Burroughs High

Set in Ridgecrest, California, Burroughs High is a sizable four-year high school, operated by Sierra Sands Unified. It caters to 1,536 students across grades 9 through 12. Compared to the state average of about 838 students per school, that is 83% bigger than typical.

Burroughs High is one of 10 schools operated by Sierra Sands Unified, a district that educates 4,974 students overall.

Looking at the student body, Burroughs High records that 48% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 33% Hispanic, 8% Black, 5% multiracial, 4% Asian. That composition is broadly in line with Kern County as a whole.

On the resource side, On paper, Burroughs High has 75 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 20.4:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 18.2:1 average. About 53% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Kern County (around 76%), the school's rate is south of typical.

With demographic context factored in, Burroughs High sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 48.0%; this one delivers 38.6%.

Zooming out to the county, census data for Kern County shows median household earnings sit near $70,210, roughly 19% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 15%. In all, Kern County runs 279 public schools (combined enrollment of about 197,431 students), of which Burroughs High is one.

The closest other public school is Murray Middle, roughly 0.1 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Burroughs High ranks 4th on composite proficiency, above the local average of 33.0%.

The school occupies an outlying site.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count increased 6%: 1,453 students in 2018 compared to 1,536 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share fell from 59% to 48%. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 23.0:1 in 2018 to 20.4:1 today.

On the community side, posts here usually surface around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.