The largest school in the district keeps growing.

With 2,561 students, Cal High’s enrollment is the largest in the school’s 38 history Last year, Cal finished the school year with 2,434 students.The student-to-teacher ratio has increased to an average of 32:1, up from 30:1 last year.

Some large classes have grown larger. In Jean Dillman’s AP Calculus classes, the student-to-teacher ratio increased from 40:1 to 44:1 this year.

With more than 100 additional students on campus, the effect on the school has been very noticeable.

“Everything is more crowded,” said senior Brian Cox, who believes the overcrowding is detrimental. “It’s one of those things where you have to be looking for it to notice it, but once you do, you start to see and feel all the effects.”

Principal Mark Corti said the school is designed for approximately 2,400 students, but it can accommodate more by utilizing empty classrooms during teacher prep periods.

But the recent spike in student population has put the system under a lot of stress because it isn’t designed to handle this many students, Brian said.

The biggest problems students are facing because of the larger student population are scheduling conflicts and individualized time with teachers.

Many students who were satisfied with their schedules had to switch classes to help accommodate the influx of students.

“My schedule was changed in the second week of school because there were too many students in certain classes, so new classes were added to accommodate all the students,” said senior Taylor Kan. “It was kind of frustrating to have everything set and then everything changed again.”

Having a larger student body has led to an increase in student-to-teacher ratios.

Corti said this year the student-to-teacher ratio varies from class to class. He said some have increased while others have actually decreased.

But students and teachers alike feel class sizes have generally increased, and very few, if any, have decreased.

“This year my classes have become more crowded, so it’s harder for people to participate and we have less time to talk to teachers individually,” said sophomore Richard Um.
Other students also feel teachers and students don’t get as much one-on-one time with each other.
“Relationships between teachers and students are much less intimate because there are more people teachers need to familiarize themselves with,” said senior Peter Heath.
The increase in the size of the student body also means many teachers will have to work much harder this year than they did in previous years.
English teacher Stacey Quick said because of the increase in students teachers must put in much more effort in maintaining an active in-class discussion.
The more students in a class, the less likely some are to participate, as they can be intimidated.
“I’ve found that it’s difficult to discuss things, because some students get lost in the crowd,” said Quick.
But a larger student population also has benefits.
“I personally like it because it gives us some good versatility in our sports,” said junior Michael DiDio. “It also gives us more people to come to games.”
Some students feel with more students, Cal High has greater diversity and a larger talent pool.
“With a larger student body, there are always new people to meet, and more ideas that can be beneficial to the entire student body,” said Peter.
Principal   Corti said the rise in enrollment has led to a greater number of programs.
Despite the increased paperwork that comes along with the increased student body, the administration has been running smoothly since the start of the year.
 “This is the best start to the beginning of the year I’ve had in my thirteen years of working at Cal High,” said Corti.
Students have also been adapting to the change well.
“I like it (the change) because I can meet more people,” added junior Zach Chen.