Academy For Change

· Butte County · Chico Unified
Public Butte County 🏛 Chico Unified → CDS 0461424…
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Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

North Valley High (continuation) → Centennial Continuation High → Ella Barkley High → Fair View High (continuation) → Ridgeview High (continuation) → Compare all similar →

No UC admissions data on file for Academy For Change.

This school doesn't appear in UCOP's source-school records (it may send few or no applicants to UC). Its enrollment trend and similar-school comparison are still below.

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)
11 (2018)25 (2026)
+127.3%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
1 (2019)4 (2026)
+300.0%

If this trend holds (+10.8%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~28 +3 $0
3 yr (2029) ~34 +9 $0
5 yr (2031) ~42 +17 $0

Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423/ADA). Edit the figure to match your school.

Enrollment stability & demand — 2024-25

Two complementary signals: retention (do students stay once enrolled?) and demand (are families choosing the school?). Read against the Butte County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

Mixed signal
Demand outpacing county is masking internal churn.

Enrollment growth is beating Butte County (+300.0% vs. -7.7%), but 30 of 43 students didn't maintain continuous enrollment. Why are families leaving once enrolled? Chronic absenteeism is also at 91.8% (up +2.5 pts from 2016-17) — engagement and demand are both signaling decline.

+300.0%  school enrollment (2019–2026)
-7.7%  Butte County baseline
+307.7pp  gap vs. county
30.2%  retention (county median 81.8%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2019
Stability rate by year (raw %)
Stability rate
30.2%
13 of 43 students

30 of 43 students who enrolled at Academy For Change this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (69.8% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

Butte County median
81.8% · school is in the 8th percentile of 13 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 6th percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

Socio. disadvantaged (87) 19.5%
White (47) 19.1%
Students w/ disabilities (29) 31.0%
Hispanic / Latino (26) 15.4%

Nearest peer high schools

North Valley High (continuation) 24.6% Centennial Continuation High 26.5% Ella Barkley High 50.0% Fair View High (continuation) 30.3% Ridgeview High (continuation) 29.5%

Source: California Department of Education, Stability Rate 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 cumulative enrollees so by-design-high-churn continuation schools don't dominate the bottom of the distribution. Cumulative enrollment counts every student on the rolls during the year, so it can exceed peak-day enrollment.

Chronic absenteeism — 2024-25

Share of students missing 10% or more of expected attendance — the leading indicator that often precedes the demand decline shown above. Families disengaging tend to raise absenteeism first, then formally leave. Basis: grades 9–12.

Chronic absent
87.5%
28 of 32 students

Roughly one in three students is chronically absent. A floor this high signals systemic engagement problems beyond what any single intervention can fix.

Butte County median
25.9% · school is worse than 92% of 13 HS
Statewide median
22.9%
Chronic absenteeism by year (raw %)

Source: California Department of Education, Chronic Absenteeism 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 eligible students. CDE didn't publish a usable 2019-20 file (COVID).

Student composition — 2025-26

HS grades 9–12 racial/ethnic composition and program subgroups, from CDE Census Day Enrollment. Two-year shift shown when ≥1 pt — surfaces how the community served has changed since 2023-24.

Race / ethnicity

Hispanic / Latino 60% +14.5
White 27% -18.8
Asian 7%
Two or more 7% -2.4

Program subgroups

Source: California Department of Education, Census Day Enrollment 2025-26 (HS grades 9–12). Δ shown when shift is ≥1 pt since 2023-24. Categories below 0.5% omitted.

District financial profile — Chico Unified (FY2020)

From 4 years of NCES F-33 filings (the federally-mandated district finance survey). Public schools don't have their own books — the district does. These figures show the financial scale, revenue dependence, instruction-vs-overhead mix, and long-term debt that shape what a school can sustain.

Total revenue
$195.1M
+9.7% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$16,379
11,911 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 48.2%
Local: 40.3%
Federal: 11.5%
Instruction share
59.6%
of current spending · $8,696/pupil
Long-term debt
$159.8M
+67.3% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($M)
Total expenditure by year ($M)

Source: NCES F-33 Annual Survey of School System Finances (Urban Institute Education Data API). Latest year currently published: FY2020. F-33 is a district-level federal filing — it reflects the Chico Unified as a whole, not this individual school's books. Revenue mix shows where the district's dollars come from (state aid dominates in CA via LCFF). Instruction share is current expenditure on instruction ÷ total current expenditure (national benchmark ~60%). Long-term debt is end-of-year outstanding (mostly facilities bonds).

Academy For Change — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • Senior-class enrollment is up 300% (1→4 from 2019 to 2026), outpacing the peer-group median of +4%.
  • Enrollment has been growing (+10.8%/yr); projects to ~34 by 2029.

Enrollment projection

25 students (2026)
~34 projected (2029)
at +10.8%/yr

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
Academy For Change Public 25 +300%
Peer-group median +4%
North Valley High (continuation) Public 30 +70%
Centennial Continuation High Public 35 +29%
Ella Barkley High Public 9 +40%
Fair View High (continuation) Public 100 -20%
Ridgeview High (continuation) Public 56 -37%
Willows Community High Public 17 +57%
Esperanza High (continuation) Public 20 -37%
Princeton High Public 44 -35%
Feather River Academy Public 26 -70%
Colusa Alternative High (continuation) Public 24 +86%

UC Reach = top-6 UC admits ÷ senior class (can exceed 100% when students are admitted to multiple campuses). Enrollment trend = first-to-latest grade-12 change on file. Similar schools matched on proximity, size, type. Methodology →

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