4 things to watch in 2024 on San Diego’s education beat

From chronic absences to enrollment declines, San Diego County schools spent last year continuing their attempts to bounce back from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year is likely to bring the same challenges.

The consequences of the pandemic remain evident: Chronic absenteeism remains high across the county nearly three years later; fewer students are enrolling in the state’s public education system; and districts are grappling with the county’s growing homelessness crisis.

Now, educators are turning to potential solutions.

Here are four education issues to watch in 2024.

Chronic absenteeism

Despite recent improvements, state ratings show that nearly a quarter of the county’s students last year were chronically absent.

Before the pandemic, that figure was 11%.

It’s a troubling trend for educators, who say chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of instructional days — can be caused by socioeconomic issues, school climate and lack of engagement, among other reasons. Children of color had higher rates — chronic absenteeism for Black, American Indian, Hispanic and Pacific Islander students each exceeded 30%.

Chronic absences also affect school budgets: The state bases funding on how many students show up every day.

Last year, the county Office of Education formed its third cohort of the San Diego County Improving Chronic Absence Network, which aims to improve attendance rates. A report on the cohort found a decline in the number of days students missed class when attendance interventions, such as “nudge letters” informing parents of the absences, were implemented.

More than 40% of students enrolled in one of the 18 participating schools during the 2021-22 year were considered chronically absent. The next year, the rate dropped about 9 percentage points.

The third cohort ended in the spring. A fourth cohort — 19 campuses across five school districts — began in the spring and will end participation in May.

Officials also are recruiting additional schools to start a new cohort later this year.

Student homelessness

San Diego’s growing homelessness crisis has impacted kids, too: More than 16,000 homeless students lived in the county during the 2022-23 year, according to state data.

A controversial law went into effect over the summer, making it illegal in the city to camp citywide if shelter beds are available, and anytime, regardless of shelter availability, near schools, parks, transit hubs and along waterways.

San Diego Unified, the county’s largest school district, considered offering overnight parking to unhoused students and families on vacant district properties, but the idea has not yet come to fruition due to funding issues.

But once funding is identified and a contracted service provider is hired, “safe parking” at Central Elementary could be offered within the next six months, board member Richard Barrera told inewsource in late October.

Barrera said the district plans to redevelop Central Elementary in City Heights into affordable housing for its employees, students and their families. But it may be several years before breaking ground on the project, he said.

The district also aims to provide roughly 500 employees with affordable housing by redeveloping its headquarters on Normal Street in University Heights and moving its main office to Kearny Mesa within the next two years, Barrera said.  

Enrollment declines

Districts across the county are continuing to report fewer enrolled students. 

Enrollment at San Diego Unified has declined by 14%, or over 15,000 students, within the past decade. As a result, classroom sizes have increased and some teachers have been reassigned well into the school year, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported in October. Superintendent Lamont Jackson acknowledged the concerns of parents who say the late reshuffle affects students’ learning and emotional wellbeing, vowing to improve the process next year.

Partly driving the enrollment trend are parents who are finding charter schools and homeschooling more attractive than public education. Enrollment at charter schools in the county has grown by about 30% within the last decade, according to state data.

Families are also leaving San Diego to live in more affordable locations. 

South Bay Union’s drop in enrollment is so severe that the pre-K-8 district is considering closing schools.  The district, which serves students in San Ysidro, Imperial Beach and south San Diego, had about 6,000 students in 2011. By 2025, it’s projected to have about 3,200 — a loss of nearly half.

Community schools 

School districts, such as San Diego Unified, hope that transforming campuses into community schools will also help with attendance rates. 

Community schools provide services through partnerships with local organizations based on the needs of students and their families. 

San Diego Unified launched its first group of five community schools in 2022. Ten additional campuses — six elementary schools, one middle school and three high schools — have been undergoing a transformation since the start of 2023.

Community schools were already a concept at the Chula Vista Elementary School District about 50 years ago, but just this school year it welcomed its first two community schools. 

Services offered can differ at each campus depending on the community’s need, but can include access to free food, health care, counseling, dental services, tutoring, after-school programs and parenting education.  

The state has allocated $4 billion to convert thousands of public schools into community schools. Research shows they have a positive effect on graduation rates, academic progress, attendance and a reduction in disciplinary incidents.

But questions remain about how San Diego Unified will fund its growing model beyond the state funding, and whether data this year will show it’s making a difference.

The district will need to provide the state with a funding plan by the end of the 2024-25 year.

Meanwhile, the state is facing a record deficit of $68 billion.

Some community schools have already conducted an assessment to help campuses understand the needs of their students and families.

Results from Chollas Mead Elementary families show a need for transportation and extracurricular activities. 

It’s challenging for some parents to get their child to the Chollas View school because they don’t have a car, Karina Pina-Armas, the site’s community schools coordinator, told inewsource. Students have also expressed a desire for soccer, she said. Like many elementary schools in the district, the campus does not offer after-school sports.

Officials at Chollas Mead are working to provide families with bus passes in partnership with the San Diego Association of Governments, the region’s transportation planning agency. They also plan to offer after-school soccer starting in February, Pina-Armas said.