Galileo

“Eppur si muove (And yet it moves)”

Public · Russian Hill · AKA: Galileo, Galileo High

Galileo Academy of Science & Technology

“Eppur si muove (And yet it moves)”

Students: ~1,750
Ratio: 20:1
Tuition: Free

Enrollment: ~1,750
Student:teacher: 20:1
Base tuition: Free
Real cost: $0–$3k

What makes this school special

A Russian Hill campus near Aquatic Park, open since 1921 — the motto on the crest is Galileo's "Eppur si muove" ("And yet it moves")
A Newcomer Program serves recent-arrival English learners in all languages, alongside the AVID college-readiness program at every grade level
Three career academies (Health, Computer Science, Startup Entrepreneurship) and three pathways (Biotech, Environmental Science, Digital Communication) across a 1,750-student school
18 football city championships, including the first state title won by a school in SF's AAA league (2017)

Academics

Curriculum

Comprehensive school organized into career-themed academies and pathways, with honors, AVID, and English Language Development

Advanced Placement

14 AP courses

See the course list

World languages

Mandarin, French, Spanish

Schedule

Modified block — seven periods Mon/Tue/Fri, extended blocks Wed/Thu

Signature programs

Health Academy
Computer Science Academy
Startup Entrepreneurship Academy
Biotech Pathway
Environmental Science Pathway
Digital Communication Pathway
AVID
JROTC

UC admissions

In fall 2025, 214 students applied to the UC system from this school; 178 were admitted to at least one campus, and 115 enrolled.

See UC’s data

What these numbers can and can’t tell you

Athletics, arts & activities

Athletics · CIF San Francisco Section (AAA)

BadmintonBaseball (boys)BasketballCheerCross CountryFencingFlag Football (girls)Football (boys)GolfSoccerSoftball (girls)SwimmingTennisTrack & FieldVolleyballWrestling

Arts

BandOrchestraPianoGuitarVocal MusicDrawingPaintingPhotographyComputer ArtAnimationVideo ProductionYearbook

Clubs & activities · 40+

FIRST Robotics Team 4669DragonboatLion DanceGirls Who CodeBlack Student UnionGalileo Drum Corps

See all clubs

Life there

Food

Free for all students (SFUSD)

Learning support

English Language Development with a Newcomer Program, special education (Resource Specialist Program, SOAR, ACCESS), AVID for all grades, on-site Wellness Center, Peer Resources, credit recovery, free tutoring and the Futurama after-school program

Notable alumni

Joe DiMaggio (Baseball Hall of Famer; attended)
Hank Luisetti (basketball innovator, two-time national player of the year)
O.J. Simpson (NFL Hall of Fame running back; later centrally figured in one of the most publicized criminal trials in US history)
London Breed (Mayor of San Francisco)
Dave Toschi (SFPD detective, lead Zodiac case investigator)
Zaytoven (record producer)

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

Galileo 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. The school also offers family tours and student shadow days.

Application requirements

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

Testing

None — SFUSD choice lottery

Getting there

1150 Francisco Street

Transit

19 Polk at the door
30 Stockton, 49 Van Ness/Mission
Powell-Hyde cable car

Transit directions

Contact the school

EnrollmentCenter@sfusd.edu Visit the admissions site

Still thinking about Galileo?

Save it to your shortlist and come back anytime.

Often on the same list

George Washington High School

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Abraham Lincoln High School

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Balboa High School

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St. Ignatius College Preparatory

Catholic (co-ed)

Raoul Wallenberg High School

Public

Sources

Galileo Academy of Science & Technology | SFUSD — name, address, programs, support services
Galileo Academies & Pathways | SFUSD — current academies and pathways
Galileo Details | SFUSD — languages, special education, free meals
Galileo Bell Schedule | SFUSD — modified block schedule
Galileo Athletics | SFUSD — current sports teams, league
NCES Common Core of Data (2024-25) — enrollment, student:teacher ratio, % students of color
How student assignment works | SFUSD — application process, deadlines, tiebreakers
About Galileo | SFUSD — 1921 founding ("Galileo Academy of Science & Technology was built in 1921")
Galileo Academy | Wikipedia — alumni, football championships, arts, and the 1995-96 renaming from Galileo High School
Galileo academic department pages | SFUSD — AP course count (14) assembled from English, Science, Social Studies, Mathematics, World Languages, and Visual & Performing Arts
Named clubs — read from the school's own site, galileoweb.org, while it was live. That site has been returning a server error since at least 2026-07-27, so the list can't be re-verified or linked; SFUSD's Clubs page says only that Galileo has "over 40 Clubs and Sport Teams." We'll re-verify the named clubs when galileoweb.org is back.

Details checked August 2026