Duncan Polytechnical High School is located in an inner city urban environment in east Fresno. The school is a comprehensive (9-12) magnet school that attracts students from throughout the Fresno Unified School District. Duncan Poly was created in 1985 as a four-year career technical education magnet school organized around five career pathways: Agriculture, Health, Public Service, Business, and Industrial Technology. Instructors from the academic subject areas are integrated within the five pathways. For the 2014-2015 school year, 9th graders were reorganized into two Linked Learning Academies, the IDATA Academy (Innovative Design and Applied Technology) and MASH (Medical Academy of Sciences and Health).  These academies will still offer multiple career pathways, but will allow for interdisciplinary curriculum. Students will be able to experience classes that teach to the context of their selected career area. In other words, 9th grade students will be able to experience English, Science, Art, and CTE classes that share projects and assignments and show how these disciplines can apply to real world careers.  Duncan is considered a model school for career technical education.

Duncan's 1000 full-time students are ethnically, linguistically and socio-economically diverse: 50% Hispanic, 40% Asian (predominantly Hmong, Khmer, and Lao), , 7% Caucasian, 2% African-American, and 1% other. In addition to English, Hmong, Spanish, Khmer, and Lao, several other languages are spoken on our campus. Most of Duncan's students come from families whose incomes place them in the low-middle to low socioeconomic levels. Duncan students have one of the highest poverty rates in the school district. And yet, they have the highest graduation rate, one of the highest percentages of students entering college (over 80%) and the lowest dropout, suspension, and expulsion rates of any high school in the district.  Duncan is a school of choice where success breeds success.  In 1996, Duncan was selected as a California Distinguished School and, in 2006, we were named a Breakthrough High School - one of nine in the nation - by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

As a magnet school, Duncan is open to all students in the Fresno Unified School District.  The Fresno Unified Transfers Office accepts applications on a priority basis from September 1- December 1.  Applications received during this timeline are placed into available seats for each academy.  If more applications are received than seats available, student placement will enter into raffle process.  Links to the Transfers Office and the Magnet application are found on this site.