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Dec, 2017
Not like the old days: Uni’s attendance decline
[Posted December 1, 2017] As noted in our November 15 issue, Uni is working toward a new status as a community charter high school (more details here) in significant part because of declining enrollment.
The draft outline of the proposed Affiliated Charter program notes in part, “[D]espite its academic, community partnership, and facility revitalization achievements, University High has experienced decreasing enrollment: as an increasing number of community families elect to send their high-school age students to nearby affiliated charter and independent charter high schools.” In fact, the downturn has been dramatic:
- 2012-13: 1,897
- 2013-14: 1,804
- 2014-15: 1,763
- 2015-16: 1,671 with 73% from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, but an 87.8% graduation rate!
Uni is not alone in this situation, for example when compared with its Western League (past and present) brethren for the 2016-17 school year:
- Palisades Charter: 2,970 (31% disadvantaged; 95.1% graduation rate)
- Hamilton: 2,879 (65% ~ 83.2%)
- Fairfax: 2,047 (79% ~ 81.9%)
- Venice: 2,005 (72% ~ 78.8%)
- Los Angeles CES: 1,648 (55% ~ 96.9%)
- Los Angeles: 1,380 (89% ~ 67.0%)
- Westchester Health & Sports Science Magnet: 1,121 (57% ~ 78.7%)
(Westchester’s second magnet is not tracked by the California School Dashboard statistics service, so its enrollment is understated above.)
It’s a long way from Uni’s historical enrollment, which peaked at nearly 4,000 in 1960-61 (prior to the opening of Palisades in the fall of 1961) and was typically around 3,000 for grades 10-12 in the 1970s. Over the past 30 years:
- 1988: 2,401
- 1992: 2,051
- 1996: 2,356
- 2000: 2,411
- 2001: 2,579
- 2002: 2,462
- 2003: 2,462
- 2004: 2,446
- 2005: 2,419
- 2006: 2,508
- 2007: 2,384
- 2008: 2,297
- 2009: 2,364
- 2010: 2,226
- 2011: 2,233
- 2012: 1,897
- 2013: 1,804
- 2014: 1,763
- 2015: 1,671
Uni expanded to four grades – 9 to 12 – in 1995-96 after decades of hosting grades 10-12 since 1938-39, so the decrease is even more noticeable.
The school’s Web site has a page dedicated to the Affiliated Charter application process here.