Pilarcitos Alternative High (continuation)

· San Mateo County · Cabrillo Unified
Public San Mateo County 🏛 Cabrillo Unified → CDS 4168890…
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Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

Life Learning Academy Charter → S.f. County Opportunity (hilltop) → Pescadero High School → Oxford Day Academy → Peninsula High (continuation) → Compare all similar →

No UC admissions data on file for Pilarcitos 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)
30 (2018)34 (2026)
+13.3%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
19 (2018)19 (2026)
+0.0%

If this trend holds (+1.6%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~35 +1 $0
3 yr (2029) ~36 +2 $0
5 yr (2031) ~37 +3 $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 Mateo 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 San Mateo County (+0.0% vs. -5.3%), but 20 of 47 students didn't maintain continuous enrollment. Why are families leaving once enrolled?

+0.0%  school enrollment (2018–2026)
-5.3%  San Mateo County baseline
+5.3pp  gap vs. county
57.4%  retention (county median 93.0%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2018
Stability rate by year (raw %)
Stability rate
57.4%
27 of 47 students

20 of 47 students who enrolled at Pilarcitos Alternative High (continuation) this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (42.6% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

San Mateo County median
93.0% · school is in the 11th percentile of 28 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 20th percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

Hispanic / Latino (37) 62.2%
Socio. disadvantaged (22) 77.3%

Nearest peer high schools

Life Learning Academy Charter 57.1% S.f. County Opportunity (hilltop) 63.7% Pescadero High School 95.1% Oxford Day Academy 82.8% Peninsula High (continuation) 62.6%

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
0.0%
0 of 46 students

Absenteeism is down 61.5 pp since 2016-17. Engagement improving — a positive trajectory worth understanding and reinforcing.

San Mateo County median
20.1% · school is better than 100% of 28 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 79% +13.5
White 21% -3.8

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 — Cabrillo 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
$54.6M
-2.6% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$18,605
2,934 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 14.4%
Local: 79.5%
Federal: 6.1%
Instruction share
54.2%
of current spending · $8,095/pupil
Long-term debt
$118.1M
+104.0% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($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 Cabrillo 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).

Pilarcitos Alternative High (continuation) — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • Senior-class enrollment is up 0% (19→19 from 2018 to 2026), outpacing the peer-group median of -17%.
  • Enrollment has been growing (+1.6%/yr); projects to ~36 by 2029.

Enrollment projection

34 students (2026)
~36 projected (2029)
at +1.6%/yr

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
Pilarcitos Alternative High (continuation) Public 34 +0%
Peer-group median 14.3% -17%
Life Learning Academy Charter Public 46 +64%
S.f. County Opportunity (hilltop) Public 59 +85%
Pescadero High School Public 74 14.3% -15%
Oxford Day Academy Public 82 +60%
Peninsula High (continuation) Public 119 -19%
Alta Vista High Public 74 -33%
Baden High (continuation) Public 111 +60%
Thornton High Public 106 -37%
Academy (the)- Sf @mcateer Public 98 -72%
Redwood High Public 157 -32%

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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