Pacific Career Technology High School (PCTHS) began its first chapter as a Grant District Continuation High School on July 1, 1980, located in the former Campos Verde Junior High School campus on 3800 Bolivar Drive in North Highlands, California, a suburb of Sacramento.

Since first opening its doors, PCTHS has evolved over 23 years into a CSEA Model School serving 240 students of very diverse ethnic backgrounds with 37% Caucasian, 4% Asian, 3% American Indian, 29% African American, 25% Hispanic, 1.3% Pacific Islander and 0.9% of the enrolled students stated that they were of multiple ethnic backgrounds or declined to state.

Pacific High has steadily, over the past several years, implemented a California State Standards-based curriculum and assessment component across the curriculum and the staff continues to refine the process of implementation through weekly standards-based staff development workshops.  PCTHS staff further incorporate the California State Standards into their daily instruction with the assistance of the Expected Schoolwide Learning Results (ESLR's), now the Schoolwide Learning Outcome (SLO) a small but vital piece of the School Site Plan.  The Site Plan serves as a road map to increased success and sustained performance over the long haul.

Students receive instruction that focuses on the expectation that all students must pass the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE)  and meet the established standards in order to graduate from high school. (subsumed in SY 2013-2014 and discontinued in 2019))

The Pacific Career Technology High School also meets with its School Site Council on a regular monthly basis to discuss the needs as well as the goals and objectives of the school.  This council brings together, for a common purpose, staff, students, parents, community, and administration.  This regular "meeting of the minds" has allowed PCTHS to develop and implement innovative programs such as the Student Orientation Program, New Century Education computer-based curriculum, Smoking Cessation, and Intervention Program, Anger Management, SB65 Outreach Consultant, and HP laptops for technology classes.  It has additionally allowed yet another avenue for collaboration and cooperation among all stakeholders to pursue student academic and social success.  These monthly meetings also promote trust among all stakeholders, which is one of the six design elements in the School Site Plan. 

Trust among all stakeholders is a major component in establishing a path to student success, as the very nature of the student population Pacific Career Technology High School service is such that trust is an attribute not easily attained or maintained.  Ninety percent of the students transfer from one of the four comprehensive high schools within the district for reasons of habitual truancy, lack of necessary credits, discipline and behavioral issues, and family or parenting issues. 

Pacific High believes that a supportive, focused, family-type atmosphere more readily establishes and promotes trust and it is with this belief in mind that the staff approach their mission on a daily basis.  This clearly supports the Twin Rivers District Educational Options motto which states, "Those kids aren't those kids...Those kids are our kids."  The support of this philosophy of making "Every kid the Mission" stems from clearly defined support beginning with the District Superintendent and flowing throughout the Educational Options Division, Department, individual school sites, classrooms, and employees at all levels.

On July 1, 2008 Twin Rivers Unified School District consolidate the former Grant Joint Union, North Sacramento, Del Paso Heights, and Rio Linda School Districts. The new district developed a new mission “To inspire each student to extraordinary achievement every day”.

On June 15, 2011, the results of the Twin Rivers budget crisis school closures, Pacific High School moved to the former Larchmont Elementary school site at 6560 Melrose Drive, North Highlands, CA 95660.