Helix High

Helix High is a high school in La Mesa, CA that enrolls 2,502 students in grades 9-12, putting it among the larger public campuses in the Helix High District. That headcount is above the 2,502-student average for schools in the district.

EDFacts assessment data puts 53% of students at or above grade level in combined math and reading, a little above the national midpoint where roughly half of tested students clear the bar. That tracks the 53% district average closely, within a few points either way. Against the 45% California statewide average, the school sits 8 points higher.

Over the last three reported years the district proficiency rate this school inherits has risen by about 8 points. As a high school, it reports a 70% adjusted-cohort graduation rate, the share of first-time ninth-graders who earn a regular diploma within four years.

The student-teacher ratio is 24.3 to 1, near the high end of the national distribution; NCES counts every certified teacher, so this figure includes specialists as well as classroom staff. 62% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a majority-low-income enrollment. It is a charter school and receives Title I federal funding, a poverty-based designation rather than a quality marker.