Westside High

As an one-room-style senior high in South Dos Palos, California, Westside High instructs 71 students from grades 9 through 12, part of Dos Palos Oro Loma Joint Unified. Compared to the state average of about 838 students per school, that is 92% below typical.

Dos Palos Oro Loma Joint Unified runs 5 schools in total, collectively educating 2,254 students. Westside High is one of those campuses.

On the student-mix side, Westside High logs that 82% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority. The remainder consists of 8% White, 6% Black, 4% Native American. That is considerably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 63%.

On the income-and-resources front, The school lists 5 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.3:1. The state averages around 18.2:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 93% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is noticeably above Merced County's rate of about 81%.

Zooming out to the county, Merced County reports that the typical household earns roughly $65,510 per year, roughly 15% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 16% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Merced County's 117 public schools (combined enrollment of about 59,456 students), Westside High is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Dos Palos Elementary, roughly 2.0 miles away. 4 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

Westside High operates from a small-town location.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count increased 39%: 51 students in 2018 compared to 71 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share fell from 20% to 8%. Class-load math has grew: from 10.2:1 in 2018 to 14.3:1 in 2025.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.