Latino students now make up 45% of the Salem-Keizer School District, a marked increase from before the pandemic.
The shift means Latinos are now the largest demographic group in the district, followed by white students, who were 42% of the student body last year.
The numbers come from state education data released Thursday, which offer the first comprehensive look at how public school demographics and progress toward graduation changed as schools moved online during the Covid pandemic.
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Salem-Keizer’s enrollment fell to 38,809 students during the 2020-21 school year, down from 41,770 the year before. The drop was so pronounced the district was briefly the third-largest in Oregon, behind Portland and Beaverton, which enrolled 39,323 students last year, according to state education department data.
The Salem district’s demographics have been growing more diverse for years, with the share of Latino students increasing steadily. As enrollment declined during the pandemic, state data shows the share of white students declined from 46% to 42%, and the share of Latinos rose from from 42% to 45%.
District enrollment has increased this fall, though still not to pre-pandemic levels. A total of 40,214 students are now enrolled, with 1,793 of those attending classes online.
-Rachel Alexander
