San Diego City Wire

In the 2023-24 school year, kindergarten was the largest grade in Poway Unified School District, with 3,112 students making up 9% of the student body, according to the California Department of Education. This represents a growth of 0.3% compared to the previous year.

The grade with the second highest number of students was 12th grade, with 3,089 students, or 8.9% of the student body.

The schools that had the highest number of kindergarten students in Poway Unified School District during the period were Chaparral Elementary School and Westwood Elementary School, while Pomerado Elementary School had the fewest.

Overall, Poway Unified School District enrolled 34,755 students, ranking as the 22nd highest enrolled district in California for the 2023-24 school year. It also ranked 22nd highest in the previous school year.

California's public schools face a growing financial crisis driven by declining enrollment and an increase in chronic absenteeism, both impacting the state's school funding model.

Enrollment, which peaked at 6.3 million students in the early 2000s, has steadily declined to under 6 million today, with projections indicating it could fall below 5.2 million by 2032. This trend is attributed to lower birth rates, slowed immigration, and families relocating out of state due to high housing costs. Rural and coastal districts have been particularly affected, facing tough decisions such as school closures and staffing reductions.

At the same time, chronic absenteeism has surged from 12% pre-pandemic to 25%, disproportionately impacting younger students and jeopardizing their long-term success.

School	Total Enrollment
Abraxas Continuation High School	243
Adobe Bluffs Elementary School	549
Bernardo Heights Middle School	1,501
Black Mountain Middle School	1,132
Canyon View Elementary School	496
Chaparral Elementary School	869
Creekside Elementary School	560
Deer Canyon Elementary School	362
Del Norte High School	2,564
Del Sur Elementary School	946
Design 39 Campus	1,251
Garden Road Elementary School	532
Highland Ranch Elementary School	661
Los Penasquitos Elementary School	624
Meadowbrook Middle School	984
Mesa Verde Middle School	1,119
Midland Elementary School	588
Monterey Ridge Elementary School	815
Morning Creek Elementary School	564
Mt. Carmel High School	1,831
Oak Valley Middle School	1,485
Painted Rock Elementary School	608
Park Village Elementary School	634
Pomerado Elementary School	342
Poway High School	2,161
Poway to Palomar Middle College High	81
Rancho Bernardo High School	2,278
Rolling Hills Elementary School	496
Shoal Creek Elementary School	488
Stone Ranch Elementary School	752
Sundance Elementary School	436
Sunset Hills Elementary School	372
Tierra Bonita Elementary School	399
Turtleback Elementary School	500
Twin Peaks Middle School	1,101
Valley Elementary School	659
Westview High School	2,186
Westwood Elementary School	839
Willow Grove Elementary School	747