SOAR@SAS

For students who are interested in being a part of the leadership of our SAS program, we offer SOAR @ SAS: Students of Academic Renown at Garfield High School's School for Advanced Studies. This is a smaller subset of students within School for Advanced Studies program. Any student who is a part of the School for Advanced Studies may opt-in to join the SOAR @ SAS program. To join, please contact the SAS Coordinator, Elizabeth Ruff: [email protected]

How does SOAR @ SAS fit into the School for Advanced Studies? See the diagram below:

We serve a small number of students, but our students have access to all of the opportunities Garfield High School has to offer. They have the full Bulldog experience, including AP and honors courses, a myriad of electives, and, of course, extracurriculars.

The students and parents choose to be a part of our program, and we are proud of our high-level of family involvement and our legacy students. Oftentimes, many members of one family - siblings, cousins, etc - join SAS, so our program feels very close-knit.

SOAR @ SAS'ers are part of a cohort starting on day one of freshman year straight through to graduation, so they take many of their core classes together and are all in the same homeroom. Together our students create an atmosphere of belonging, competition, and success. They see others much like themselves, and we count the supportive environment and camaraderie as one of our greatest achievements. In our program, students become comfortable with their uniqueness and, therefore, strive for success. The SOAR @ SAS Bulldogs are among Garfield's highest achievers - varsity athletes, campus leaders, Ephebians, AP Scholars, valedictorians and salutatorians - and they go on to be admitted to a variety of prestigious universities and to be awarded many illustrious scholarships.

Our students are our greatest recruiters. They have so much pride for SOAR @ SAS, and can be seen all around campus sporting their SOAR @ SAS tees and sweatshirts.

SOAR@SAS Student Life

Joining SOAR @ SAS is joining a family

SOAR @ SAS students find lifelong friends in our program. From the first day of school, our SOAR @ SAS'ers are grouped together in the same advisory and many of the same classes, and they stay together for all four years. Throughout the year, SOAR @ SAS hosts activities that allow students, teachers, and parents to get to know each other and form supportive bonds. SOAR @ SAS council recognizes birthdays in advisory on Mondays and awards students for their high achievement and hard work throughout the school year. Monthly SOAR @ SAS luncheons allow students to socialize and meet new people. A very popular event is our annual parent/teacher potluck, a casual affair filled with good conversation, laughter, and delicious food. We finish off each year with our SOAR @ SAS Banquet, a formal catered dinner hosted off-campus. Faculty, seniors and their families, and members of SAS council from all grades attend to honor our graduates and bestow their magenta graduation sashes. After a delicious dinner and speeches from our graduates, the DJ starts playing music and we open up the dance floor for a chance for students to celebrate the year.

SAS Council

The SAS Student Council is the voice of our students. As an elected student government within the program, these students are leaders who are empowered to decide the trajectory for each school year. This involvement looks fantastic on college applications and is an opportunity to plan collaboratively with peers.

Council members determine what activities occur within SOAR @ SAS, and often plan events like:

movie night
karaoke night
ice cream socials
parent potlucks
fundraisers
t-shirt/sweatshirt sales
field trips

SAS Council also runs our Big Bulldog, Little Bulldog program, which is designed to pair our incoming SOAR @ SAS freshmen with upperclassmen. The transition from middle school to high school can be a challenging one, and our freshmen get the support they need to adjust quickly to life in high school. From providing directions around campus to giving advice about classes and friendships to eating lunch together, our SAS Buddies are available to help our newest SAS'ers with anything they need.

SOAR @ SAS Academics

SOAR@SAS Gives Back!

The SOAR @ SAS program at Garfield expects our students to engage in public service. Therefore, all students are required to complete and document community service hours each semester. Our students are empowered to choose where and how they volunteer, and engage in all types of activities from tutoring at local elementary schools to assisting with the annual Bulldog Jog and Health Fair.

SOAR @ SAS also hosts a holiday sock drive competition in the weeks leading up to winter break. We collect hundreds of pairs of socks to donate to the East Los Angeles Women's Center

Meet Allie, the SOAR@SAS Mascot

Brenda and Allie — SAS has its own mascot, Allie the flamingo. The drawing of Allie that graces SAS graduation sashes, shirts, and documents was created by SAS alumna Brenda (pictured above). Brenda was the second of three sisters to be a part of SAS and her older sister, Gabriela, was a part of SAS's first graduating class.

allie drawing — Allie, drawn by SAS alumna Brenda

stuffed allie — You can visit the "original" Allie on campus

Meet our Faculty

SOAR @ SAS, our school's opt-in program, has historically been housed within the CAPA (Career and Performing Arts) SLC, but starting in the 2023-2024 school year, our incoming freshmen will be placed across all 4 non-Magnet SLCs. Our core SOAR @ SAS teachers remain (mostly) in CAPA. However, SOAR @ SAS students have access to all the courses and resources on campus, and so may take any class for which they are eligible, no matter what SLC the teacher belongs to. Most SOAR @ SAS students have classes with at least one SOAR @ SAS teacher per year, as well as being placed in a SOAR @ SAS advisory with the same teacher for all four years.

As a cohort, our students take some of their classes with SOAR @ SAS faculty. These are teachers who receive specialized, ongoing training in how to bring out the best in our SOAR @ SAS students. All SOAR @ SAS faculty -- teachers, counselors, and administrators -- are required to stay current on how to teach gifted students and, as such, engage in a minimum of 16 hours per year of specialized professional development on how to best meet the emotional, psychological, and academic needs of our students. SOAR @ SAS faculty also teach honors and Advanced Placement Courses, which SOAR @ SAS students can enroll in.