Demographics & Attendance Areas :: San Diego Unified School District

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About the District
Demographics & Geographic Attendance Areas

Demographics & Enrollment
Enrollment in the district has been decreasing since the 2000-2001 school year, when the student population reached 142,260. This was after more than 20 years of steady growth in the 1980's and 1990's. This growth period is referred to as the "Baby Boom Echo," where an influx into San Diego of families with school-age children led to rapidly rising enrollments, especially in the Mid-City area where enrollments at some elementary schools doubled and even tripled. The increases were later felt at middle and high schools.

Growth since the late 1990's has been concentrated primarily in the northern portion of the district because of new residential development in Mira Mesa and Scripps Ranch. However, the student population density remains highest in portions of Mid-City, which also have the city's highest overall population density. Enrollment decline since 2000-01 has been most significant in areas experiencing gentrification—the older neighborhoods surrounding Balboa Park being one example—as well as areas with large numbers of rental housing units suitable for families (south San Diego being an example). Increased residential redevelopment occurring in the Downtown/East Village area has thus far not generated a significant public school population, but district staff is closely monitoring this activity and working with city staff to plan for new school facilities should they be needed.

To alleviate overcrowding at new schools and modernize existing schools, voters approved Proposition MM, the $1.51 billion bond measure that provided funding for improvements at 161 existing schools, the building of 12 new schools and the rebuilding of three additional schools.

Enrollment Forecasts
The district uses a variety of sources and variables to develop enrollment forecasts. For each neighborhood school, staff must analyze the interaction between four historic variables, including:

Resident population - the total number of students eligible to attend a school based on grade level and residence
Resident attending population - the percentage of the resident population actually enrolled in their neighborhood school
Nonresident population - the students enrolled at a school who reside in another school's attendance area
Birth trends - which are the basis for future kindergarten enrollment.

The estimated student generation from any forecast new residential development is then added to the base school site forecast. A district forecast by grade is also developed using a similar methodology.

See also:

Total Enrollment Forecast 2005-2014

(draft)

Enrollment by School Level 2005-2014

(draft)

SDCS Birth History, 1989-2003

The number of children born to parents who live within the district influences the size of the Kindergarten class five years later. This chart shows that births peaked in the early 1990s, and fell each year between 1992 and 1999. In 1999, there were 18% fewer births than in 1992. Since 1999, the number of births in the district has been relatively stable.

Geographic Attendance Areas
San Diego City Schools encompasses approximately 211 square miles, running north to the Mira Mesa and Scripps Ranch neighborhoods; east to San Carlos and Allied Gardens; south to Bay Terraces, Paradise Hills and Logan Heights, and serving the coastal neighborhoods from Point Loma to La Jolla. Student population determines school boundary areas, and periodically, these boundary areas are studied and redrawn in order to relieve overcrowding. Some schools also have overflow boundaries if they are located in especially densely populated neighborhoods.

See also:

District Attendance Area map

School Attendance Area Boundary maps

Administrative Procedure 5: Establishment and Change of Attendance Areas

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