Santa Cruz County Career Advancement Charter

· Santa Cruz County · Santa Cruz County Office of Education
Public Santa Cruz County 🏛 Santa Cruz County Office of Education → CDS 4410447…
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Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

Anzar High School → Dr. Tj Owens Gilroy Early College Academy → Ceiba College Preparatory Academy → El Puente High School → Diamond Technology Institute → Compare all similar →

No UC admissions data on file for Santa Cruz County Career Advancement 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 (9–12)
48 (2018)235 (2026)
+389.6%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
48 (2018)235 (2026)
+389.6%

If this trend holds (+22.0%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~287 +52 $0
3 yr (2029) ~426 +191 $0
5 yr (2031) ~634 +399 $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.

Mixed signal
Demand outpacing county is masking internal churn.

Enrollment growth is beating Santa Cruz County (+389.6% vs. +3.1%), but 336 of 420 students didn't maintain continuous enrollment. Why are families leaving once enrolled?

+389.6%  school enrollment (2018–2026)
+3.1%  Santa Cruz County baseline
+386.5pp  gap vs. county
20.0%  retention (county median 90.8%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2018
Stability rate by year (raw %)
Stability rate
20.0%
84 of 420 students

336 of 420 students who enrolled at Santa Cruz County Career Advancement Charter this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (80.0% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

Santa Cruz County median
90.8% · school is in the 7th percentile of 15 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 2nd percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

Hispanic / Latino (337) 20.5%
Socio. disadvantaged (85) 16.5%
White (74) 18.9%
English learners (38) 18.4%
Students w/ disabilities (23) 0.0%

Nearest peer high schools

Anzar High School 94.2% Dr. Tj Owens Gilroy Early College Academy 97.7% Ceiba College Preparatory Academy 92.5% El Puente High School 54.5% Diamond Technology Institute 93.2%

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 368 students

Low and stable absenteeism — students are engaged and showing up. The leading indicator is healthy.

Santa Cruz County median
18.8% · school is better than 100% of 14 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% -2.7
White 17% +1.2
Black / African Am. 2%
Two or more 1%

Program subgroups

Students w/ disabilities 20% -8.5
English learners 8% -1.7

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 — Santa Cruz County Office of Education (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
$64.5M
+4.3% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$61,265
1,053 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 46.8%
Local: 35.2%
Federal: 18.1%
Instruction share
35.3%
of current spending · $16,367/pupil
Long-term debt
$7.8M
-12.1% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($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 Santa Cruz County Office of Education 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).

Santa Cruz County Career Advancement Charter — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • Senior-class enrollment is up 390% (48→235 from 2018 to 2026), outpacing the peer-group median of -30%.
  • Enrollment has been growing (+22.0%/yr); projects to ~426 by 2029.

Enrollment projection

235 students (2026)
~426 projected (2029)
at +22.0%/yr

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
Santa Cruz County Career Advancement Charter Public 235 +390%
Peer-group median 4.5% -30%
Anzar High School Public 260 4.5% -41%
Dr. Tj Owens Gilroy Early College Academy Public 308 +22%
Ceiba College Preparatory Academy Public 494 -26%
El Puente High School Public 243 -45%
Diamond Technology Institute Public 89 +200%
Mt. Madonna High Public 141 -43%
Mount Toro High Public 197 +9%
Monterey County Home Charter Public 260 -32%
Delta Charter Public 114 -29%
Renaissance High Continuation Public 82 -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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