After eight straight years of declining enrollment at Muirlands Middle School in La Jolla, the 2024-25 school year offered a promising change of momentum.

Muirlands opened the school year in August with 743 students, beating the estimate of 695 by nearly 7 percent. The unexpected growth has given the school additional resources, according to Principal Jeff Luna.

To accommodate the additional 48 students, the school added math, science, physical education and world language sections. The San Diego Unified School District also awarded Muirlands additional funding for staff, which Luna decided to use internally.

“When we did the enrollment-based staffing, we were able to have discussions with the site and the staff we currently have on campus and were able to come to an agreement for them to take on additional sections of work,” Luna. said.

Luna enlisted five teachers to take courses in which they specialized, some taking classes during training periods. He said the strategy makes more sense than looking for a teacher to teach every subject, which he called a rare occurrence.

“I think it’s gone very well – as well as we could hope for – and we attribute all of that to being able to add these extra sections in-house and not bring in people from the outside where there would be an adjustment period and a learning curve for them who are coming,” Luna said.

“This helps with the stability of our curriculum and the high level of expectations we have for our kids on our campus and our instruction.”

Luna said the school had an idea that enrollment would increase toward the end of summer vacation, when there was a significant increase in enrollment from people new to the area or transferring from another school.

Luna speculated that recognition of Muirlands at the local and district level may have spurred higher-than-anticipated enrollment.

In 2024, Muirlands was one of nine San Diego Unified schools named a California Distinguished School by the state Department of Education. It has also been described in US News & World Report as secondary school no. 1 in the district.

Luna said the criteria for these honors include the school’s performance on statewide assessments, campus culture and the progress of underperforming students.

“These are very nice recognitions to receive and there could be many reasons, but I would think it has something to do with people giving Muirlands a serious look in terms of the programs we offer, the success of our students (and) the opportunities. that kids have on our campus,” Luna said.

After reaching 1,076 students in the 2015-16 school year, enrollment at Muirlands fell every yeartotaling 696 in 2023-24. Many California schools have struggled to maintain enrollment and attendance rates in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, including several in La Jolla.

Statewide, public school enrollment in transitional kindergarten through 12th grade has fallen below 6 million in 2023, and the California Department of Finance says it will drop to 5.19 million over the next decade if current trends hold. continue.

Locally, San Diego Unified is looking down a projected deficit of $176.4 million for the upcoming school year, in part due to overall enrollment declines (which affect state funding), higher operating costs, and the expiration of COVID relief funds.

Additionally, Muirlands is not the only school in SDUSD’s cluster of five La Jolla campuses to see promising student population growth.

La Jolla Elementary and Torrey Pines Elementary saw increases in enrollment this year.

LJES exceeded projections for the third year in a row and brought in 565 students this school year, nearly 40 more than in 2023-2024.

Torrey Pines is now at 467, up from 452 last year.

To better equip La Jolla Elementary for its growing population, the school was assigned a part-time associate principal for the first time in history.

LJES Principal Stephanie Hasselbrink attributed the increase in enrollment to post-pandemic recovery and the completion of the school expansion. renovation project.

In the 3 1/2-year project, “every part of the school was touched,” Hasselbrink said, including updating the infrastructure, removing portable classrooms in favor of new buildings and improving security measures.

“It was very challenging, especially around the pandemic,” Hasselbrink said. “I think the construction crew and the district did a nice job.”

The school now offers two Universal Transitional Kindergarten, or UTK, classes after construction, limited classroom space.

Hasselbrink said he expects the three-year enrollment growth to continue and bring the school’s student population to pre-pandemic highs of more than 600.

Originally published: October 26, 2024 at 6:20 p.m