Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School

What makes this school special

Four career academies — arts & media, engineering, health sciences, performing arts: Health Sciences places students in internships at area hospitals, and Engineering is project-based, from computer modeling to physical prototyping
A community school: the PACE program offers free services, and tutoring runs at lunch and after school until 5:30 pm
Public radio station KALW broadcasts from the campus
Founded in 1984 out of a consent decree between San Francisco and the NAACP; about 75% of graduates enroll in college each year

Academics

Curriculum

Wall-to-wall career academies — every student joins one of four small learning communities; honors coursework

Advanced Placement

11 AP courses

See the course list

World languages

Mandarin, Spanish

Schedule

Seven periods; block Wednesdays and Thursdays, optional 8th-period enrichment

Signature programs

Academy of Arts, Media & Entertainment
Academy of Engineering
Academy of Health Sciences (hospital internships)
Academy of Performing Arts
PACE community school program

UC admissions

In fall 2025, 93 students applied to the UC system from this school; 71 were admitted to at least one campus, and 47 enrolled.

See UC’s data

What these numbers can and can’t tell you

Athletics, arts & activities

Athletics · CIF San Francisco Section (AAA)

BadmintonBaseballBasketballCheerCross CountryFlag Football (girls)FootballGolf (boys)SoccerSoftballTennis (boys)Track & FieldVolleyballWrestling (boys)

Arts

BandJazz BandVisual ArtsCeramicsDanceMedia ArtsPerforming Arts (music ensembles)ColorguardDrama Club

Clubs & activities · 29+

Associated Student BodyBring Change 2 MindBroadcast ClubChessColorguardCooking ClubDramaEthics BowlLion DanceLost Cards Dance CrewMabuhay ClubMandarin ClubMedical ResearchMock TrialLiterature ClubProject STEM Tutoring

See all clubs

Life there

Food

Free for all students (SFUSD)

Learning support

Wellness Center with mental-health counseling and teen clinic, academic counseling, co-teaching/inclusion, free tutoring at lunch and after school until 5:30 pm, PACE community-school services, Bayview YMCA after-school programs

Notable alumni

Antonio Warren (professional football player)

Applying

Key dates

Applications open: October 23, 2026
Main Round application due: February 1, 2027
Assignment letters mailed: Week of March 15, 2027
Accept assignment: March 25, 2027

The application

Burton is part of SFUSD's citywide choice process: one application, list your schools in preference order, no test and no feeder middle schools. When more students list a school than it has seats, tiebreakers (sibling, Willie Brown Middle School attendance, CTIP1 test-score area) decide — not grades. Apply by the Main Round deadline in late January or early February for fall enrollment.

Application requirements

San Francisco residency
SFUSD enrollment application by the Main Round deadline (list your school choices)

Testing

None — SFUSD choice lottery

Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School | SFUSD — name, address, neighborhood, mascot
About Burton HS | SFUSD — 1984 founding, consent decree, PACE, college matriculation
The Academies | SFUSD — the four career academies
AP Classes | SFUSD — AP course list
Bell Schedule | SFUSD — schedule
Burton details | SFUSD — world languages, arts, sports, support services
Burton Clubs | SFUSD — 2025-26 club roster
NCES Common Core of Data (2024-25) — enrollment, student:teacher ratio, % students of color
How student assignment works | SFUSD — application process, deadlines, tiebreakers
Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School | Wikipedia — KALW, alumni
CIF SF Section standings (2024-25 varsity) and season calendar — teams by sport and gender, sport seasons

Burton