San Mateo County Education: Which school had most students enrolled in 2023-24 school year?

Carlmont High School had the highest enrollment among San Mateo County schools, welcoming 2,360 students during the 2023-24 school year, according to the California Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed in the 2023-24 school year, 50.5% were boys, and 49.5% were girls.

The most represented ethnicity among Carlmont High School students was white, accounting for 43.3% of the student population.

Among the 155 schools in San Mateo County, Menlo-Atherton High School ranked second in enrollment numbers with 2,152 students, while Sequoia High School welcomed 1,903 students and ranked third in the 2023-24 school year.

Carlmont High School is part of Sequoia Union High School District, which roughly covers schools within San Mateo County and has a main office in Redwood City.

In the previous school year, Carlmont High School also had the largest number of students among San Mateo County schools.

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.

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.