Tony Thurmond, Superintendent of Public Instruction, California Department of Education | California Department of Education
Tony Thurmond, Superintendent of Public Instruction, California Department of Education | California Department of Education
Of all the students welcomed at the time, 51.4% identified as male, 48.6% as female, and 0.1% identified themselves as non-binary or did not specify their gender.
Data also showed that Hispanic or Latino students made up 76.8% of the student body, the largest percentage in the county, followed by white students at 12.2% (7,188 students), Asian students at 5.2% (3,088 students) and Black or African American students at 2.5% (1,452 students).
Atwater High School had the highest enrollment among Merced County's 739 schools in the 2023-24 academic year, welcoming 2,051 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atwater High School | 2,095 | 2,051 | -2.1% |
| Golden Valley High School | 1,956 | 1,955 | -0.1% |
| Merced High School | 1,894 | 1,951 | 3% |
| El Capitan High School | 1,839 | 1,811 | -1.5% |
| Pacheco High School | 1,799 | 1,786 | -0.7% |
| Buhach Colony High School | 1,746 | 1,658 | -5% |
| Los Banos High School | 1,617 | 1,543 | -4.6% |
| Livingston High School | 1,156 | 1,141 | -1.3% |
| Pioneer Elementary School | 1,126 | 1,062 | -5.7% |
| Weaver Middle School | 1,003 | 1,000 | -0.3% |
| Farmdale Elementary School | 1,001 | 970 | -3.1% |
| McSwain Elementary School | 883 | 939 | 6.3% |
| Los Banos Junior High School | 862 | 926 | 7.4% |
| Elim Elementary School | 943 | 915 | -3% |
| Merced County Special Education | 848 | 895 | 5.5% |
| Rudolph Rivera Elementary School | 840 | 894 | 6.4% |
| Grasslands Elementary School | 892 | 892 | 0% |
| Livingston Middle School | 833 | 842 | 1.1% |
| Creekside Junior High School | 817 | 823 | 0.7% |
| R. M. Miano Elementary School | 803 | 763 | -5% |
| Mitchell Intermediate School | 739 | 757 | 2.4% |
| Donn B. Chenoweth Elementary School | 725 | 732 | 1% |
| Luther Burbank Elementary School | 678 | 727 | 7.2% |
| Delhi High School | 732 | 723 | -1.2% |
| Henry Miller Elementary School | 712 | 713 | 0.1% |
| Lorena Falasco Elementary School | 727 | 713 | -1.9% |
| Peggy Heller Elementary School | 707 | 707 | 0% |
| Hilmar High School | 693 | 698 | 0.7% |
| Allan Peterson Elementary School | 664 | 682 | 2.7% |
| Herbert H. Cruickshank Middle School | 616 | 630 | 2.3% |
| Dos Palos High School | 665 | 628 | -5.6% |
| Selma Herndon Elementary School | 601 | 624 | 3.8% |
| Bellevue Elementary School | 680 | 621 | -8.7% |
| Mercey Springs Elementary School | 651 | 620 | -4.8% |
| Yamato Colony Elementary School | 603 | 620 | 2.8% |
| Joe Stefani | 628 | 608 | -3.2% |
| Herbert Hoover Middle School | 614 | 607 | -1.1% |
| Rudolph Rivera Middle School | 579 | 607 | 4.8% |
| Winton Middle School | 624 | 606 | -2.9% |
| Dos Palos Elementary School | 539 | 600 | 11.3% |
| Planada Elementary School | 585 | 585 | 0% |
| Tenaya Middle School | 563 | 585 | 3.9% |
| John Muir Elementary School | 605 | 581 | -4% |
| Franklin Elementary School | 575 | 568 | -1.2% |
| Alicia Reyes Elementary School | 596 | 565 | -5.2% |
| John C. Fremont Elementary School | 550 | 559 | 1.6% |
| Gustine High School | 586 | 553 | -5.6% |
| Charles Wright Elementary School | 563 | 552 | -2% |
| Hilmar Middle School | 504 | 552 | 9.5% |
| Mitchell Elementary School | 553 | 550 | -0.5% |
| Westside Union Elementary School | 585 | 548 | -6.3% |
| Ada Givens Elementary School | 584 | 546 | -6.5% |
| Los Banos Elementary School | 441 | 541 | 22.7% |
| Don Stowell Elementary School | 517 | 527 | 1.9% |
| Leontine Gracey Elementary School | 526 | 509 | -3.2% |
| Elmer Wood Elementary School | 537 | 507 | -5.6% |
| Gustine Elementary School | 544 | 503 | -7.5% |
| Margaret Sheehy Elementary School | 533 | 503 | -5.6% |
| Bryant Middle School | 514 | 485 | -5.6% |
| Bernhard Marks Elementary School | 504 | 479 | -5% |
| Le Grand High School | 464 | 462 | -0.4% |
| Campus Park Elementary School | 467 | 459 | -1.7% |
| Winfield Elementary School | 471 | 454 | -3.6% |
| Schendel Elementary School | 451 | 453 | 0.4% |
| Harmony Elementary School | 492 | 446 | -9.3% |
| Frank Sparkes Elementary School | 426 | 436 | 2.3% |
| Shaffer Elementary School | 534 | 422 | -21% |
| Volta Elementary School | 411 | 389 | -5.4% |
| Thomas Olaeta Elementary School | 564 | 387 | -31.4% |
| Aileen Colburn Elementary School | 412 | 383 | -7% |
| Delhi Middle School | 387 | 382 | -1.3% |
| Gustine Middle School | 405 | 380 | -6.2% |
| Sybil N. Crookham Elementary School | 383 | 372 | -2.9% |
| Charleston Elementary School | 350 | 371 | 6% |
| Yosemite High (Continuation) | 325 | 355 | 9.2% |
| Le Grand Elementary School | 337 | 330 | -2.1% |
| El Capitan Elementary School | 330 | 317 | -3.9% |
| Ballico-Cressey Community Charter | 321 | 307 | -4.4% |
| Merced Scholars Charter | 281 | 297 | 5.7% |
| Cesar E. Chavez Middle School | 286 | 285 | -0.3% |
| Washington Elementary School | 275 | 281 | 2.2% |
| Romero Elementary School | 190 | 222 | 16.8% |
| Bellevue Senior Elementary School | 195 | 197 | 1% |
| Valley Los Banos Community | 138 | 195 | 41.3% |
| Crossroads Alternative Education Center | 141 | 188 | 33.3% |
| El Nido Elementary School | 148 | 152 | 2.7% |
| Transitional Kindergarten Center | 108 | 141 | 30.6% |
| Come Back Charter | 102 | 120 | 17.6% |
| Valley Atwater Community | 9 | 120 | 1,233.3% |
| Merquin Elementary School | 120 | 108 | -10% |
| Plainsburg Union Elementary School | 108 | 107 | -0.9% |
| Sequoia High School | 96 | 106 | 10.4% |
| Independence High (Alternative) | 119 | 92 | -22.7% |
| Floyd A. Schelby | 73 | 84 | 15.1% |
| San Luis High (Continuation) | 86 | 83 | -3.5% |
| Valley Merced Community | 232 | 81 | -65.1% |
| Westside High School | 61 | 78 | 27.9% |
| Snelling-Merced Falls Elementary School | 53 | 56 | 5.7% |
| Cressey Elementary School | 48 | 55 | 14.6% |
| Granada High School | 38 | 33 | -13.2% |
| Merced City School District Community Day | 17 | 31 | 82.4% |
| Irwin High (Continuation) | 53 | 24 | -54.7% |
| Pioneer High (Continuation) | 21 | 21 | 0% |
| Merced County Juvenile Court | 23 | 18 | -21.7% |
| Atwater Senior Academy | 8 | 8 | 0% |
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