South SFV Today

In the 2023-24 school year, kindergarten was the largest grade in Sunnyvale School District, with 796 students making up 14.2% of the student body, according to the California Department of Education. This represents a growth of 0.3% compared to the previous year.

The grade with the second highest number of students was fourth grade, with 632 students, or 11.3% of the student body.

The school that had the highest number of kindergarten students in Sunnyvale School District during the period was Ellis Elementary School, while Fairwood Elementary School had the fewest.

Overall, Sunnyvale School District enrolled 5,609 students, ranking as the 256th highest enrolled district in California for the 2023-24 school year. It ranked 264th highest in the previous school year.

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.

School	Total Enrollment
Bishop Elementary School	446
Cherry Chase Elementary School	596
Columbia Middle School	672
Cumberland Elementary School	589
Ellis Elementary School	758
Fairwood Elementary School	321
Lakewood Elementary School	375
San Miguel Elementary School	399
Sunnyvale Middle School	1,037
Vargas Elementary School	416