West El Dorado News

There were 24,333 students enrolled in El Dorado County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 0.9% less than the previous year, according to the California Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed at the time, 51.6% identified as male, 48.3% as female, and 0.2% identified themselves as non-binary or did not specify their gender.

Data also showed that white students made up 62.9% of the student body, the largest percentage in the county, followed by Hispanic or Latino students at 23.1% (5,630 students), multiracial students at 5.4% (1,321 students) and Asian students at 4.8% (1,162 students).

Oak Ridge High School had the highest enrollment among El Dorado County's 411 schools in the 2023-24 academic year, welcoming 2,375 students.

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.

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.

School name	Total Enrollment in 2022-23	Total Enrollment in 2023-24	% Change
Oak Ridge High School	2,516	2,375	-5.6%
Ponderosa High School	1,648	1,689	2.5%
El Dorado High School	1,224	1,195	-2.4%
South Tahoe High School	1,141	1,108	-2.9%
Union Mine High School	1,066	1,046	-1.9%
Rolling Hills Middle School	817	814	-0.4%
South Tahoe Middle School	798	765	-4.1%
Marina Village Middle School	736	741	0.7%
Charter Montessori Valley View Campus	694	702	1.2%
Lakeview Elementary School	545	539	-1.1%
Rescue Elementary School	497	502	1%
Jackson Elementary School	459	496	8.1%
Camerado Springs Middle School	479	492	2.7%
Golden Sierra Junior Senior High School	488	475	-2.7%
Blue Oak Elementary School	485	465	-4.1%
Pleasant Grove Middle School	476	465	-2.3%
Oak Meadow Elementary School	496	461	-7.1%
Indian Creek Elementary School	466	445	-4.5%
Silva Valley Elementary School	435	434	-0.2%
Bijou Community	420	425	1.2%
Sierra Elementary School	404	422	4.5%
Lake Forest Elementary School	455	418	-8.1%
Sierra House Elementary School	410	412	0.5%
Camino Elementary School	412	406	-1.5%
Edwin Markham Middle School	391	404	3.3%
Tahoe Valley Elementary School	414	402	-2.9%
William Brooks Elementary School	365	393	7.7%
Louisiana Schnell Elementary School	372	378	1.6%
Herbert C. Green Middle School	374	374	0%
Lake Tahoe Environmental Science Magnet	360	352	-2.2%
Buckeye Elementary School	364	349	-4.1%
Charter Community School Home Study Academy	347	345	-0.6%
Green Valley Elementary School	347	344	-0.9%
Pinewood Elementary School	327	315	-3.7%
Gold Oak Elementary School	311	288	-7.4%
Gold Trail	278	268	-3.6%
Northside Elementary School	253	264	4.3%
Georgetown Elementary School	251	258	2.8%
Sierra Ridge Middle School	263	257	-2.3%
Charter Alternative Program (CAP)	223	245	9.9%
American River Charter	228	244	7%
Sutters Mill	242	230	-5%
Pioneer Elementary School	170	198	16.5%
Special Education	178	194	9%
Pleasant Valley Middle School	155	147	-5.2%
Buckeye Union Mandarin Immersion Charter	124	144	16.1%
Miller's Hill	96	104	8.3%
Independence Continuation	126	102	-19%
Pacific Crest Academy	100	100	0%
Mountain Creek Middle School	81	77	-4.9%
Elevated Digital Learning Academy	56	76	35.7%
Latrobe Elementary School	65	64	-1.5%
Mt. Tallac High School	49	64	30.6%
Otter Creek Elementary School	15	17	13.3%
Silver Fork Elementary School	13	16	23.1%
Indian Diggings Elementary School	10	8	-20%
Walt Tyler Elementary School	24	8	-66.7%
Divide High School	14	7	-50%
Blue Ridge	7	5	-28.6%