Santa Cruz County Education: Which school had most students enrolled in 2023-24 school year?

Watsonville High School had the highest enrollment among Santa Cruz County schools, welcoming 2,253 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, 50.5% were boys, and 49.5% were girls.

Among the 74 schools in Santa Cruz County, Pajaro Valley High School ranked second in enrollment numbers with 1,428 students, while Aptos High School welcomed 1,316 students and ranked third in the 2023-24 school year.

Watsonville High School is part of Pajaro Valley Unified School District, which roughly covers schools within Santa Cruz County and has a main office in Watsonville.

In the previous school year, Watsonville High School also had the largest number of students among Santa Cruz 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.