Peter Johansen High

Set in Modesto, California, Peter Johansen High is a heavily attended senior high, one of the schools within Modesto City High. It works with 2,029 students across grades 9 through 12. That puts it 142% bigger than the typical public school in California, which averages around 838 students.

Across the 8 schools in Modesto City High (15,334 students total), Peter Johansen High accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, Peter Johansen High logs that the largest single group is Hispanic, at 73% of enrollment. The remainder is composed of 12% White, 8% multiracial, 3% Asian, 3% Black. By comparison, Stanislaus County as a whole is about 50% Hispanic, so the school skews visibly more Hispanic than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 91 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 22.3:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 18.2:1 average. Around 82% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Stanislaus County (around 71%), the school's rate is north of typical.

After controlling for student poverty, Peter Johansen High tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 30.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 32.2%.

Zooming out to the county, census data for Stanislaus County shows median household earnings sit near $81,468, about 20% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. In all, Stanislaus County runs 190 public schools (combined enrollment of about 106,477 students), of which Peter Johansen High is one.

The closest other public school is Alice N. Stroud Elementary, roughly 0.5 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Peter Johansen High comes 2nd of 8 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 29.7%.

Geographically, the school is in a metropolitan area.

Five-year trend. Peter Johansen High's enrollment has rose 11% since 2018, when it stood at 1,831 (now 2,029). Over the same period, the White share contracted from 19% to 12%. Class-load math has pulled in: from 24.2:1 in 2018 to 22.3:1 in 2025.

On this page, posts here usually surface around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.