The Progress Report: How Some Schools Are Trying to Counter Enrollment Decline

Schools have been hit hard by enrollment decline in recent years. There are tens of thousands of fewer students in local public schools than there were just a decade ago.

Many school leaders have struggled to figure out how to approach that challenge and new numbers released last week by the CDC confirm what we already knew: the decline will only get worse. That’s because the U.S. birth rate has fallen to a record low.

Simply put, there will be fewer people in America in years to come.

State officials predicted areas like San Diego will be hit especially hard by population decline. That’s because not only will the region be buffeted by the lower birth rates, but also its high cost of living is chasing away young, working families.

That’s why California’s Department of Finance projects