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East Village High School Offers
Students the City College Experience
If Kaitlin and Kristin Deshotel have one regret about
their decision to enroll at East Village High School on
the San Diego City College Campus, it’s that they
hadn’t made the decision to enroll sooner.
The twins, both star athletes named to The San Diego
Union-Tribune’s 2019-20 All-Academic Team for high
school sports when they were at Mira Mesa High
School, began looking at their options when the
COVID-19 pandemic forced San Diego city schools to
stick with an online learning format during the 2020-21
academic year. At East Village High School, the
Deshotels found a rigorous and supportive academic
program offering numerous college courses that also
count toward their high school diploma.
“East Village offers us wider flexibility in regard to high
school courses, and with everything going online anyway, we’re not missing out on the athletics
side,” said Kaitlin Deshotel, who, like her sister, is a regional semifinalist for a 2021 Coca-Cola
scholarship award with a 4.62 GPA and nearly a dozen AP courses along the way.
East Village High School offers students the ability to earn – at no cost – up to 54 units of
college credit during their four years at the campus, a number just short of reaching status as a
junior when transferring to a college or university. In addition to an enhanced curriculum, high
school students in the concurrent enrollment program also benefit from receiving free tuition,
experiencing small classes sizes, saving time and money associated with college, earning
similar GPA points as AP classes, and more – all for free!
“Even though all courses are being offered remotely at the moment, there’s a distinct difference
between being in an online class with college students and with high school students,” said the
twins’ mom, Ticia Deshotel.
“One of the things we’ve always impressed upon our girls is to be college ready,” said their
father, Mitch Deshotel, a Navy air traffic control officer who moved with his family to Mira Mesa
when he was reassigned to Naval Base San Diego some 18 months ago. “Had we known about
this place when we first moved to San Diego, we would have enrolled them at East Village
earlier.”
Before next fall, Kaitlin and Kristin will be on the move once more. Kaitlin, who played varsity
soccer at Mira Mesa High School, is hoping to enroll at Harvard or another one of her top five
choices with career aspirations of becoming a surgeon. Kristin, a starter on the varsity
basketball team while at Mira Mesa, is aiming for UCLA as one of her top choices and a career
as an attorney.
“East Village was a good decision,” Kristin said. “It worked out well for both of us. It’s certainly
worth exploring if you’re looking for a high school with great education opportunities.”
Photo from left: Kristin and Kaitlin Deshotel
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Established in 1914, San Diego City College serves as the educational cornerstone of
downtown San Diego. A 60-acre urban campus, City College serves more than 17,000
students, offering 200 majors and degrees and 1,800 classes. City College is part of the San
Diego Community College District (SDCCD), the second-largest of California’s 72 community
college districts, which also includes Mesa College, Miramar College, and Continuing
Education.
For more information, visit www.sdcity.edu.
Contact: Cesar Gumapas,
Information Officer at [email protected].