ENROLLMENT DECLINES Explaining the causes and effects of lower enrollment within FUHSD BY TANISH MENDKI AND MATTHEW YOSHIMOTO
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n the past school year, MVHS’s total enrollment shrank from 2,082 to 1,842 students and is predicted to reach a student body of 1,619 by the 202526 school year. This steady decline in the number of students is “not just a bubble — it’s a trend,” according to Associate Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Tom Avvakumovits. One explanation for declining enrollment is record low birth rates in the Bay Area. Data collected by the California Department of Public Health shows a large decrease in births in the county, dropping from 26,730 births in 2008 to 22,137 nine years later. Another cause of declining enrollment is the high cost of living and recent modifications to the interior designs of homes, according to Thomas R. Williams, the Principal Demographer for Enrollment Projection Consultants. New developments are mainly onebedroom units, which is targeted to young tech employees as opposed to families — this decreases the number of students who would attend FUHSD schools. “It’s not like we’ve cut your art program or your music program,”
08
2,028
2020-21
2,193
2019-20
2018-19
2,274
EL ESTOQUE | MARCH 2022
1,842
2021-22
NUMBER OF STUDENTS AT
Avvakumovits said. “You can still a majority of the student body take band. You still have access to takes these courses. While MVHS five different levels of four different enrollment has overall decreased, the languages. [Although it] gets harder number of sections of certain offerings and harder to maintain, the course has grown, such as AVID, Drama and offerings have not diminished as a Journalism. result of declining enrollment.” English and Drama teacher Hannah FUHSD has Gould fears that prior experience courses she I’M HEARTENED BY THE with declining teaches “might FACT THAT WE HAVE A enrollment at not exist, or might Lynbrook High just continue to HISTORY OF [OFFERING School. When shrink moving COMPREHENSIVE LHS faced record forward.” Gould PROGRAMS]. low attendance in is concerned that 2016, the FUHSD FUHSD ASSOCIATE students who Board passed SUPERINTENDENT are interested in the Lynbrook TOM AVVAKUMOVITS Drama might miss Supplemental the opportunity S c h o o l due to the district Assignment Plan, created by the making schedules based on the top Citizens Advisory Committee on 6 choices of students. However, Enrollment. In this plan, all students this year, MVHS added a section of from Miller Middle School had the Beginning Drama and Writing for option to enroll at LHS, while 22 spots Publication by using students’ seventh were reserved for students from Hyde choices. Middle School. “A lot of people are just thinking of “That’s an example of [FUHSD] ‘we might have to have a few more trying to say, ‘Hey, we value people split between sites,’ and, ‘No, a comprehensive high school what’s a small thing for the whole experience for our school is this massive thing for these students,’” MVHS electives courses,’” Gould said. “[Other MVHS BY YEAR Principal Ben elective teachers and I are] trying to Clausnitzer said. explain the urgency of the problem “That’s an example from our perspective. I’m honestly not of one solution that’s sure if the people who are in these occurring right now in positions of power to help push these our district, and that conversations forward have a full could be something understanding of how urgent it is.” that is explored in the Clausnitzer acknowledges that future for [MVHS].” smaller programs will be more C l a u s n i t z e r negatively impacted if enrollment says that declining decreases to below approximately enrollment has 1,650 students. a proportionate “I’m committed to [giving] students impact on larger as much choice and as many departments, such opportunities to have comprehensive as Science, Math, programs as possible,” Avvakumovits English, Social said. “We have a history of doing so Science and World when our schools many, many years Languages, since ago were even smaller.”
