No UC admissions data on file for Sierra Preparatory Academy.

This school doesn't appear in UCOP's source-school records (it may send few or no applicants to UC). Its enrollment trend and similar-school comparison are still below.

Sierra Preparatory Academy

· Orange County · Santa Ana Unified · Public

Public Orange County 🏛 Santa Ana Unified → CDS 3066670…
📄 Shareable scorecard →

📋 At a glance

Programs & features
  • ✅ Gifted & talented program
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: Bottom 14% of US high schools

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

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How Sierra Preparatory Academy compares for families

What families should know about Sierra Preparatory Academy.

  • vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Roosevelt Walker Academy, Orange County Educational Arts Academy, Scholarship Prep - Orange County and 2 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

For Parents

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SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21
SAT/ACT test-takers
0
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

Chronic absenteeism — 2024-25

Share of students missing 10% or more of expected attendance — the leading indicator that often precedes the demand decline shown above. Families disengaging tend to raise absenteeism first, then formally leave. Basis: total enrollment.

Chronic absent
24.3%
182 of 748 students

Absenteeism is up 17.5 pp since 2016-17. A rising absenteeism trend often precedes formal departure — worth investigating which subgroups are driving it.

Orange County median
16.4% · school is worse than 72% of 143 HS
Statewide median
20.9%
Chronic absenteeism by year (raw %)

Source: California Department of Education, Chronic Absenteeism 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 eligible students. CDE didn't publish a usable 2019-20 file (COVID).

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment
812 (2018)621 (2026)
-23.5%

If this trend holds (-1.4%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~613 -8 $0
3 yr (2029) ~596 -25 $0
5 yr (2031) ~580 -41 $0

Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423/ADA). Edit the figure to match your school.

Sierra Preparatory Academy — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • At its recent rate (-3.3%/yr), enrollment projects to ~562 by 2029 — about 59 fewer students than today.

Enrollment projection

621 students (2026)
~562 projected (2029)
at -3.3%/yr

That's about 59 fewer students. At per-student funding of $ per student, that's roughly $0 in annual state funding at risk.

Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423 per ADA) — adjust to your district's actual per-pupil figure. Projection extrapolates the recent annual rate — not a forecast of intent.

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
Sierra Preparatory Academy Public 621
Peer-group median 89.9% +20%
Roosevelt Walker Academy Public 598
Orange County Educational Arts Academy Public 663
Scholarship Prep - Orange County Public 571
California Iinspire Academy Public 671
Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana Public 586 100.0% +257%
Irvine Chinese Immersion Academy Public 652
Irvine International Academy Public 594
Ednovate - Legacy College Prep. Public 451 +20%
Romero-Cruz Academy Public 763
Middle College High Public 476 79.8% +20%

UC Reach = top-6 UC admits ÷ senior class (can exceed 100% when students are admitted to multiple campuses). Enrollment trend = first-to-latest grade-12 change on file. Similar schools matched on proximity, size, type. Methodology →

Enrollment stability & demand — 2024-25

Two complementary signals: retention (do students stay once enrolled?) and demand (are families choosing the school?). Read against the Orange County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

Stability rate
0.0%
0 of 1 students

1 of 1 students who enrolled at Sierra Preparatory Academy this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (100.0% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

Orange County median
91.8% · school is in the 0th percentile of 94 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 0th percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

Hispanic / Latino (746) 85.7%
Socio. disadvantaged (734) 85.7%
English learners (401) 83.8%
Students w/ disabilities (190) 87.9%

Nearest peer high schools

Roosevelt Walker Academy 88.1% Orange County Educational Arts Academy 98.6% Scholarship Prep - Orange County 90.2% California Iinspire Academy 94.0% Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana 97.9%

Source: California Department of Education, Stability Rate 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 cumulative enrollees so by-design-high-churn continuation schools don't dominate the bottom of the distribution. Cumulative enrollment counts every student on the rolls during the year, so it can exceed peak-day enrollment.

District financial profile — Santa Ana Unified (FY2020)

From 4 years of NCES F-33 filings (the federally-mandated district finance survey). Public schools don't have their own books — the district does. These figures show the financial scale, revenue dependence, instruction-vs-overhead mix, and long-term debt that shape what a school can sustain.

Total revenue
$856.0M
+6.5% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$19,336
44,271 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 56.1%
Local: 28.4%
Federal: 15.5%
Instruction share
62.3%
of current spending · $10,226/pupil
Long-term debt
$514.3M
+31.4% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($M)
Total expenditure by year ($M)

Source: NCES F-33 Annual Survey of School System Finances (Urban Institute Education Data API). Latest year currently published: FY2020. F-33 is a district-level federal filing — it reflects the Santa Ana Unified as a whole, not this individual school's books. Revenue mix shows where the district's dollars come from (state aid dominates in CA via LCFF). Instruction share is current expenditure on instruction ÷ total current expenditure (national benchmark ~60%). Long-term debt is end-of-year outstanding (mostly facilities bonds).

For School Admins

The full Reach Report for Sierra Preparatory Academy

A board- and LCAP-ready intelligence brief: your enrollment retention and college outcomes, benchmarked against your closest competitors, with a 5-year forecast, concrete steps to act on, and the rigor + outcomes story you can share with your families. Built from primary public data — prepared for you, not auto-generated.

  • Your 5-year enrollment forecast (currently -1.4%/yr) with the revenue at stake
  • Student-retention benchmarking vs your county median — and the LCAP evidence to back your goals
See a sample report →

For Parents

Researching colleges for your kid at Sierra Preparatory Academy?

Get a personalized College Plan Audit — find Reach, Target, and Safety colleges matched to your kid's GPA, test scores, intended major, and your family's budget. Free.

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For School Admins looking at enrollment trends: request an Enrollment Trend Audit →