Based on enrollment data collected by the San Diego Unified School District, the student population of UC High is projected to decline, as it has for the past seven years, impacting funding provided to the school.

   According to UC High Principal Mike Paredes, this decline can partially be attributed to a decline in enrollment within the nearby Standley Middle School. “One of the things that is apparent, is that we do see a decrease in enrollment [at Standley Middle], which has an impact on us. Back in the 2017-2018 school year, we typically had between 350-375 incoming ninth graders from Standley. Currently, with the 262 [incoming freshmen from Standley], it probably has the greatest impact in our enrollment,” said Paredes.

   However, this decline has not been sudden. “Looking at our ten year trend, we see an increase from 2014 to 2018, then we start seeing a gradual decrease. The peak in enrollment was during the 2016-2017 school year when we were seeing about 1870 students. Currently, enrollment at UC high school is about 1470 enrolled. That’s a drop of about 400, over 7 years,” said Paredes.

   Paredes also pointed out the connection between allotted staffing funds for the school and student enrollment. “So while our projection for our ninth grade students is about 356, I expect that number is going to be closer to 365 or 370, and that doesn’t seem like a big difference, but if you consider that every 29.2 students equates to a teaching position, that’s a lot. The district will adjust your funds if your numbers come in above what they project you at. It’s difficult; it can go either way, if they project you high, and the numbers come low, a school will (and we’ve experienced this in the past), lose a position,” said Paredes.

   “With the current state of the district being what it is, with a 176 million dollar deficit, they are looking for a lot of ways to save money, what they try to do last is impact school sites. For every 459 students, we are allotted one counselor, so if we fall under a certain threshold, kind of like we are now, we can lose a full counselor position,” said Paredes.

   These circumstances compound to result in an unfortunate conclusion. “The reality though, is that we are not sitting at that 1870 number that initially added that additional counselor, so we are going to be reducing about four teaching positions, based on the numbers we have now. Knowing that we have funding set aside would allow us to bring in additional counselors, but the reality is we will lose a counselor regardless,” said Paredes.

   Head Counselor Kelsey Bradshaw weighed in on these circumstances. “What worries me about [losing a counselor] is that it’s going to lead to longer wait times, and one of the issues you’ll notice is that, especially if someone’s in crisis, the thought of coming into a crowded room, or having to wait longer to get ahold of somebody, that can be very detrimental to a student. That’s where my biggest worry comes from, what we are going to be able to provide for all students here if we are seeing a decrease in counselors,” Bradshaw said.

   Bradshaw also highlighted the importance of having more counselors. “I think that, the more people you have [in the counseling office], the more we are able to split up stuff so that we can have connections and talk and get things done and that kind of stuff,” said Bradshaw.

   Junior Natsumi Nishimura shares many of Bradshaw’s concerns. “I know that we are already kind of struggling with counselors being able to talk with every student, just because there are so many [students], and I am sure that getting rid of [a counselor] would definitely make the lines longer in the counseling room, and with five counselors  there’s already a line in front of the office so it would definitely take longer to speak with your counselor,” said Nishimura.

   She also points out the role of trust in counseling. “I’m sure many students are close with their counselors, because they discuss lots of issues with them, or they get through things with them, so the loss of a counselor would take away from that in a lot of students’ lives,” said Nishimura.