Out of 138 students at William Finch, 5.1% were in sixth grade during 2023-24 school year

Out of 138 students enrolled at William Finch, 5.1% were in sixth grade during the 2023-24 school year, according to the California Department of Education. The grade with the highest concentration of students was 11th grade, with 20.3% of all students.

California's public schools face a growing financial crisis driven by declining enrollment and an increase in chronic absenteeism, both impacting the state's school funding model.

Enrollment, which peaked at 6.3 million students in the early 2000s, has steadily declined to under 6 million today, with projections indicating it could fall below 5.2 million by 2032. 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.

At the same time, chronic absenteeism has surged from 12% pre-pandemic to 25%, disproportionately impacting younger students and jeopardizing their long-term success.

Grade	Number of Students	% of Total
11th Grade	28	20.3%
8th Grade	20	14.5%
12th Grade	18	13%
10th Grade	17	12.3%
7th Grade	15	10.9%
9th Grade	10	7.2%
1st Grade	7	5.1%
6th Grade	7	5.1%
5th Grade	5	3.6%
kindergarten	4	2.9%
4th Grade	4	2.9%
2nd Grade	2	1.4%
3rd Grade	1	0.7%