2023-24 School Year: How many students were enrolled in kindergarten at Castle Rock?

Out of 337 students enrolled at Castle Rock, 2.1% were in kindergarten during the 2023-24 school year, according to the California Department of Education. The grade with the highest concentration of students was 12th grade, with 24.6% 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
12th Grade	83	24.6%
10th Grade	55	16.3%
11th Grade	41	12.2%
9th Grade	37	11%
7th Grade	26	7.7%
8th Grade	19	5.6%
5th Grade	18	5.3%
6th Grade	15	4.5%
4th Grade	11	3.3%
3rd Grade	9	2.7%
1st Grade	8	2.4%
2nd Grade	8	2.4%
kindergarten	7	2.1%