![]() Mattingly and his wife were one of the first families to send their kid to OCASA when they heard the school was starting in 2020. Mattingly, who went to San Clemente High for his junior and senior years in the 1990s, previously had his older son enrolled in Orange County Academy of Science and Arts (OCASA) College Prep, a charter school in San Juan Capistrano. One parent who pulled their kids out of CUSD altogether after the pandemic upheaval is Chris Mattingly. “I don’t think you can point your finger at one thing,” Baker said. The decrease was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, because the health crisis upended the usual ways public schools operated, which in turn may have convinced some frustrated parents to turn to private or charter schools instead, Baker said. Illustration: Chelsie Rexĭana Hills High School Principal Brad Baker said the decline was already projected by the time he was hired in 2019. This table, using data from, shows how the Capistrano Unified School District’s declining enrollment numbers compare to other districts of similar size. ![]() Student enrollment has generally declined in California public schools in recent years because of a variety of factors cited by educators. “Those declines accelerated in 2021, and the state forecasts declining enrollment over the next decade.” “After that, declines persisted through grade levels,” West said. “By comparison, enrollment was down 1.84 percent in 2021-22 and 2.6 percent in 2020-21, the first year of the pandemic.”ĭean West, associate superintendent of Business Services for the Orange County Department of Education, said countywide enrollment peaked near 2003 and plateaued through 2012. “According to statewide figures, the number of TK-12 students in public schools fell by 0.67 percent for the 2022-23 academic year, a decrease of 39,696 students from the previous year,” the news release said. A news release put out by the Orange County Department of Education this month said California’s public school enrollment has dropped for the sixth consecutive year, though data released by the state Department of Education suggests the declines are slowing. The shift follows a statewide and national trend. It’s a trend expected to continue for the next 10 years, according to Carter.ĬUSD is not alone in seeing a decline in student enrollment. “We knew that decline would hit us in the high school,” he said. Since the 2018-19 school year- when student enrollment was at 53,269-the district has experienced a gradual decline each passing year, dropping to 52,794 in 2019-20 50,419 in 2020-21 and then 49,974 in 2021-22.Ĭarter said local educators have anticipated the decline for some time. ![]() In the five-year period between the 2018-19 school year and the current academic year, CUSD experienced a roughly 21.4% reduction in student enrollment, according to data compiled from Ed-Data, an online resource of fiscal, demographic and performance data for K-12 schools.įor the upcoming 2023-24 school year, CUSD projects to have 40,939 students enrolled, down from the 41,854 students in classrooms this school year. The area’s aging population has, in part, led to a decline in Capistrano Unified School District’s student enrollment.Ī review of CUSD’s enrollment numbers from recent years reveals that the district has seen a continual decline, which educators attributed to a variety of factors-including the aging residential population, as well as upheavals from the COVID-19 pandemic. Its impact has had an unintended consequence on schools, according to San Clemente High School Principal Chris Carter.Īs homeowners grow older and stay in the neighborhood, their children grow up and eventually graduate or otherwise age out of the public school system. New housing developments in San Clemente over the years have led to more home ownership in the area.
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