Katella High School

How to Enroll at Katella High School

Katella High School enrolls students by Anaheim Union High School District (AUHSD) attendance area: students who live inside the boundary register by address, with no entrance exam. The district's Find My School tool is the authority on which school an address is assigned to.

AUHSD residents who want a school other than their assigned one can apply under the district's intradistrict transfer policy (8535.5). The policy places all students living in a school's attendance area first and fills any remaining seats by random lottery among applications filed in the district's application period; the district sets the period and eligibility each year, and families provide their own transportation.

Students who live outside the district, including Irvine residents, must first obtain a release from their home district and then file AUHSD's Inter-district Transfer Incoming Application. Under the district's interdistrict policy (8536), AUHSD considers incoming transfers only for these reasons: a continuing student at the requested school, a sibling of a continuing student, a child of an AUHSD employee, a parent or guardian employed within district boundaries, or a specific instructional program offered at the requested school. Approval also requires available space and satisfactory grades, credits, attendance and behavior; permits are valid for one school year, and no transportation is provided. The policy also states that AUHSD is not a District of Choice, the state program under which a district voluntarily accepts out-of-district students.

When AUHSD denies an interdistrict request, it provides a written explanation. Families may appeal to Student Support Services on the district's appeal form within 7 calendar days of the denial letter, and after the district's final decision they may appeal to the Orange County Board of Education within 30 calendar days.

Starting in 2026-27, Katella High School is adding seats in AVID 11 for students who have not previously been in AVID; students who join as juniors are expected to continue into senior AVID.

Courses and Signature Programs at Katella High School

In the 2026-27 University of California A-G course list, Katella High School has 155 approved courses, including 13 AP courses and 22 UC-approved honors courses (courses that receive extra weight in the UC GPA). See the full A-G list.

Career Technical Education (CTE) Pathways

The school's 2025-26 SARC lists Child Development, Visual and Media Arts, Engineering Design, Food Services & Hospitality, Patient Care, Production & Managerial Arts, Public Safety, Game Development and eSports, and Systems Diagnostics, Service & Repair. Students who complete a pathway can earn CTE pathway awards and a graduation distinction.

Dual Enrollment

The school embeds dual enrollment courses in the regular school day, in virtual and in-person formats, so students earn both high school credit and transferable college credit. Since 2025-26, a 1-unit Fullerton College counseling course has been embedded in the required freshman Career, Financial and Technology course. Students can also take Cypress College and Fullerton College courses outside the school day.

Spanish Dual Language Immersion (DLI)

DLI is a new program, added in response to demand from students coming from DLI programs at the school's feeder schools, and DLI courses are being added across subjects. Students who complete 8 DLI courses earn the DLI distinction at graduation.

Anaheim Innovative Mentoring Experience (AIME)

AIME has three tiers, Career Exploration, a Career Mentoring Series and a summer Professional Internship, offered virtually, in hybrid formats and in person; partners include United Way, Disney, JP Morgan Chase, Kaiser Permanente and the City of Anaheim.

AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination)

AVID is an elective program that prepares students for four-year colleges. Starting in 2026-27, the school is opening additional junior-year seats for students who have not been in AVID and plan to apply to four-year colleges.

Academic Results at Katella High School: CAASPP and Graduation

In the 2024-25 California state tests (CAASPP), 45.3% of Katella High School 11th graders met or exceeded the English language arts standard and 13.3% met or exceeded the math standard; the statewide figures for 11th graders were 57% and 30.5%. For the class of 2025, 96.8% of the 557 students in the four-year cohort graduated, and 59.7% of graduates completed the A-G courses required for UC and CSU admission.

Twelve Years of UC Application Data at Katella High School: Applicants, Admit Rates and GPA

The University of California publishes applicants, admits and enrollees for every California high school. Combined 2023–2025, 242 of 370 applications from Katella High School to the UC system were admitted (65%). Categories with fewer than five students are not published by UC and appear as "—", not zero.

Campuses are listed in order of the U.S. News national university rankings. UC leaves a category blank when it has fewer than five applicants or fewer than three admits or enrollees.

Student Body at Katella High School

In 2025-26, 86.2% of Katella High School students were socioeconomically disadvantaged and 22% were English learners.

• Hispanic or Latino89.7%
• White3.6%
• Asian3%
• African American1.4%
• Filipino1.2%

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• Magnolia High SchoolAnaheim Union High School District
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• Western High SchoolAnaheim Union High School District

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