student-teacher ratio 11:1

• Carpinteria Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.7 out of 5  123 reviews

Senior: I love how the students and staff show their school spirit, in sports and during school. My high school should change how they discipline students, their punishments don’t always match their consequences.... Read 123 reviews

• grade A minus

• Students 662

• Student-teacher ratio 19:1

• Santa Barbara, CA•

• Public School•

• K-12

• grade B

• Students 159

• Student-teacher ratio 23:1

• Santa Barbara Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.56 out of 5  9 reviews

Senior: I loved La Cuesta Continuation High School! I attended La Cuesta for the school year of 2011-2012 as a Senior. I was messing up ditching school as a junior at another high school and got transferred here . The atmosphere, the teachers, staff all made school much more likeable. I wish I wouldn't have ditched as often as I did and I really wish I would have gone to La Cuesta all 4 years of high school. It's a smaller campus and it felt like a family because everybody knew everybody. The class sizes were smaller so there was an opportunity for the teachers to actually get to know you instead of you being a nobody in the class. I loved my experience there and thankfully I graduated on time. There was a lot of work I had to do to graduate but I did it and am happy to say I graduated from this school.... Read 9 reviews

• grade unavailable

• Students 88

• Student-teacher ratio 13:1

• Santa Barbara County Office of Education, CA•

• K-12

• grade unavailable

• Students 65

• Student-teacher ratio 7:1

• Santa Barbara County Office of Education, CA•

• 5-12

• •
  Rating 4.8 out of 5  5 reviews

Freshman: I am beyond happy to go to this school. It is amazing. The learning resources are endless and there are always professionals available for me if I need help with anything.... Read 5 reviews

• grade unavailable

• Students 16

• Student-teacher ratio 5:1