Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Are you a student or parent at La Cuesta Continuation High School? Want to understand how to get the most out of high school?
We've written the best guide to La Cuesta Continuation High available. Here we'll cover:
- Breakdowns of student ethnicity, gender, and family income
- How safe La Cuesta Continuation High is to attend
- SAT/ACT/AP scores earned by La Cuesta Continuation High students
- Which AP/IB classes you can take at La Cuesta Continuation High
- Every sports team you can join at La Cuesta Continuation High
Let's get started!
Basic Information
La Cuesta Continuation High School is a public school, supporting grades 9 to 12 . It's located in Santa Barbara, CA in Santa Barbara County.
Based on its location, La Cuesta Continuation High is classified as a school in a small city. Here's the location on a map:
Contact Information
Mailing address:
La Cuesta Continuation High School710 Santa Barbara St. Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Phone number: 8059660883
La Cuesta Continuation High School homepage: http://www.sbunified.org/schools/high-schools/la-cuesta-continuation-high-school/
Principal: Simmons EliseEmail the principal: [email protected]
Student Demographics
Student Enrollment
The total enrollment at La Cuesta Continuation High School is 138 students, making it a somewhat small high school, in the bottom half of all California high schools by size.
As a smaller-sized high school, La Cuesta Continuation High will feel like a cozy learning environment. With fewer than 100 students in your class, you'll likely get to know most other students and your teachers well. This will give you the feeling of a small liberal arts college.
But with a smaller student body, you won't have as many activities and clubs to choose from. If you find La Cuesta Continuation High lacking for your interests, consider looking to your local community to supplement your interests.
Growth in Student Body Size
Is La Cuesta Continuation High School growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.
From our calculations, the enrollment at La Cuesta Continuation High has decreased over the past few years. We calculate this by comparing enrollment in grades 9 to 12.
| Male Students | Female Students | All Students | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9th grade | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10th grade | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11th grade | 25 | 20 | 45 |
| 12th grade | 50 | 43 | 93 |
As you can see in the table above, the senior class is 93 students larger than the freshman class. This suggests that La Cuesta Continuation High is shrinking in size and taking on fewer students.
There are a few reasons this can happen. The population of Santa Barbara could be decreasing, thus sending fewer students into La Cuesta Continuation High. Alternatively, other schools (like charter or private schools) might be appearing, drawing students away.
Gender Split
Are there more boys or girls at La Cuesta Continuation High School?
From our statistics, La Cuesta Continuation High has a 55:45 split between male and female students in the high school grades.
La Cuesta Continuation High has a balanced male-female ratio that's largely representative of the general population in Santa Barbara County. Since the student body is roughly half and half, it should feel like there are equal numbers of boys and girls in your classes.
This usually means that La Cuesta Continuation High doesn't strongly select for either males or females, unlike other schools that have a large majority of males or females.
Ethnicity Breakdown
What's the racial diversity at La Cuesta Continuation High School? Does one ethnicity make up most of the student body, or is it fairly balanced?
From our statistics, La Cuesta Continuation High has a homogenous student body, with the overwhelming majority of students identifying as one ethnicity. Only a third of California schools show as little diversity as La Cuesta Continuation High does. When attending class, most students will be of the same ethnicity, with some variation.
The majority of students at La Cuesta Continuation High are Hispanic. In California, Hispanic students make up the majority of all students at 51.5%, and are thus the most common ethnicity. Predominantly Hispanic schools are the most common type of homogenous school, and La Cuesta Continuation High fits within this category.
| Percentage | Number | |
|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.0% | 0 |
| Asian | 0.7% | 1 |
| Hispanic | 87.6% | 121 |
| Black | 1.4% | 2 |
| White | 7.2% | 10 |
| Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander | 0.0% | 0 |
| Two or more races | 2.8% | 4 |
High schools usually reflect the population in the surrounding area, so the ethnicities of students likely resembles those of Santa Barbara. If you'd like to see how other nearby schools look in diversity, just google "[name of school] prepscholar" to find our guide to that specific school.
Income Level of La Cuesta Continuation High Families
What are the family incomes of students at La Cuesta Continuation High School? To determine this, we look at the number of students who qualify for free or reduced lunches, a classification by the US federal government.
To qualify for a reduced price meal, family income needs to be below 185% of the federal poverty guidelines. For a family of 4, this means an income of around $45,000 or below.
To qualify for a free meal, family income needs to be below 130% of the federal poverty guidelines. For a family of 4, this means an income of around $32,000 or below.
The lower the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced price meals, the higher the income levels are likely to be.
At La Cuesta Continuation High, 10.1% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 65.2% qualify for free lunches.
This means La Cuesta Continuation High has a moderate percentage of students at or near poverty. About half of all schools in California show this level of poverty or greater. The income level of families in Santa Barbara is likely to be relatively low.
| Number | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| Reduced-price lunches | 14 | 10.1% |
| Free lunches | 90 | 65.2% |
| Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches | 34 | 24.6% |
As with ethnicity, this likely reflects the surrounding community in Santa Barbara and doesn't speak much about the school itself.
La Cuesta Continuation High is in the middle 50% of schools by income level. Generally, higher income level schools are better-funded and have a higher quality range of classes and activities. La Cuesta Continuation High is likely in the middle of the pack in this regard and will give you a good set of options to try.
If you have any interests that La Cuesta Continuation High doesn't cover, look to your local community for activities, or to the Internet for self-study AP classes.
Download our free guide on the top 5 strategies you must be using to improve your score. This guide was written by Harvard graduates and SAT perfect scorers. If you apply the strategies in this guide, you'll study smarter and make huge score improvements.
School Safety
How safe is La Cuesta Continuation High School to attend? Can you expect a lot of conflict as a student here?
To study this, we look at disciplinary data for two types of incidents at La Cuesta Continuation High: referrals to law enforcement (when incidents are reported to police), and arrests.
These are the most serious disciplinary actions available to school administration and are more severe than suspensions or expulsions. Suspensions are often discretionary and can be given just for being disruptive in class. In contrast, law enforcement referrals and arrests often indicate incidents that put the safety of other La Cuesta Continuation High students at risk.
In the school year of 2011-2012, there were 7 referrals to law enforcement (7 male, 0 female), and 11 school-related arrests (9 males, 2 females). This is out of a total enrollment of 128 students.
To put this into perspective, most California schools (59% of them) reported 0 law enforcement referrals and arrests.
This means that 14.0 La Cuesta Continuation High has major safety issues. For every 100 students, there were 14.0 law-enforcement related actions. This is a very high number that puts La Cuesta Continuation High in the top 10% of schools with disciplinary actions.
With this record, is La Cuesta Continuation High School significantly different from other schools in the area? It could be that La Cuesta Continuation High has an especially bad record, or it could be that the local area shows a pattern.
Compare this school with other high schools in the same school district, using the following table:
Santa Barbara Unified School District Safety
| School Name | Total Referred | Total Arrests | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dos Pueblos Senior High | 14 | 0 | 2281 |
| San Marcos Senior High | 38 | 0 | 1795 |
| Santa Barbara Senior High | 8 | 4 | 2165 |
| Santa Barbara Alternative | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dos Pueblos Charger Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| San Marcos Bridge | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Academic Performance
Now we get to a major aspect of assessing a high school: academic performance. How good of an education will you get at La Cuesta Continuation High School? Will you be competitive for college? Will you have access to advanced classes?
We've compiled everything we could find about La Cuesta Continuation High's academics here.
Standardized Testing
Next, we'll look at another major piece of high school academics: standardized testing performance for La Cuesta Continuation High School students. These are tests that are administered to large populations of students for comparison purposes.
State Tests
As of 2014, eleventh graders attending La Cuesta Continuation High School must take standardized tests in English/Language Arts and Math as part of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP). These align with the new Common Core standards and are called the "Smarter Balanced" tests.
If La Cuesta Continuation High students meet or exceed state standards, they're academically prepared to graduate high school and go to college. Specifically, we care about the percentage of students who meet or exceed state standards. The larger this number, the higher the preparation of students at La Cuesta Continuation High.
English/Language Arts
At La Cuesta Continuation High School, 9% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.
This is considered well below average and puts La Cuesta Continuation High in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California for English/Language Arts. The vast majority of La Cuesta Continuation High students don't meet state standards, and only a small percentage pass.
This low percentage itself isn't much cause for concern - as teachers and students get more familiar with the new Common Core, the pass rate at La Cuesta Continuation High will likely increase. But it still reflects La Cuesta Continuation High's low standing among California high schools.
English/Language Arts Test Results (2015)
Read more about what’s measured in each ELA area score here.
Math
The other major test taken for state assessments is Math. Across the state, Math performance is generally lower than English/Language Arts performance, so it's natural for this number to be lower.
At La Cuesta Continuation High School, 0% of students meet or exceed state standards in Math. This is considered well below average and puts La Cuesta Continuation High in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California. The vast majority of La Cuesta Continuation High students don't meet state standards, and only a small percentage pass.
Math Test Results (2015)
Read more about what’s measured in each Math area score, go here.
Sports Teams
What’s Next?
Want to get more useful information about high school classes and preparing for colleges? Our blog has a ton of articles and advice on topics ranging from coursework and GPA to letters of recommendation, extracurriculars, and much more!
Ready to bulk up your schedule and maximize your college preparedness? Read all about the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs.
Not quite in high school yet, but eager to get started? We've also got information for younger students interested in advanced learning opportunities, both in and out of school.
If You Liked Our Advice...
Our experts have written hundreds of useful articles on improving your SAT score and getting into college. You'll definitely find something useful here.
Visit our blog now.Subscribe to our newsletter to get FREE strategies and guides sent to your email. Learn how to ace the SAT/ACT and get into college, with exclusive tips and insights that we share with our private newsletter subscribers.
You should definitely follow us on social media. You'll get updates on our latest articles right on your feed. Follow us on all of our social networks:
Sources
The data on this page is drawn from a variety of sources, including (but not limited to):
- National Center for Educational Statistics CCD 2013-2014
- "Free or reduced price lunch: A proxy for poverty?", NCES Blog
- CRDC 2011-2012 school year data
- California Department of Education SAT, ACT, and AP Test Results
- California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System Results
- IBO.org