When freshman Brenden Rosenthal was in middle school, his classes used to have around 30 to 40 students. But in high school, his classes are much smaller, which he likes, with no more than 20 students.

“I’ve been able to make closer relationships solely because there’s not a lot of people at school,” Rosenthal said. “So you’re more confined to a certain amount of people.”

Low enrollment is affecting staffing levels and class sizes for the whole school. On Norm Day, which is on Sept. 13, all schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) have to submit their enrollment counts to determine staffing levels. This year, there are 14 teachers, including the librarian, at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS). Last year’s enrollment was at about 220 students and has dropped for this school year to its lowest number since the school opened in 2009. But school and district officials did not provide the exact number of students enrolled this school year. The low enrollment could bring about cuts to the number of teachers.

“Enrollment and attendance numbers are available online,” district spokesman Thomas Cohen said. “We have no further information at this time, but I will let you know if I receive any updates.” 

Despite the low number of students, three new teachers were hired this year to fill vacant positions: Science teacher Ani Zohrabyan, video production teacher Tennesse Norton and English teacher Valerie Quiroga are new additions to the staff at (DPMHS). Zohrabyan fills a year-long vacant biology and AP Environmental Science position, which happened after James Morrison was promoted to Magnet Coordinator in the 2023-2024 school year.

Due to the low enrollment, class sizes vary. Timothy Hughes’ first period physics class has eight students, while Quiroga’s fifth period sophomore English class has 31 students. 

Junior Guadalupe Martinez is a student in Hughes’ first period and prefers the smaller class. For her, she feels more comfortable speaking out in that class compared to bigger classes.  

“I can share my ideas more freely in that class,” Martinez said. “People can’t say what I had in mind before I can.”

English teacher Francesca Gunther has no more than 18 students in both of her freshman classes, which allows her to be more attentive to individual student’s needs. However, the smaller classes make it harder to maintain a consistent and engaged environment. 

“On one hand, I get to give everyone a little bit more of that one-on-one attention,” Gunther said. “But then on the other hand, if one or two people are absent or one kid is in a bad mood, it affects the whole classroom.”