Location: Winterhaven, CA
Are you a student or parent at San Pasqual Valley High School? Want to understand how to get the most out of high school?
We've written the best guide to San Pasqual Valley High available. Here we'll cover:
- Breakdowns of student ethnicity, gender, and family income
- How safe San Pasqual Valley High is to attend
- SAT/ACT/AP scores earned by San Pasqual Valley High students
- Which AP/IB classes you can take at San Pasqual Valley High
- Every sports team you can join at San Pasqual Valley High
Let's get started!
Basic Information
San Pasqual Valley High School is a public school, supporting grades 9 to 12 . It's located in Winterhaven, CA in Imperial County.
Based on its location, San Pasqual Valley High is classified as a school in a rural fringe area, near an urbanized area. Here's the location on a map:
Contact Information
Mailing address:
San Pasqual Valley High SchoolRt.1, 676 Baseline Rd. Winterhaven, CA 92283-9799
Phone number: 7605720222
San Pasqual Valley High School homepage: http://www.spvusd.org/
Principal: Darrell PechtlEmail the principal: [email protected]
Student Demographics
Student Enrollment
The total enrollment at San Pasqual Valley High School is 169 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, San Pasqual Valley 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 San Pasqual Valley High lacking for your interests, consider looking to your local community to supplement your interests.
Growth in Student Body Size
Is San Pasqual Valley High School growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.
From our calculations, the enrollment at San Pasqual Valley High has increased over the past few years. We calculate this by comparing enrollment in grades 9 to 12.
| Male Students | Female Students | All Students | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9th grade | 32 | 16 | 48 |
| 10th grade | 27 | 24 | 51 |
| 11th grade | 26 | 15 | 41 |
| 12th grade | 18 | 11 | 29 |
As you can see in the table above, the freshman class is 19 students larger than the senior class. This suggests that the school is growing in size and taking on more students.
There are a few reasons this could be happening. The city of Winterhaven could be growing in population, thus sending more students into San Pasqual Valley High. Alternatively, San Pasqual Valley High could be relaxing its student policies and taking in more students.
Gender Split
Are there more boys or girls at San Pasqual Valley High School?
From our statistics, San Pasqual Valley High has a 61:39 split between male and female students in the high school grades.
There is a large male majority at San Pasqual Valley High, and much more than you would expect from the general population in Imperial County. As a result, it'll feel like there are a lot more girls than boys in your classes.
Sometimes this imbalance can result from random chance and may not suggest anything about San Pasqual Valley High. In other cases, the school might preferentially select for males. For example, in our data we find that continuation high schools unfortunately seem to be male-dominated. In yet other cases, other neighboring schools might attract female students, drawing them away from San Pasqual Valley High.
If the male majority is concerning to you, we suggest contacting San Pasqual Valley High administration and asking if they have any thoughts about why there's a gender imbalance. Their phone number is 7605720222.
Ethnicity Breakdown
What's the racial diversity at San Pasqual Valley High School? Does one ethnicity make up most of the student body, or is it fairly balanced?
From our statistics, San Pasqual Valley High has a somewhat homogenous student body, with the majority of students identifying as one ethnicity, but not representing over 70% of the student body. Most schools in California fit this profile, so San Pasqual Valley High isn't out of the ordinary. Most students attending class with you will be of the predominant ethnicity, but there will be meaningful diversity from other races.
The majority of students at San Pasqual Valley 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 San Pasqual Valley High fits within this category.
| Percentage | Number | |
|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 32.5% | 55 |
| Asian | 0.5% | 1 |
| Hispanic | 58.5% | 99 |
| Black | 0.0% | 0 |
| White | 2.3% | 4 |
| Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander | 0.0% | 0 |
| Two or more races | 5.9% | 10 |
High schools usually reflect the population in the surrounding area, so the ethnicities of students likely resembles those of Winterhaven. 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 San Pasqual Valley High Families
What are the family incomes of students at San Pasqual Valley 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 San Pasqual Valley High, 7.6% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 78.6% qualify for free lunches.
This means San Pasqual Valley High has a high percentage of students at or near poverty. Almost a third of all schools in California show this level of poverty, and by National Center for Education Statistics standards, San Pasqual Valley High can be classified as a high poverty school. The income level of families in Winterhaven is thus likely to be low.
| Number | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| Reduced-price lunches | 13 | 7.6% |
| Free lunches | 133 | 78.6% |
| Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches | 23 | 13.6% |
As with ethnicity, this likely reflects the surrounding community in Winterhaven and doesn't speak much about the school itself.
Unfortunately, schools in areas of lower income levels are likely to be more poorly funded. As a result, they might feature less advanced coursework like AP/IB classes, and you may not have a full range of sports and extracurriculars to draw from. Because San Pasqual Valley High is an especially high poverty-level school, it might not have the resources you need to meet your full potential.
You definitely don't have control over the city, the school, or other families, but you can structure your own learning to be more productive. If you'd like to open yourself to more opportunities, you can look into whether it's possible to transfer to a nearby school with higher income levels.
If not, don't be alarmed - it's possible that San Pasqual Valley High has all that you need for your ambition. And you can definitely be proactive about learning outside of your school, looking to your community or to the Internet to find more resources.
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 San Pasqual Valley 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 San Pasqual Valley 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 San Pasqual Valley High students at risk.
In the school year of 2011-2012, there were 2 referrals to law enforcement (2 male, 0 female), and 0 school-related arrests. This is out of a total enrollment of 147 students.
To put this into perspective, most California schools (59% of them) reported 0 law enforcement referrals and arrests.
This means that 1.3 San Pasqual Valley High has minor safety issues. For every 100 students, there were just 1.3 law-enforcement related actions, but this is still higher than 75% of California schools.
With this record, is San Pasqual Valley High School significantly different from other schools in the area? It could be that San Pasqual Valley 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:
San Pasqual Valley Unified School District Safety
| School Name | Total Referred | Total Arrests | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bill M. Manes High | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| San Pasqual Vocational Academy | 0 | 0 | 17 |
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 San Pasqual Valley High School? Will you be competitive for college? Will you have access to advanced classes?
We've compiled everything we could find about San Pasqual Valley High's academics here.
Standardized Testing
Next, we'll look at another major piece of high school academics: standardized testing performance for San Pasqual Valley 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 San Pasqual Valley 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 San Pasqual Valley 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 San Pasqual Valley High.
English/Language Arts
At San Pasqual Valley High School, 31% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.
This is considered below average and puts San Pasqual Valley High in the bottom 50% of all high schools in California for English/Language Arts. The majority of San Pasqual Valley High students do not pass state standards, and only a small percentage pass.
This specific percentage isn't much cause for concern - because the Common Core is new, the pass rate at San Pasqual Valley High will likely rise over time. But it still reflects San Pasqual Valley High's below average 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 San Pasqual Valley High School, 4% of students meet or exceed state standards in Math. This is considered well below average and puts San Pasqual Valley High in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California. The vast majority of San Pasqual Valley 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
Finally, we'll cover which sports teams are available at San Pasqual Valley High School. Sports are an integral part of many students' high school experiences. The more sports that are available, and the more levels supported (Frosh, JV, Varsity), the more likely you'll be able to participate in a sport at San Pasqual Valley High.
By the way, the San Pasqual Valley High mascot is the Warriors. Go Warriors!
San Pasqual Valley High School fields 6 teams for girls' sports. This is a low number that puts San Pasqual Valley High in the bottom 25% of California schools that offer girls' sports. This is understandable - sports teams are expensive to support, and many schools would rather support other programs with their limited resources. If you play a sport that San Pasqual Valley High doesn't field a team for, consider joining a local non-school team to get practice and compete.
And now for the boys: San Pasqual Valley High School fields 9 teams for boys' sports. This relatively number puts San Pasqual Valley High in the bottom 50% of California schools that offer boys' sports. Sports teams are expensive to support, and San Pasqual Valley High may not be able to offer the full range of options. If you participate in a sport that San Pasqual Valley High doesn't offer, consider joining a local non-school team to get practice and compete.
| Boys Teams | Girls Teams |
|---|---|
| Basketball
Var
JV
|
Basketball
Var
|
| Football
Var
|
|
| Wrestling
Var
|
|
| Volleyball
Var
|
Volleyball
Var
|
| Baseball
Var
|
|
| Softball
Var
|
|
| Trackfield
Var
|
Trackfield
Var
|
| Crosscountry
Var
|
Crosscountry
Var
|
| Soccer
Var
|
Soccer
Var
|
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.
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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