El Dorado County Education: Which school had most students enrolled in 2023-24 school year?

Oak Ridge High School had the highest enrollment among El Dorado County schools, welcoming 2,375 students during the 2023-24 school year, according to the California Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed in the 2023-24 school year, 51.4% were boys, 48.5% were girls, and 0.1% identified themselves as non-binary or did not specify their gender.

Data also showed that the majority of students were white, making up 64.3% of the total enrollment in Oak Ridge High School.

Among the 59 schools in El Dorado County, Ponderosa High School ranked second in enrollment numbers with 1,689 students, while El Dorado High School welcomed 1,195 students and ranked third in the 2023-24 school year.

Oak Ridge High School is part of El Dorado Union High School District, which roughly covers schools within El Dorado County and has a main office in Placerville.

In the previous school year, Oak Ridge High School also had the largest number of students among El Dorado County schools.

Although chronic absenteeism in California decreased in 2023, it remains double the pre-pandemic rate. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, chronic absenteeism in the state public schools reached 25% in 2023, up from 12% in 2019.

After peaking at 6.3 million in the early 2000s, public school enrollment in California has marked its seventh consecutive decline in the 2023-24 school year, with projections indicating it could fall to approximately 5.2 million by the 2033-34 school year. 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.