Original Research by School Decision on Boynton High
Boynton High is an alternative high school in San Jose, operated by the Campbell Union High School District. It sits on Boynton Avenue in the western part of the city, in a neighborhood of mostly single-family homes built in the mid-twentieth century. The school serves eleventh and twelfth graders only, with no enrollment reported in ninth or tenth grade, which shapes almost everything about how to read its data.
The student body is small for a high school. The enrollment is heavily concentrated in twelfth grade, with a much smaller cohort in eleventh. Hispanic students make up the large majority of the school's population. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing Boynton among schools serving a high proportion of economically disadvantaged families. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not available in what we received.
State assessment results are reported for English language arts, math, and science, and they are low across all three subjects. Math proficiency in particular sits at a very small fraction of tested students; ELA and science are somewhat higher but still well below what most families would expect of a mainstream high school. A parent considering these numbers should know that alternative schools, particularly those serving students who have faced disruptions in their academic path, frequently sit outside the range that standardized proficiency metrics were designed to measure. The scores do not tell you much about individual student progress or the reasons students are enrolled here. That said, a parent would want to ask the school directly about its instructional model, how it supports credit recovery or re-engagement, and what its students go on to do after leaving. A graduation rate was not available in the data we received.
Chronic absenteeism data and course access details were also not available. Program information was not included in what we received, so we cannot speak to specific offerings, counseling services, or career pathways, and we left that rather than guess.
The Campbell Union High School District, which oversees Boynton, recently passed a general obligation bond through a November 2024 voter measure. That bond funds facility repairs, classroom and science lab upgrades, technology improvements, and accessibility and security work across district schools. It carries a long-term property tax cost for homeowners in the area, worth knowing if you are weighing where to live. The district also renewed a parcel tax in 2022 that funds ongoing operations, and that passed with strong voter support, suggesting some community investment in the district's schools.
The housing market around Boynton reflects San Jose's broader reality. Home values in the zip code are dramatically above the California statewide median, which is itself well above the national figure. Estimated monthly ownership costs for a typical home are very high by any national standard, and rent in the area consumes a large share of median household income. West San Jose, where the school sits, is a car-dependent residential area, quieter and lower-density than downtown, with the walkable districts and transit connections of the city's core accessible but not immediately adjacent.
San Jose's economy is dominated by technology employment, anchored publicly by Cisco but drawing from the broader Silicon Valley workforce that includes Apple, Google, Intel, and a wide array of semiconductor and professional services firms. For families already in the area, that employment base is the context. For families considering a move specifically for this school, the housing costs are a significant practical constraint.
Boynton High's profile is that of a small, specialized alternative school serving older high school students, predominantly from lower-income Hispanic families, in one of the country's most expensive urban housing markets. Whether it is the right fit depends entirely on what a student needs that a comprehensive high school has not provided. The data we have gives limited visibility into the school's internal programs and outcomes, and a direct conversation with school staff would be essential before drawing conclusions.
See more original research from School Decision →