Sacramento-area public school enrollment is falling. See the latest at your school

As another school year begins, officials across the Sacramento region are anxiously hoping that enrollment declines seen during the COVID-19 pandemic will reverse.

Public school enrollment in the four-county area — Sacramento, Placer, Yolo and El Dorado counties — dropped by about 8,700, or 2.2%, from 2019-20 to 2021-22, according to the California Department of Public Education.

Those figures only tell part of the story. More students last year enrolled in non-traditional, online-only programs. The enrollment declines at traditional elementary, middle and high schools instruction were even steeper.

At traditional elementary schools with in-person instruction, enrollment declined by about 10,700, or 6%, from 2019-20 to 2021-22, according to a Bee analysis of state data.

Among ZIP codes with at least 500 elementary school students, the declines were largest in the Pocket neighborhood of Sacramento (95831), which saw enrollment at traditional elementary schools fall by 636, or 17%. Many of the losses were concentrated at Sol Aureus College Preparatory, where enrollment fell by 54%, and at Caroline Wenzel Elementary, where enrollment fell by 23%.

Enrollment fell by 286, or 14%, at traditional elementary schools in 95621, which covers western Citrus Heights. It fell by 229, or 14%, in in 95818, which covers Land Park.

Enrollment also fell sharply at the region’s traditional middle schools. Its traditional high schools did not see much change. Other types of schools — online schools, alternative schools, schools that facilitate homeschooling — saw enrollment increase.

The pandemic was the primary factor behind enrollment declines, school officials said. Many parents kept their kids from in-person school for fear of sickness, or to avoid the disruption of possible lockdowns.

Other, longer-term factors like migration to the suburbs and other states, a shift away from urban school districts and declining birth rates also contributed to the declines.

If they continue, the declines could have major effects on school funding because schools receive money on a per pupil basis. However, some of that pain will likely be mitigated by a recent measure that lets schools count pre-pandemic enrollment in their three-year attendance average, and by a large increase in overall funding for schools.

This story was originally published August 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM.