Location: Atascadero, CA
Are you a student or parent at West Mall Alternative School? Want to understand how to get the most out of high school?
We've written the best guide to West Mall Alternative available. Here we'll cover:
- Breakdowns of student ethnicity, gender, and family income
- How safe West Mall Alternative is to attend
- SAT/ACT/AP scores earned by West Mall Alternative students
- Which AP/IB classes you can take at West Mall Alternative
- Every sports team you can join at West Mall Alternative
Let's get started!
Basic Information
West Mall Alternative School is a public school, supporting grades 0 to 12 . It's located in Atascadero, CA in San Luis Obispo County.
Based on its location, West Mall Alternative is classified as a school in a small suburb. Here's the location on a map:
Contact Information
Mailing address:
West Mall Alternative School5601 W. Mall Atascadero, CA 93422-1933
Phone number: 8054624238
West Mall Alternative School homepage: https://sites.google.com/a/atasusd.org/wma/west-mall-alternative-9-12
Principal: Michelle FoxEmail the principal: [email protected]
Student Demographics
Student Enrollment
The total enrollment at West Mall Alternative School is 86 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, West Mall Alternative 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 West Mall Alternative lacking for your interests, consider looking to your local community to supplement your interests.
Growth in Student Body Size
Is West Mall Alternative School growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.
From our calculations, the enrollment at West Mall Alternative 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 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 10th grade | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 11th grade | 3 | 10 | 13 |
| 12th grade | 5 | 6 | 11 |
As you can see in the table above, the senior class is 6 students larger than the freshman class. This suggests that West Mall Alternative is shrinking in size and taking on fewer students.
There are a few reasons this can happen. The population of Atascadero could be decreasing, thus sending fewer students into West Mall Alternative. Alternatively, other schools (like charter or private schools) might be appearing, drawing students away.
Gender Split
Are there more boys or girls at West Mall Alternative School?
From our statistics, West Mall Alternative has a 39:61 split between male and female students in the high school grades.
There is a large female majority at West Mall Alternative, and the imbalance is greater than you would expect from the general population in San Luis Obispo 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 West Mall Alternative. In other cases, the school might preferentially select for females (if it has its own admissions criteria), or parents with female kids might prefer to send them to West Mall Alternative. In yet other cases, other neighboring schools might attract male students, drawing them away from West Mall Alternative.
If this gender imbalance is a concern for you, we suggest contacting West Mall Alternative administration and asking if they have any thoughts about why there's a female majority. Their phone number is 8054624238.
Ethnicity Breakdown
What's the racial diversity at West Mall Alternative School? Does one ethnicity make up most of the student body, or is it fairly balanced?
From our statistics, West Mall Alternative 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 West Mall Alternative does. When attending class, most students will be of the same ethnicity, with some variation.
The majority of students at West Mall Alternative are white. In California, white students make up 26.3% of all California students, and are the second most common ethnicity after Hispanic students. Thus West Mall Alternative is one of hundreds of schools in the state that have a majority of white students.
| Percentage | Number | |
|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 2.3% | 2 |
| Asian | 4.6% | 4 |
| Hispanic | 8.1% | 7 |
| Black | 0.0% | 0 |
| White | 80.2% | 69 |
| Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander | 0.0% | 0 |
| Two or more races | 4.6% | 4 |
High schools usually reflect the population in the surrounding area, so the ethnicities of students likely resembles those of Atascadero. 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 West Mall Alternative Families
What are the family incomes of students at West Mall Alternative 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 West Mall Alternative, 9.3% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 10.4% qualify for free lunches.
This means West Mall Alternative has a low poverty level. The overwhelming majority of students at West Mall Alternative don't qualify for free or reduced price lunches. Atascadero is thus likely to be an affluent community, with quite high family incomes.
| Number | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| Reduced-price lunches | 8 | 9.3% |
| Free lunches | 9 | 10.4% |
| Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches | 69 | 80.2% |
As with ethnicity, this likely reflects the surrounding community in Atascadero and doesn't speak much about the school itself.
Because West Mall Alternative is in the top quartile of schools by family income, it's likely to be well-funded relative to other high schools in California. This means you'll likely have access to advanced coursework like AP/IB classes and better-funded extracurriculars and sports.
It's still up to you, though, to take advantage of the resources West Mall Alternative has to offer. If you work hard and spend your time effectively, you'll likely be well positioned to succeed in college and beyond.
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School Safety
How safe is West Mall Alternative 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 West Mall Alternative: 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 West Mall Alternative students at risk.
In the school year of 2011-2012, there were 0 referrals to law enforcement, and 0 school-related arrests. This is out of a total enrollment of 50 students.
To put this into perspective, most California schools (59% of them) reported 0 law enforcement referrals and arrests.
Compare this school with other high schools in the same school district, using the following table:
Atascadero Unified School District Safety
| School Name | Total Referred | Total Arrests | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atascadero High | 49 | 51 | 1490 |
| Del Rio Continuation High | 12 | 12 | 138 |
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.
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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
- IBO.org