Colusa Alternative High (continuation)

· Colusa County · Colusa Unified
Public Colusa County 🏛 Colusa Unified → CDS 0661598…
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Most similar nearby schools

S. William Abel Academy → Butte View High → Feather River Academy → Esperanza High (continuation) → Coastal Buttes Academy → Compare all similar →

No UC admissions data on file for Colusa Alternative High (continuation).

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)
16 (2018)24 (2026)
+50.0%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
7 (2018)13 (2026)
+85.7%

If this trend holds (+5.2%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~25 +1 $0
3 yr (2029) ~28 +4 $0
5 yr (2031) ~31 +7 $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 Colusa 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 Colusa County (+85.7% vs. +24.8%), but 36 of 45 students didn't maintain continuous enrollment. Why are families leaving once enrolled? Chronic absenteeism is also at 78.6% (up +6.6 pts from 2016-17) — engagement and demand are both signaling decline.

+85.7%  school enrollment (2018–2026)
+24.8%  Colusa County baseline
+60.9pp  gap vs. county
20.0%  retention (county median 90.8%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2018
Stability rate
20.0%
9 of 45 students

36 of 45 students who enrolled at Colusa Alternative High (continuation) this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (80.0% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

Colusa County median
90.8% · school is in the 0th percentile of 4 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 2nd percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

Socio. disadvantaged (41) 22.0%
Hispanic / Latino (37) 21.6%

Nearest peer high schools

S. William Abel Academy 43.1% Butte View High 69.0% Feather River Academy 26.9% Esperanza High (continuation) 18.9% Coastal Buttes Academy 78.6%

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
78.6%
33 of 42 students

Absenteeism is up 6.6 pp since 2016-17. A rising absenteeism trend often precedes formal departure — worth investigating which subgroups are driving it.

Colusa County median
12.3% · school is worse than 100% of 4 HS
Statewide median
22.9%

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).

SBAC academic outcomes — grade 11, 2025

Share of grade-11 students meeting or exceeding the California standard on Smarter Balanced ELA and Math. This is the academic-readiness signal that pairs with UC Reach (post-grad outcomes), stability (retention), and absenteeism (engagement). Note: statewide median Math is only ~20% — a school at 20% isn't an outlier; one at 45%+ genuinely is.

ELA — met or exceeded
n = 11
0.0%
incl. 0.0% exceeded
-46.1 pts vs. Colusa County median (46.1%) · CA median 54.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 79.3%
Math — met or exceeded
n = 11
9.1%
incl. 9.1% exceeded
-6.5 pts vs. Colusa County median (15.6%) · CA median 21.1% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 53.6%

Source: California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) Smarter Balanced research files. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥30 tested students.

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 79% +3.2
White 12% -3.5
Two or more 8%

Program subgroups

Students w/ disabilities 50% -10.0

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 — Colusa 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
$21.8M
+21.8% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$14,226
1,529 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 66.1%
Local: 22.6%
Federal: 11.3%
Instruction share
60.6%
of current spending · $7,548/pupil
Long-term debt
$5.2M
-6.6% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($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 Colusa 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).

Colusa Alternative High (continuation) — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • Senior-class enrollment is up 86% (7→13 from 2018 to 2026), outpacing the peer-group median of +16%.
  • Enrollment has been growing (+5.2%/yr); projects to ~28 by 2029.

Enrollment projection

24 students (2026)
~28 projected (2029)
at +5.2%/yr

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
Colusa Alternative High (continuation) Public 24 +86%
Peer-group median +16%
S. William Abel Academy Public 39 +20%
Butte View High Public 19 +11%
Feather River Academy Public 26 -70%
Esperanza High (continuation) Public 20 -37%
Coastal Buttes Academy Public 9 +50%
Princeton High Public 44 -35%
Valley Oak Continuation High Public 17 +25%
Willows Community High Public 17 +57%
Mid Valley High (continuation) Public 7 -62%
Academy For Change Public 25 +300%

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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