Oakland Unified saw uptick in transitional kindergarten, drastic decline in newcomer enrollment this year

Enrollment within the Oakland Unified College District is growing, however continued positive aspects are unsure because the district faces giant unresolved deficits.

On the first common college board assembly of the 12 months on Wednesday, OUSD Government Director of Enrollment Kilian Betlach reported a rise in enrollment for transitional preschools, a rise in enrollment resulting from constitution college closures and a lower in enrollment by newcomers.

This 12 months, OUSD’s enrollment exceeded expectations by greater than 500 college students, that means roughly $7 million extra in state funding for the district. Eleven faculties remained inside projections, whereas 64 faculties exceeded projections, together with 42 faculties whose enrollment exceeded projections by greater than 5%. The enrollment division calculates projections based mostly on start charges, retention charges and new and out there housing stock in Oakland.

Betlach attributed the positive aspects to the district’s enrollment stabilization plan, which has allotted a number of million {dollars} to the hassle since 2021. The ultimate portion of that funding was allotted for this college 12 months, consisting of funds carried over from final 12 months.

“It will be significant that Oakland Unified not solely not shrink, but additionally develop in a single 12 months – whereas one 12 months of information shouldn’t be a development – and one thing we ought to be happy with,” Betlach advised the varsity board. “As soon as investments in stabilizing enrollment started, we broke the sample of not assembly our enrollment expectations and as a substitute exceeded them and secured extra funding on the college degree.”

In Alameda County, OUSD enrolls the biggest variety of youngsters in transitional kindergarten, a category earlier than kindergarten that California expanded to all 4-year-olds this college 12 months. This 12 months, a complete of 1,413 kindergarten college students are enrolled in OUSD, with some faculties experiencing waitlists of greater than 100 college students. To accommodate the enlargement, Oakland Unified added seven new transitional kindergarten school rooms and two hub areas this 12 months. Subsequent 12 months, OUSD expects so as to add 4 extra courses.

OUSD additionally noticed a rise in preschool retention this 12 months, with 87% of transitional preschoolers enrolled in a district preschool class. Highschool retention charges grew, whereas highschool retention remained flat after declining lately, Betlach mentioned.

The district additionally noticed a rise in enrollment this 12 months from college students who had attended constitution faculties that closed. About 28% of former North Oakland Group Constitution College college students, 38% of former Oakland Constitution Excessive College college students, 46% of former Aurum Prep college students and 53% of former City Montessori Constitution College college students enrolled in OUSD after the closure of their faculties final 12 months. In the meantime, City Montessori Constitution College moved its program and a few workers to Brookfield, an OUSD elementary college.

A ‘newcomer cliff’

Betlach famous that enrollment progress masks some troubling tendencies.

At 2,641, OUSD is serving the bottom variety of newcomers – those that not too long ago immigrated to america and don’t converse English – in a decade. District officers attribute this to modifications in immigration coverage and a rise in anti-immigrant attitudes. In October 2023, OUSD had 177 first-year newcomers. By October 2025, that quantity dropped to 22. The largest decline was amongst unaccompanied minors, Betlach mentioned.

“We’ve got a newcomer cliff the place that quantity goes to shrink increasingly more quickly,” Betlach mentioned. “Going from 177 to 71 to 22 this 12 months is a precipitous drop. We all know that is pushed by politics and a way of unwelcome from the federal authorities.”

The district’s share of low-income college students has elevated over the previous decade, from 74% in 2015-2016 to 81% this 12 months. He mentioned the higher grades have a better focus of Title 1 college students — these residing beneath federal poverty ranges — than the youthful grades, a sign that middle- and upper-class households could also be leaving the district as their youngsters attain highschool.

“Which means we do not serve all the metropolis,” Betlach mentioned. “It means that decisions are being made which can be the trigger [families] to decide on our district for a brief time period, however not for all the academic journey, which ought to be a degree of inquiry for us.”

Few updates on the price range

There was little dialogue Wednesday night concerning the district’s looming price range deficit.

In December, the board issued a imprecise plan to chop subsequent 12 months’s price range by $102 million by across-the-board cuts to headquarters and faculty websites, whereas banking on income will increase by growing enrollment and attendance. Within the days instantly following that assembly, Chief Enterprise Officer Lisa Grant-Dawson resigned and Chief of Employees Dan Bellino was fired.

The board on Wednesday accredited a brand new contract with Hazard, Younger, Attea & Associates, the agency conducting the district’s superintendent search, for a staff of fiscal consultants who will work with the superintendent to develop the price range plan. The Funds Advisory Group will assessment the price range, develop a fiscal restoration plan to get the district to a sustainable place, and supply a price range evaluation to the Superintendent. The contract, which runs till Might 1, is price as much as $415,000.

The contract was accredited as a part of the board’s consent agenda, by which members vote on a spread of points with out discussing them individually.

The board has scheduled a particular assembly for Tuesday, Jan. 20 to debate price range points. It begins at 6 p.m. at La Escuelita main college.