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Pacific Collegiate School tells board it is making progress on diversity; trustees press for clearer outreach and lottery priorities
Summary
PCS presented enrollment and outcome data and described supports for student success; trustees pressed for clearer recruitment and outreach strategies to increase low‑income, foster, English‑learner and first‑generation representation in the charter lottery.
Representatives from Pacific Collegiate School presented an annual diversity update to the county board, summarizing enrollment by ethnicity (as of April 2026), student supports, and academic outcomes. Jessica Alvarez, PCS director of special education, explained services including multi‑tiered counseling, mental‑health supports available four days per week, tutoring and a student success team that reviews data every six to eight weeks.
PCS officials noted progress in making the program accessible and described lottery priorities that reserve spots for low‑income students, foster/homeless students, English learners and first‑generation college students — priorities currently applied to the seventh‑grade entry cohort. Trustees questioned how often reserved slots are filled and whether the district should expand priority spots to other entry points. PCS leaders said the reserved priorities are intended to improve access and that they would consider expanding priority spots if outreach successfully fills current allocations.
Trustees also discussed the school’s AP graduation requirement (students must complete five AP classes to graduate with a PCS diploma), the school’s high AP passage and college acceptance rates, and the need for clearer outreach plans to increase representation. PCS said it will work with county staff to refine outreach strategies and report back on progress.
