San Diego Metro Career and Tech School

Our son started 9th grade at this school in September 2022 after we moved from the Houston area. The educators and staff welcomed him and supported him throughout the difficult transition to a new city and school. He struggled at first but his teachers never gave up on him and he eventually began to make friends and thrive. I believe he is getting a great education and the internship opportunities at this school are amazing. The "Big Picture" approach to learning is a welcome change to the traditional high school format.

We are really happy that we chose The Met for our now senior. When he graduates this year, he will have completed 15 transferable college credit hours, as well as participated in internships that support his area of interest and future studies. By having a non-traditional schedule, he has had the opportunity to practice time management, responsibility, independence, and self-reliance. The school is located on the Mesa College campus and being involved, even peripherally, as part of the college has been really beneficial. I have no concerns that our student will be ready for college respective to academics, work habits, independence, and communication skills.

The primary reason I ever signed on to this school was because of how close it was to me, so I could walk there. However, I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised about the quality of schooling I received. The English teachers are all very involved and are openly willing to talk things out. However the school falls flat when it comes to math and Business Essentials. Business Essentials is one of the main draws of the school, allowing students to go out into the work place and learn about the real world. However, the teacher who manages that program has a very passive aggressive manner, making me nervous to address him about anything. He gets in your face about things, and lectured me for a good 5 minutes when I peaked my head through a minuscule window and looked to see if the class was vacant. As I write this I feel the need to drag the rating down by one more star based purely on him. If they were to replace him and introduce more involved math teachers this school would be perfect.

Under new leadership, this school is regaining its 'legs'. There is a new internship coordinator, Mr. Fung, and the advisory teachers are more involved in internship placements. Sara Leonard, the principal, is working on creating a more trusting, professional work environment for her staff. The school is currently undergoing its WASC accreditation from March 22-25. The WASC committee will be meeting with parents and students and sitting in on classes to observe the educational process. No place is perfect. Not every student should be advised or encouraged to go here. This is a unique school -- excellent for motivated learners who may want to take college classes in their Sophomore Spring semester and Junior and Senior years. There is the expectation of 100% internship placement each semester, except for the first semester of freshman year during which time students take Business Environments preparing them for internships.

A lot of these reviews are old and don't address the fact that there is a new principal who is incredible. There's a new principal, internship coordinator and business skills and ROP class, and new set of buildings. The principal, Sara Leonard, takes time to check up on students and is always willing to talk and listen to students. The internship program and counseling is now run by all the teachers (including math, science, and Spanish) instead of one person so that the load is shared and so each student gets equal priority and so that the students can build a closer bond to that teacher. The paperwork and internship facilitator, Robert Fung, is incredibly caring and helpful. I've only had positive internships experiences as of now (I'm a sophomore, meaning four internships). My only negative experience has been with the advisor Douglas Craig Hall. If you go to the Met (and he's still around) make sure you do not get him. He misrepresents the ideology of the Met and after spending three months in his class I switched to the other 10th grade advisory. I really enjoy the Met and I think that anyone has the potential to get a great experience out of the Met.