CATALINA FOOTHILLS, Ariz. (KGUN) — Catalina Foothills School District is seeing steady enrollment at its high school. The district cited a study by Applied Economics that said Pima County is experiencing declining enrollment in kindergarten through second grade, which they have been affected by as well. The district said this trend could eventually affect them in the upper grades, potentially leading to smaller class sizes when those students reach high school.
The district said it’s proud of its several career and technical education programs that attract students to the high school each year.
Harper Hisey is a sophomore at Catalina Foothills High School in their sports medicine program.
"We have a plethora of different opportunities," Hisey said.
The three-year program includes learning that’s not just rooted in textbooks and internship opportunities that she said many other districts don't offer.
"It's really hands-on. We do a bunch of dissections and stuff so it's not just lecturing," Hisey said.
The program's practical approach, she said, gives students valuable experience for future careers.
"So if you do want to apply for a job in the future, even if you just want to do basic stuff, you'll have that experience," Hisey said.
The district's academics, extracurricular activities, and specialized programs attracted Laura Hisey, Harper's mother, to choose CFSD for her four daughters.
"She's going to have her certifications so that she could be a medical assistant and actually work in physicians' offices," Laura Hisey said.
Even though her four daughters don't live within CFSD's boundaries, open enrollment has allowed them to attend since kindergarten.
"If I'm in my neighborhood school, they're only around those kids. I wanted them exposed to all types of people. It's important that they get a better idea of what it's going to be like when they go out into the community," Laura Hisey said.
Over half of the high school's students don't live within the district's boundaries, according to Principal Chris Lambert.
"We work really hard to maintain our enrollment at this high school and one of the main ways we do that is through having really high-level programs," Lambert said.
The high school currently has 1,860 students. In the past decade, it saw its highest enrollment in the 2023 school year with 1,900 students and its lowest in the 2016 school year with 1,695 students.
"We do put on different events in the evenings to showcase our programs to invite students and parents onto our campus," Lambert said.
However, lower birth rates, an aging population, and school vouchers allowing more school choices are challenging future enrollment, especially with elementary students.
When asked how the district plans to maintain enrollment as county-wide numbers decline, Lambert emphasized the importance of showcasing programs.
"It's up to each school I think to showcase their programs and that's what we're trying to do here," Lambert said.
School districts like Tucson Unified said they've lost about 4,000 students to school vouchers since the 2022-2023 school year.
For Harper Hisey, it's the school's environment that keeps her committed to CFSD.
"All of my teachers that I've had have tried their hardest and have genuinely wanted students to learn," Hisey said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
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