No UC admissions data on file for Darnall Charter.

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
640 (2018)473 (2026)
-26.1%

If this trend holds (-3.7%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~455 -18 $0
3 yr (2029) ~422 -51 $0
5 yr (2031) ~392 -81 $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 San Diego County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

Stability rate
86.3%
423 of 490 students

67 of 490 students who enrolled at Darnall Charter this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (13.7% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

San Diego County median
88.7% · school is in the 38th percentile of 207 HS
Statewide median
88.7% · in the 40th percentile of 2,648 HS

Stability by student group

Socio. disadvantaged (413) 84.5%
Hispanic / Latino (386) 89.4%
English learners (227) 85.5%
Students w/ disabilities (101) 93.1%
Black / African Am. (51) 64.7%
Asian (22) 90.9%

Nearest peer high schools

Vista La Mesa Academy 82.1% Lemon Grove Academy For The Sciences And Humanities 87.0% Magnolia Science Academy San Diego 95.1% San Diego Global Vision Academy 97.2% The Learning Choice Academy - East County 86.7%

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
34.9%
165 of 473 students

Absenteeism is up 22.3 pp since 2016-17. A rising absenteeism trend often precedes formal departure — worth investigating which subgroups are driving it.

San Diego County median
18.9% · school is worse than 87% of 205 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 — San Diego 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
$2239.7M
+17.1% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$22,861
97,968 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 24.2%
Local: 65.2%
Federal: 10.6%
Instruction share
58.6%
of current spending · $9,592/pupil
Long-term debt
$5186.5M
+29.3% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($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 San Diego 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).

Darnall Charter — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • At its recent rate (-3.7%/yr), enrollment projects to ~422 by 2029 — about 51 fewer students than today.

Enrollment projection

473 students (2026)
~422 projected (2029)
at -3.7%/yr

That's about 51 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
Darnall Charter Public 473
Peer-group median -0%
Vista La Mesa Academy Public 517
Lemon Grove Academy For The Sciences And Humanities Public 505
Magnolia Science Academy San Diego Public 481
San Diego Global Vision Academy Public 460
The Learning Choice Academy - East County Public 529 +12%
Kempton Street Literacy Academy Public 450
Health Sciences High And Middle College Public 552 -13%
Harriet Tubman Village Charter Public 393
Iftin Charter Public 593
Lemon Grove Academy Elementary Public 386

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?

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