Location: Sutter Creek, CA
Are you a student or parent at Independence (Continuation) High School? Want to understand how to get the most out of high school?
We've written the best guide to Independence Continuation High available. Here we'll cover:
- Breakdowns of student ethnicity, gender, and family income
- How safe Independence Continuation High is to attend
- SAT/ACT/AP scores earned by Independence Continuation High students
- Which AP/IB classes you can take at Independence Continuation High
- Every sports team you can join at Independence Continuation High
Let's get started!
Basic Information
Independence (Continuation) High School is a public school, supporting grades 9 to 12 . It's located in Sutter Creek, CA in Amador County.
Based on its location, Independence Continuation 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:
Independence (Continuation) High School217 Rex Ave. Jackson, CA 95642-2020
Phone number: 2092575100
Independence (Continuation) High School homepage: http://www.amadorcoe.org/directory_of_schools.htm
Principal: Frank (Butch) WagnerEmail the principal: [email protected]
Student Demographics
Student Enrollment
The total enrollment at Independence (Continuation) High School is 60 students, making it a small high school, in the bottom 25% of all California high schools by size.
With at most a few dozen students in your class, you'll get to know most other Independence Continuation High students well. But the small student body size may mean that you won't get access to the full range of activities and classes that other high schools offer.
If you find that your interests aren't well served by Independence Continuation High, consider transferring to a larger high school if possible, or find ways to supplement your interests in your community or on the Internet.
Growth in Student Body Size
Is Independence (Continuation) High School growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.
From our calculations, the enrollment at Independence Continuation High has steadily 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 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 11th grade | 14 | 7 | 21 |
| 12th grade | 22 | 15 | 37 |
As you can see in the table above, the senior class is 37 students larger than the freshman class. This suggests that Independence Continuation High is shrinking in size and taking on fewer students.
There are a few reasons this can happen. The population of Sutter Creek could be decreasing, thus sending fewer students into Independence 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 Independence (Continuation) High School?
From our statistics, Independence Continuation High has a 62:38 split between male and female students in the high school grades.
There is a large male majority at Independence Continuation High, and much more than you would expect from the general population in Amador 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 Independence Continuation 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 Independence Continuation High.
If the male majority is concerning to you, we suggest contacting Independence Continuation High administration and asking if they have any thoughts about why there's a gender imbalance. Their phone number is 2092575100.
Ethnicity Breakdown
What's the racial diversity at Independence (Continuation) High School? Does one ethnicity make up most of the student body, or is it fairly balanced?
From our statistics, Independence Continuation 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 Independence Continuation 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 Independence Continuation High 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 Independence Continuation High is one of hundreds of schools in the state that have a majority of white students.
| Percentage | Number | |
|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 8.3% | 5 |
| Asian | 1.6% | 1 |
| Hispanic | 31.6% | 19 |
| Black | 0.0% | 0 |
| White | 55.0% | 33 |
| Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander | 0.0% | 0 |
| Two or more races | 3.3% | 2 |
High schools usually reflect the population in the surrounding area, so the ethnicities of students likely resembles those of Sutter Creek. 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 Independence Continuation High Families
What are the family incomes of students at Independence (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 Independence Continuation High, 5.0% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 76.6% qualify for free lunches.
This means Independence Continuation 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, Independence Continuation High can be classified as a high poverty school. The income level of families in Sutter Creek is thus likely to be low.
| Number | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| Reduced-price lunches | 3 | 5.0% |
| Free lunches | 46 | 76.6% |
| Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches | 11 | 18.3% |
As with ethnicity, this likely reflects the surrounding community in Sutter Creek 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 Independence Continuation 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 Independence Continuation 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 Independence (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 Independence 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 Independence Continuation High 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 53 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:
Amador County Unified School District Safety
| School Name | Total Referred | Total Arrests | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Star Independent Study | 0 | 0 | 82 |
| Amador High | 0 | 0 | 592 |
| Argonaut High | 0 | 0 | 593 |
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 Independence (Continuation) High School? Will you be competitive for college? Will you have access to advanced classes?
We've compiled everything we could find about Independence Continuation High's academics here.
Graduation Rate
To start off, an important benchmark of academic achievement is graduation rate. For all students who start high school at Independence Continuation High, the state of California wants as many students to graduate as possible, since a high school diploma can mean a big difference in getting a job.
At Independence Continuation High, 85% Independence Continuation High students graduated within four years of starting high school.
Here's how this stacks up to other schools. The California state government has defined 90% as a target rate. The state average is around 80-85%.
Independence Continuation High is in the 56th percentile of all public high schools in California for graduation rate. This is above average. Generally, a graduation rate of above 90% is considered good and well above average, and below 75% is well below average.
Note: This data comes from a few years back, but the trends are likely to stay the same, since schools don't get significantly better or worse within a short period of time.
Standardized Testing
Next, we'll look at another major piece of high school academics: standardized testing performance for Independence (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 Independence (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 Independence 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 Independence Continuation High.
English/Language Arts
At Independence (Continuation) High School, 8% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.
This is considered well below average and puts Independence Continuation High in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California for English/Language Arts. The vast majority of Independence 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 Independence Continuation High will likely increase. But it still reflects Independence 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 Independence (Continuation) High School, 0% of students meet or exceed state standards in Math. This is considered well below average and puts Independence Continuation High in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California. The vast majority of Independence 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!
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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