2023 Most Diverse Public High Schools in Contra Costa County

• West Contra Costa Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.62 out of 5  297 reviews

Senior: El Cerrito High is an amazingly diverse school full of students from all backgrounds. Similar to the student population, the teachers cover a wide spectrum of ability. At this school, I have experienced both the best and worst teachers I believe I will ever have. While El Cerrito High's bathrooms are a mess and its school spirit is lacking, it has many notable redeeming qualities. Many people that I know chose to attend this school because of its excellent band program. The band at El Cerrito has won multitudes of awards and has been able to go on many trips around the world to perform at places such as Disneyland, Carnegie Hall, and even locations in Europe. El Cerrito High also has some amazing clubs that are dedicated to a wide variety of purposes, such as tutoring other students struggling in math, helping the community or the environment, and getting students involved in sports. Despite its flaws, there is a lot to love about this school.... Read 297 reviews

• grade A minus

• grade A+

• Students 1,596

• Student-teacher ratio 25:1

• John Swett Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.63 out of 5  86 reviews

Alum: A small community where the teachers and staff become family. A place where education is heavily implied and being the best is motivated. This school has extracurricular activities to help build a student's application. The teachers work side by side with students and aid them in any help or advice that they mad need. This school is also under construction and is remodeling the area to make it look more appealing. However throughout the construction, it does not impose a distraction to a student’s learning. The diverse community also helps create a loving environment where everyone is welcomed and loved despite where they come from! A true gem in the contra costa county!... Read 86 reviews

• grade B+

• grade A+

• Students 415

• Student-teacher ratio 17:1

• Antioch Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.35 out of 5  520 reviews

Alum: It was a pleasurable and life-changing experience in the sense that I had the opportunity to learn about many diversity and cultures while also feeling safe in my environment. After some years many safety aspects disappeared as a new and reckless generation came in. Nonetheless, the teachers were upstanding and inspiring, counselors aimed to help guide young students into their path, and even administrators were respected and loved dearly.... Read 520 reviews

• grade B+

• grade A+

• Students 1,908

• Student-teacher ratio 24:1

• West Contra Costa Unified School District, CA•

• K-12

• •
  Rating 4.25 out of 5  8 reviews

Junior: My experience at Vista High school is relatively good. It's a very small school with less than 300 students however everyone there is incredibly welcoming and supportive. Due to the small number of students and participants, there are many limitations, such as no AP classes, clubs, sports and few electives. Despite so, the teachers and staff do their best to make up for it, recommending taking college classes, offering tutoring and additional support.... Read 8 reviews

• grade B

• grade A+

• Students 216

• Student-teacher ratio 12:1

• Antioch Unified School District, CA•

• K-12

• •
  Rating 3.6 out of 5  10 reviews

Alum: I have mental Health issues which prevented me from going to a regular school. By only going to school for once a week, I was able to graduate high school. They were really understanding and they helped me with anything I needed.... Read 10 reviews

• grade C+

• grade A+

• Students 289

• Student-teacher ratio 18:1

• West Contra Costa Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.35 out of 5  337 reviews

Senior: I remember when we were still in portables and felt more connected as a community. The new school brought new teachers and we have had some problems, but the students know that they have a voice. We have not had many club activities and haven't done much this year to connect as a school. I love how diverse we are and seeing people who look like me, it makes me feel safe. Our security doesn't though and usually standby and talk to the students who do not go to class. We have hired more and I believe that they're doing a great job. The IB program helps the students and prepares them for college. I think PVHS is a great school that works on their problems!... Read 337 reviews

• grade B minus

• grade A+

• Students 1,303

• Student-teacher ratio 26:1

• Antioch Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.91 out of 5  323 reviews

Senior: This school gives you a fundamental background to what medical school will be like, making it an ideal place for future health professionals. The teachers care for their students and with the small classrooms, it is easy to build a positive relationship with each of your teachers. Additionally, this school will prepare for college and possibly give students an advantage with the integrated projects the school does. Overall, this school does a fantastic job in preparing students for the work force and giving students the opportunity to demonstrate their skills they have acquired at Dozier-Libbey Medical High School!... Read 323 reviews

• grade A

• grade A+

• Students 761

• Student-teacher ratio 27:1

• West Contra Costa Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.62 out of 5  207 reviews

Senior: My experience at De Anza High School was excellent. I had moved from a different state, and I really liked the new environment. I made many friends in this school and we would always watch football games together. The changes I would like to see in this school are the bathrooms because the bathrooms are always dirty and the doors are broken. My overall experience was pretty good in this high school and if I could go back in time I would love to go to De Anza High School again.... Read 207 reviews

• grade B minus

• grade A+

• Students 1,380

• Student-teacher ratio 22:1

• John Swett Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• grade unavailable

• grade A

• Students 31

• Student-teacher ratio 16:1

• Liberty Union High School District (Brentwood), CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.75 out of 5  560 reviews

Senior: Heritage does a good job at creating a welcoming environment for it's students. Unfortunately, some of the teachers are too rude to students and can bring on many anxiety attacks for students with anxiety. You always have the first two weeks to switch out of a class, but personally I feel like it's not enough. Some of my worst teachers made themselves look good in those first 2 weeks and then tormented me for the rest of the year. Go with your gut--if there's a teacher who doesn't seem right to you, switch out while you can! For the most part, however, Heritage has a lot of good teachers who genuinely want to make a good learning experience for you. We also need more college readiness classes. The only one that helps the most is a hidden class that nobody knows about--PUSH. If you don't get into PUSH, you'll need to do a lot of research on your own.... Read 560 reviews

• grade A

• grade A

• Students 2,654

• Student-teacher ratio 25:1

• West Contra Costa Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.14 out of 5  282 reviews

Senior: Overall, I have had a pretty good experience here at Hercules High School. The campus is pretty nice, and I like how open it is. I enjoy the fact that many students have the opportunity to sit down to eat lunch with their friends, while looking at the beauty of nature. Some improvements that I would personally like to see, are better resources to help seniors to prepare for college. I would like for the school to offer more college readiness programs, so students have the proper preparation needed in order to prepare themselves. Besides that, I enjoy the diverse culture at the school, and the nice people.... Read 282 reviews

• grade B

• grade A

• Students 798

• Student-teacher ratio 23:1

• Mt. Diablo Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• grade unavailable

• grade A

• Students 46

• Student-teacher ratio 12:1

• Liberty Union High School District (Brentwood), CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.6 out of 5  651 reviews

Senior: Before Freshman year started, I had just moved away from my home city and moved into the smaller/developing city, Oakley, California. I was saddened by the fact that I had no close friends to talk to face-to-face nor did I know anyone. This didn't last quite long of course. Freedom High did an amazing job keeping me intact with my education and many students were open to conversing with me everyday. There were many events to look forward to throughout the school year such as Spirit Weeks and Friday rallies which had me screaming and chanting with my and for my Class of 2020 team. As a student diving into my senior year, I'll admit there were many hardships to pull through during my previous years as a Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior. This was mainly because I had challenged myself rigorously by taking numerous AP classes. Freedom High offers many AP courses to take for those willing to push themselves and a wide variety in elective classes as well. Overall, I enjoy Freedom!... Read 651 reviews

• grade B+

• grade A

• Students 2,495

• Student-teacher ratio 22:1

• Concord, CA•

• Public School•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.85 out of 5  188 reviews

Senior: My experience at CV was one of the best! I loved every second I got to have there and every memory that came with the school. Each year I was challenged academically to push myself to do more. It made me realize how much I can do and see how far hard work can go. The teachers do their best in making sure every student gets the chance to get a good grade and learn. The teachers are some of the best parts of the school. Getting to go to my classes I knew I would always get the opportunity to learn. I had the privilege of getting a great education at Clayton Valley, and now have the confidence of going to college.... Read 188 reviews

• grade A

• grade A

• Students 2,266

• Student-teacher ratio 25:1

• Contra Costa County Office of Education, CA•

• 6-12

• grade unavailable

• grade A

• Students 103

• Student-teacher ratio 15:1

• Mt. Diablo Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.63 out of 5  277 reviews

Senior: My experience at Concord High was great while it lasted, since I did not have an in person senior year at school due to the Covid-19 pandemic it was fun and memorable. I loved the diversity and culture at our school and how there was so many things I learned about others whether it was about ethnic cultures, about people I knew in general, and about the schools dynamic. The staff is really caring and always want the students to do their best. I think depending on the students and how they put themselves out there being more involved in the school or not, gives different perspectives of how people experienced high school. Of course, no school is perfect so there was some small things that weren't the best but most of them wasn't the schools fault. I believe that the more you become involved with the school and what they have to offer, the experience and memories will last forever.... Read 277 reviews

• grade B+

• grade A

• Students 1,187

• Student-teacher ratio 20:1

• West Contra Costa Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.57 out of 5  183 reviews

Sophomore: Overall, I love it! The academic rigor is a great challenge for me, but it can get a little too much sometimes. I wish that there were less graduation requirements (or they were less rigid, i.e a specific chem class cannot be substituted for another), but other than that my experience is pretty positive.... Read 183 reviews

• grade A

• grade A

• Students 297

• Student-teacher ratio 30:1

• Martinez Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 5 out of 5  1 review

Senior: The teachers are incredibly helpful and give an arm and a leg just to help you achieve your goals. Without Vicente I probably would not have graduated.... Read 1 review

• grade B minus

• grade A

• Students 70

• Student-teacher ratio 18:1

• Antioch Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.31 out of 5  237 reviews

Alum: By my experience, what I liked about this school were how the faculty and the teacher are nice. They show that they care about their students. In addition, they show how much they are to those with special needs especially. Another thing that I liked about the school was the creativity that was present in the school. Even some of the teachers had great creativity in their classes. What could improve is to maximize creativity in teaching to be able to make school subjects as interesting as possible.... Read 237 reviews

• grade C+

• grade A

• Students 1,989

• Student-teacher ratio 23:1

• El Cerrito, CA•

• Public School•

• 7-12

• •
  Rating 3.35 out of 5  20 reviews

Parent: Small - 100 students per grade. Able to go 7-12 grades on same campus. Teachers are young, motivated and engage with students individually. Students get assigned a mentor. Charter school with better system than regular public school - students can work at their own pace in each subject. Focus on being prepared for college. Nice buildings. Focus on academics, very few sports or clubs or activities outside of classes.... Read 20 reviews

• grade B

• grade A

• Students 565

• Student-teacher ratio 16:1

• Walnut Creek, CA•

• Public School•

• 6-12

• •
  Rating 3.71 out of 5  7 reviews

Alum: I graduated from Contra Costa School of Performing Arts about a year ago and it was a pleasant school to be in. There were many opportunities given to students to perform in their major. The teachers that taught there were very passionate about their work and there were many talented people I got to work with and the whole experience was very enriching. One thing that can be improved is the academic system, it was easy for some students to fall behind easily and the school issued Chromebooks can be too restrictive to the point where finding resources for projects and general learning was rather difficult to come by. Other than that issue, I can definitely say I've enjoyed my time there.... Read 7 reviews

• grade A minus

• grade A

• Students 460

• Student-teacher ratio 20:1

• Liberty Union High School District (Brentwood), CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 5 out of 5  1 review

Niche User: This is a very welcoming school that allows the students to do they work i a timely matter and there teachers care about the students... Read 1 review

• grade B minus

• grade A

• Students 132

• Student-teacher ratio 12:1

• Liberty Union High School District (Brentwood), CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.79 out of 5  462 reviews

Senior: As a mere freshman, Liberty High School was initially just considered another school that I had to attend. Ugh! However, after my 4 years I have to say it has not only been enjoyable, but has been a fruitful and arduous time that has taught me so much in the class and outside. This year has been the exception with Covid, but with the year coming to an end soon I can not complain and am grateful for all the teachers and the school is doing to be eventful.... Read 462 reviews

• grade A minus

• grade A

• Students 2,742

• Student-teacher ratio 22:1

• Mt. Diablo Unified School District, CA•

• 9-12

• •
  Rating 3.52 out of 5  345 reviews

Senior: College park is an excellent school, yet sometimes lacking in Administrative competence. The teachers are mostly excellent, with some outliers pulling the mean down. Overall, in my four years I have enjoyed attending College Park High School!... Read 345 reviews

• grade A minus

• grade A

• Students 2,050

• Student-teacher ratio 27:1

• Contra Costa County Office of Education, CA•

• K-12

• grade unavailable

• grade A

• Students 59

• Student-teacher ratio 6:1