Aptos Junior High

· Santa Cruz County · Pajaro Valley Unified
Public Santa Cruz County 🏛 Pajaro Valley Unified → CDS 4469799…
📄 Shareable scorecard →

Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

Alianza Charter → Scotts Valley High School → Pacific Collegiate Charter → Ceiba College Preparatory Academy → San Lorenzo Valley High School → Compare all similar →

No UC admissions data on file for Aptos Junior High.

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
662 (2018)567 (2026)
-14.4%

If this trend holds (-1.9%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~556 -11 $0
3 yr (2029) ~535 -32 $0
5 yr (2031) ~515 -52 $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 Santa Cruz County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

Stability rate
91.7%
556 of 606 students

50 of 606 students who enrolled at Aptos Junior High this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (8.3% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

Santa Cruz County median
91.3% · school is in the 57th percentile of 21 HS
Statewide median
88.7% · in the 69th percentile of 2,648 HS

Stability by student group

Socio. disadvantaged (316) 88.6%
Hispanic / Latino (305) 89.2%
White (259) 95.0%
Students w/ disabilities (111) 88.3%
English learners (65) 75.4%
Two or more races (24) 100.0%

Nearest peer high schools

Alianza Charter 97.3% Scotts Valley High School 96.3% Pacific Collegiate Charter 92.9% Ceiba College Preparatory Academy 92.5% San Lorenzo Valley High School 92.5%

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: total enrollment.

Chronic absent
27.1%
163 of 601 students

Absenteeism is down 4.6 pp since 2016-17. Engagement improving — a positive trajectory worth understanding and reinforcing.

Santa Cruz County median
18.8% · school is worse than 85% of 20 HS
Statewide median
20.9%
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).

District financial profile — Pajaro Valley 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
$341.2M
+16.9% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$18,204
18,743 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 54.9%
Local: 28.7%
Federal: 16.4%
Instruction share
52.9%
of current spending · $8,526/pupil
Long-term debt
$203.6M
+2.5% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($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 Pajaro Valley 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).

Aptos Junior High — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • At its recent rate (-1.9%/yr), enrollment projects to ~535 by 2029 — about 32 fewer students than today.

Enrollment projection

567 students (2026)
~535 projected (2029)
at -1.9%/yr

That's about 32 fewer students. At per-student funding of $ per student, that's roughly $0 in annual state funding at risk.

Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423 per ADA) — adjust to your district's actual per-pupil figure. Projection extrapolates the recent annual rate — not a forecast of intent.

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
Aptos Junior High Public 567
Peer-group median 28.3% -10%
Alianza Charter Public 600
Scotts Valley High School Public 592 44.7% -10%
Pacific Collegiate Charter Public 551 -14%
Ceiba College Preparatory Academy Public 494 -26%
San Lorenzo Valley High School Public 537 22.1% -26%
San Martin Gwinn Environmental Science Academy Public 563
Watsonville Charter School Of The Arts Public 373
Soquel High School Public 1055 27.7% +7%
Aptos High School Public 1258 28.4% -6%
Harbor High School Public 994 28.3% +2%

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 →

Is your school winning the families it should?

An Enrollment Trend Audit benchmarks your enrollment against nearby schools, shows who's gaining and losing families, and lays out a plan to make families choose you — built around the outcomes your families value. Built for principals, heads of school, and district leaders.

Request an Enrollment Trend Audit →