Tustin Connect

Tustin · CA · Tustin Unified · Public · K-12 combined

Public 🏛 Tustin Unified →

Similar nearby schools

Most similar nearby schools

Tustin High → Hillview High (Continuation) → Learning Corner → OCCS:CHEP/PCHS → Century High → REACH Academy → Legacy Magnet Academy → Foothill High →

📋 At a glance

Programs & features

✅ Gifted & talented program

Academic signals

🎓 AP rigor: Bottom 33% of US high schools
📝 SAT/ACT participation: Bottom 19% by test-taker volume
🎓 4-yr grad rate: 84% (Bottom 33% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate)

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

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How Tustin Connect compares for families

What families should know about Tustin Connect.

▸ LocallyCA trails the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math (−4 points). Stronger local schools matter even more.
▸ vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Tustin High, Hillview High (Continuation), Learning Corner and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

For Parents

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SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

Bottom 19% by test-taker volume

SAT/ACT test-takers

11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test

Test-taking intensity

7.2

takers per 100 students in grades 9-12

Compared against

18,426

US high schools reporting SAT/ACT participation

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

🎓 4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts

What % of students graduate on time?

Bottom 33% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate

4-year graduation rate

84%

Range: 80–89%

4-year cohort size

Students in the 9th-grade entry class tracked over 4 years

Compared against

17,988

US high schools reporting 4-year ACGR

Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.

👩‍🏫 Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)

75.0%

Elevated — a quarter or more of teachers are in years 1-2. Often correlates with school instability.

% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)

0.0%

Strong attendance culture among teachers.

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.

🏛️ Federal Title I context

Title I Schoolwide eligible

≥40% FRPL — qualifies for Title I Schoolwide program

47.4%

FRPL rate — % of students who qualify for the federal Free or Reduced-Price Lunch program. This is the underlying federal income-eligibility signal Title I designations are computed from (ESEA Sec. 1113).

0% (no FRPL) 35% TA · 40% Schoolwide 100% (universal FRPL)

40-74% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. The district can use Title I funds across the whole school under federal Schoolwide Program rules.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor

268:1

Above the ASCA 250:1 target but below the US median (~430:1). Capacity is workable.

Counselor FTE

1.0

Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.

Teacher FTE

Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Grade 12 went from 71 in 2021 to 82 in 2024 — over 3 years.

+15.5%

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of -15.5%/year, projecting from 2024's 268 students:

2025

226

2027

162

2029

116

≈ 152 fewer students by 2029 — a real revenue/relevance risk worth getting ahead of.

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Revenue at risk

At $15,151 per student in district revenue, the 152 students projected to be lost by 2029 represent ≈ $2,302,952/year in funding at risk.

District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.

Nearby high schools — the local competition

The closest high schools families here also consider, and where their enrollment is heading.

School	Type	Miles	HS enrollment	Trend
Tustin High Tustin	Public	0.2	1,627	-24.4%
Hillview High (Continuation) Tustin	Public	0.6	142	-28.3%
Learning Corner North Tustin	Private	1.3	6	—
OCCS:CHEP/PCHS Tustin	Public	1.6	156	-33.0%
Century High Santa Ana	Public	2.0	1,519	-8.3%
REACH Academy Santa Ana	Public	2.0	34	—
Legacy Magnet Academy Tustin	Public	2.1	468	+143.8%
Foothill High Santa Ana	Public	2.2	2,126	-8.2%