Surprise Valley High

· Modoc County · Surprise Valley Joint Unified
Public Modoc County 🏛 Surprise Valley Joint Unified → CDS 2565896…
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Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

Dunsmuir High → Discovery High → Herlong High → Big Valley Jr. Sr. High → Westwood High School → Compare all similar →

No UC admissions data on file for Surprise Valley 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 (9–12)
25 (2018)39 (2026)
+56.0%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
2 (2018)7 (2026)
+250.0%

If this trend holds (+5.7%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~41 +2 $0
3 yr (2029) ~46 +7 $0
5 yr (2031) ~51 +12 $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 Modoc County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

Mixed signal
Outperforming on demand; some mid-year churn to look at.

Surprise Valley High is recruiting families faster than Modoc County is shrinking (school +250.0% vs. county +61.9%), but 4 students didn't make it to year-end. The recruitment engine works; the mid-year exits are worth understanding.

+250.0%  school enrollment (2018–2026)
+61.9%  Modoc County baseline
+188.1pp  gap vs. county
88.6%  retention (county median 89.8%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2018
Stability rate
88.6%
31 of 35 students

4 of 35 students who enrolled at Surprise Valley High this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (11.4% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

Modoc County median
89.8% · school is in the 0th percentile of 2 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 57th percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

Socio. disadvantaged (27) 88.9%
White (21) 100.0%

Nearest peer high schools

Dunsmuir High 78.5% Discovery High 10.4% Herlong High 69.1% Big Valley Jr. Sr. High 93.3% Westwood High School 75.9%

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
28.6%
10 of 35 students

Absenteeism is in the typical CA HS range. Worth monitoring alongside the demand and retention signals above.

Modoc County median
7.8% · school is worse than 100% of 2 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, 2023

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 = —
54.5%
incl. 9.1% exceeded
Math — met or exceeded
n = —
0.0%
incl. 0.0% exceeded

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

White 61% +2.3
Hispanic / Latino 21% +7.3
Two or more 9%
American Indian 9% -7.6

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 — Surprise Valley Joint 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
$2.2M
0.0% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$18,487
121 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 53.4%
Local: 33.2%
Federal: 13.4%
Instruction share
45.3%
of current spending · $6,966/pupil
Total revenue by year ($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 Surprise Valley Joint 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).

Surprise Valley High — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • Senior-class enrollment is up 250% (2→7 from 2018 to 2026), outpacing the peer-group median of -11%.
  • Enrollment has been growing (+5.7%/yr); projects to ~46 by 2029.

Enrollment projection

39 students (2026)
~46 projected (2029)
at +5.7%/yr

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
Surprise Valley High Public 39 +250%
Peer-group median -11%
Dunsmuir High Public 38 -19%
Discovery High Public 37 -41%
Herlong High Public 46 -38%
Big Valley Jr. Sr. High Public 49 -54%
Westwood High School Public 49 +11%
Credence High Public 28 +180%
Ridgeview High (continuation) Public 56 -37%
Mountain Lakes High Public 64 +12%
Oakview High (alternative) Public 64 -3%
Downieville Junior-Senior High Public 22 +0%

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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