Our school is one of many in California that has an overcrowding problem, with over 2,000 students this school year alone.

“I do think that there is an overpopulation in school because there [is no limit], so they just let a lot of students in schools,” senior Andrew Treadway said.

Schools are often having to deal with more incoming students and finding space for them. One cause of this is new homes are being built and schools are not being built quick enough to keep up. Another cause of overcrowding is that our campus has desirable programs. Students and their families want a better education, so some students attend our school primarily for academic purposes. Our campus has Advanced Placement (AP), Honors, Health Academy and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. In addition, some students have to attend Oakmont because the school that they were supposed to go to is already overcrowded.

“The benefits are that there [is] more [of a] variety of people so [you are] able to meet new kinds of people and expand your growth and knowledge… and be exposed to other mindsets of how people think and other backgrounds,” sophomore Megan Trinh said.

Although overpopulated schools have many benefits, there are also numerous downsides. One downside with crowded schools is sometimes students may not get into the classes that  they want. Additionally, it may be harder for teachers to make sure that students are not falling behind. Another downside is students may have a difficult time focusing due to other students causing distractions. Furthermore, lunch lines and girls’ bathroom lines have an  annoyingly long wait.

“It can be too crowded, especially in classes and… when administration is trying to figure out where to put people… it makes it more challenging,” junior Leon Hutchinson said.

In order to resolve the problem of overpopulated schools, changes must be made. According to Education Data Partnership in the 2016-2017 school year there were 1,313 high schools in California with approximately 1,740,000 students. One change happening within our own district is a new school is being built. West Park High School is expected to open up in August 2020. However, until then, portables are being put on school campuses to serve as classrooms. Oakmont has 37 portables around campus so that there is enough room for every student. Furthermore, there is an increase in teachers and other staff members being hired statewide to make sure that the student needs are met.

“I think that once that new school opens up [we will] see a decrease in the amount of students here and [we will] have more flexibility with classes that they can take and classroom sizes will shrink a lot,” counselor Gina Lacoste said.