the school educates its students using a modified block schedule program that alternates four periods every two days. students are subject to eight different periods in total. students at the school are also taught through a standard-based essential skills program, where students must demonstrate mastery of all skills deemed necessary in a class before credits can be earned; additionally, students must achieve a grade higher than c by the year's end, as scores lower than c equate to a "no mark", and the course must be retaken. as of the end of the 2009–10 school year, the high school fielded twenty-three clubs, including an award-winning school yearbook (known as "details"), a school newspaper (known as "the roar"), and an emmy winning broadcast program (known as "unleashed"). whitney also ran twenty-three sports teams as of the 2008–09 school year; the football and girls' soccer teams were champions at the 2009 sac-joaquin section championships for the respective sports.