High Tech Middle Media Arts, San Diego CA

Original Research by School Decision on High Tech Middle Media Arts

High Tech Middle Media Arts is a charter school serving grades six through eight in San Diego's Barrio Logan neighborhood. The school is part of the High Tech High network, which recently underwent significant organizational changes. In early 2025, the California State Board of Education granted the network a five-year charter renewal and assigned the San Diego County Office of Education as the single authorizer effective July 2025, consolidating oversight that had been spread across multiple authorities. Additionally, teachers across the High Tech High network unionized in February 2023 and ratified their first collective bargaining agreement, establishing class-size caps, a restructured pay scale, guaranteed lunch breaks, formal evaluation processes, and due-process protections. These structural shifts signal long-term stability in the school's operations and changes in how it manages its workforce and classroom composition.

The school has a small to mid-sized enrollment distributed evenly across its three grades. About half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is majority Hispanic, with a substantial white minority and smaller populations of Asian, Black, and multiracial students. The 92106 zip code where the school is located is a high-cost real estate market, with home values well above state and national medians and rents that remain stable. This context means the school draws from a neighborhood with significant economic pressure despite the school's relatively affordable charter model.

State testing results show uneven performance across grades and subjects. In English language arts, grade six proficiency sits in the lower range, grade seven moves up modestly, and grade eight reaches about half. In mathematics, the pattern is steeper: grades six and seven show low proficiency, while grade eight improves meaningfully. Science proficiency in grade eight, the only grade tested, is in the low range. Across all tested grades and subjects, the school's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint among districts in San Diego County. The trend data available shows only the current year, so it does not reveal whether performance is moving upward or downward. A parent may want to look into the school's math support and instructional approach in the earlier grades, given the gap between sixth- and seventh-grade performance and eighth-grade results.

The school's name and charter model point to a media arts focus and project-based learning. However, specific details about course offerings, signature programs, and curriculum structure were not available in the data provided. Understanding how the school integrates media and technology into core academics, and what hands-on learning opportunities students access, would help clarify whether the school's pedagogy aligns with your goals for middle grades education.

State testing data was not available for student subgroups such as English learners or students with disabilities, and attendance and discipline data were not provided. These metrics can matter when assessing overall school environment and support systems. The school's website would likely offer clearer pictures of daily culture, family involvement, and student outcomes beyond state testing.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 626%

School 26% · district not reported

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 727%

School 27% · district not reported

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 840%

School 40% · district not reported

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 634%

School 34% · district not reported

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 737%

School 37% · district not reported

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 851%

School 51% · district not reported

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Science

Grade 834%

School 34% · district not reported

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

This schoolDistrict average, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income24%Higher-income43%20 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income31%Higher-income42%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income36%Higher-income63%27 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income18%Higher-income32%14 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income22%Higher-income33%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income30%Higher-income48%18 pp gap