EDITOR NOTE: We will have someone who is available in person or virtually between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. on 7/14/26 to speak to the enrollment numbers, what helped parents enroll their children and why the education we provide at San Diego Unified schools is special. If you are interested in scheduling sometime between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Tuesday, please let me know. Thanks, James
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: James Canning, jcanning@sandi.net, 313-580-2845
San Diego Unified Enrolls 1,085 New Students
During June for the 2026-27 School Year
New enrollment efforts help more than one thousand families choose San Diego Unified
SAN DIEGO (JULY 13, 2026) — More than 1,000 new students have chosen San Diego Unified School District for the 2026-27 school year, marking a strong start to the district's new enrollment initiative and demonstrating that making enrollment easier can help more families access high-quality public schools.
During the month of June, San Diego Unified enrolled 1,085 new students for the upcoming school year. The district has achieved 82% of its enrollment goal of welcoming 1,309 new students by the first day of school on August 10, despite statewide and national enrollment declines driven by lower birth rates, rising housing costs, and changing demographics.
This year's enrollment campaign represented the district's most significant modernization of the enrollment process in recent years. Families could, for the first time, complete enrollment entirely online for all student groups while also receiving personalized assistance at one of 52 Enrollment Hubs located throughout San Diego.
"Every student who enrolls in San Diego Unified represents a family that believes in the opportunities our schools provide," said Superintendent Fabiola Bagula, Ph.D. "Welcoming more than 1,000 new students before the school year begins is a meaningful milestone. It reflects the incredible work of our employees who worked tirelessly to remove barriers, answer questions, and make every family feel welcomed. With this effort, our teams showed what it means to put students and families first."
The district introduced several new strategies this summer to make enrollment more convenient and accessible, including:
- Launching a fully online enrollment system available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Opening 52 Enrollment Hubs across San Diego to provide one-on-one assistance to families.
- Expanding enrollment office hours.
- Partnering with hundreds of community organizations to connect families with neighborhood schools.
- Launching the "Why Choose San Diego Unified?" outreach campaign highlighting the district's nationally recognized schools and student opportunities.
"This success belongs to our entire San Diego Unified team," said Dr. Tracey Makings, Leader of the Neighborhood Schools and Enrollment Options team. "We challenged ourselves to rethink how we serve families, and the results show that reducing barriers matters. By combining the convenience of online enrollment with face-to-face support at our Enrollment Hubs, we created a process that was more accessible, more welcoming, and centered on the needs of families. I couldn't be more grateful to the team across our district who made this possible."
Families continue to choose San Diego Unified for its nationally recognized academic excellence and broad range of educational opportunities. The district ranks No. 1 in the nation among large urban school districts in fourth- and eighth-grade literacy and is tied for No. 1 in eighth-grade mathematics. San Diego Unified graduates qualify for admission to University of California and California State University campuses at rates 16.4 percentage points higher than the California average.
Serving 175 schools from preschool through grade 12, San Diego Unified offers early learning, language immersion, International Baccalaureate, Career Technical Education pathways, STEAM magnet programs, visual and performing arts, athletics, dual enrollment college credit opportunities, and expanded learning programs that prepare students for success in college, career, and life.
Enrollment remains open for the 2026-27 school year. Families interested in enrolling can visit SanDiegoUnified.org/Enroll or call 619-260-2410 for assistance.
1,309 Students Enrolled by August 10
This new push for students comes on heels of the California Department of Education (CDE) report showing nearly 75,000 fewer students are attending public schools in the state due to lower birth rates, fewer immigrants and the high cost of living.
The 1,309 number is meaningful to San Diego Unified because it's the same number of students who left the district since the 2024-25 school year.
Nationally, enrollment has dropped by 1.18 million students over the past five years, according to the Education Commission of the States.
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James Canning (He/Him)
Executive Director
Strategic Communications & Information
San Diego Unified School District
Mobile: 313-580-2845
Office: 619-725-5578
Email: Jcanning@sandi.net
4100 Normal Street
San Diego, CA 92103
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