Whittier High

Whittier High, a well-populated senior high in Whittier, California, operated by Whittier Union High, educates 1,652 students, covering grades 9 through 12. Enrollment runs roughly 97% bigger than the state mean of about 838.

Across the 7 schools in Whittier Union High (9,798 students total), Whittier High accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Whittier High logs that the student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic (92%). Other groups include 5% White. That is visibly more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 48%.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Whittier High has 77 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 21.4:1. The state averages around 18.2:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Roughly 85% of students at Whittier High qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Los Angeles County (around 70%), the school's rate is north of typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Whittier High is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 28.6%; this one delivers 53.3%, a residual of +24.7 points.

Zooming out to the county, the surrounding county (Los Angeles County) logs that median household earnings sit near $90,112, about 36% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Los Angeles County runs 2244 public schools (combined enrollment of about 1,265,907 students), of which Whittier High is one.

The closest other public school is Longfellow Elementary, roughly 0.6 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Whittier High ranks 1st on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 39.7%.

Geographically, the school is in a bedroom-community area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Whittier High's enrollment has declined 13% since 2018, when it stood at 1,906 (now 1,652). Class-load math has tightened: from 24.8:1 in 2018 to 21.4:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, the feed for Whittier High typically covers enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Members of the school community can share what they know.