The school features several specialized programs, known as "academies". Originally these were opt-in; a student could join an academy or choose to pursue their education without taking academy classes. Beginning in 2012 all sophomores and freshmen and all incoming students were required to enroll in one of four academies. While this decision was controversial, Mount Diablo High School continues to house all students from grades 9-12 within these four California Partnership Academies, in addition to the World Academy, which serves students who are new to the country and English language education. The academies are:
The Digital Safari Multimedia Academy program, started in 1996, teaches and integrates digital media into a high school core curriculum using project-based learning.
The International Hospitality and Tourism Academy is a campus program which teaches cooking and hospitality. The program includes the student-run restaurant Serendipity, which operates three days a week and is supported by the students' mentors as well as professional chefs and bakers. IHTA also incorporates the Sustainable Hospitality Pathway, which focuses its nutrition and food prep classes on career fields including healthy food service, agri- and eco-tourism, and outdoor recreation.
Academy of Construction & Mechanical Engineering
Medical Bio-Technology Academy
The World Academy, serving students who are newcomers to the United States.
Although there were grammar schools in the area throughout the 1890s, the nearest high schools were in Berkeley and Oakland. In 1901, voters established what was then known as the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, and classes were held in various temporary locations for the first two years, including the grammar school on Willow Pass Road and the Odd Fellows hall at the corner of what are now Salvio and Colfax Streets. On 14 February 1903, district trustees voted to construct the first MDHS building, which opened in 1904 and was torn down in 1963.
Digital Safari Academy
The Digital Safari Academy was founded in the autumn of 1996 on a U.S. Department of Education grant to integrate vocational education with the core academic curriculum. The goal was to do this with professional multimedia design tools. Instead of using educational software, they would attempt to make it. Thus, as students who studied earth science, they would create interactive programs about the universe or geology. As they studied English they would create interactive book reports or websites about their favorite poets. As they studied social science, they would develop websites for model e-businesses or a CD-ROM about World War II. Since 1997, the Digital Safari Academy has won two awards in the California Student Media Festival. In the spring of 2001, the academy produced a seven-day webcast of the International Science and Engineering Fair. The Digital Safari Academy, from 2007 through today, offers design services to businesses, non-profits, and other community organizations, through an annual internship program. The DSA's project design methodology has been adapted by numerous programs around the country. A majority of DSA graduates have chosen to continue their education beyond high school, choosing state and community colleges, graphic arts schools, or technical schools. The number of graduates in the multimedia and technical industries is growing, as more former students finish their career training. In 2013 the Digital Safari Academy expanded its course offerings even further to serve a larger student population: freshmen now participate in an Art and Design course that articulates for possible community college credit, and the original 10th-12th grade Multimedia pathway now runs parallel to a new Interactive Design pathway, which focuses on web design, game design, and software application development.
