Summary:
The Summit Leadership Academy-High Desert District contains a single public high school, Summit Leadership Academy-High Desert, which serves grades 7 through 12 in Hesperia, CA, with a total enrollment of 253 students, the majority of whom come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
This school faces significant academic challenges, consistently ranking in the bottom 15% of all California schools, with proficiency rates in English, math, and science far below state averages. A critical factor is a severe chronic absenteeism rate of 50.2%, more than double the state average, which creates a major barrier to learning. Despite these struggles, the school reports a strong 94.4% graduation rate and a dropout rate lower than the state's, suggesting effective systems are in place to help students complete their diplomas even when they are far behind academically.
Notably, the school operates with a high per-student spending of over $25,000, yet these resources have not translated into improved standardized test scores. For parents, this indicates a school grappling with deep-seated challenges, particularly student attendance, but one that is heavily resourced and succeeds in keeping most students enrolled through graduation. The key areas for improvement are foundational skill building, especially in middle school grades, and implementing targeted strategies to address the absenteeism crisis.
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