Published September 19, 2019
By JILLIAN STRING
NORTH READING — It was a smooth start to the 2019–20 school year, Superintendent Jon Bernard reported to the School Committee at their meeting on September 9.
Bernard stated that as of the first day of school on September 4, enrollment for the district totaled 2,407 students. This number represents a slight increase over the 2,397 reported for opening day 2018–19, however it remains lower than the 2,493 reported for the 2017–18 school year.
“Trends show that our enrollment is in a little bit of a dip. It’s not anything that is unanticipated,” Bernard said. “It’s not (something) that we attribute to anything other than just a population decrease.”
According to Bernard, there are 1,121 elementary students (Batchelder: 444, Hood: 340, Little: 337); 540 middle school students (grade six: 200, grade seven: 183, grade eight: 157); and 746 high school students (grade nine: 181, grade 10: 174, grade 11: 191, grade 12: 196, post graduates: 4).
Bernard reported that these numbers were consistent with projections, however there was a slight increase in kindergarten student numbers.
Average classroom sizes at the elementary level included 19 students at the Batchelder School, 18 students at the Hood School, and 17 students at the Little School.
“It looks like our average class size is about 180 which is pretty nice,” School Committee Chairman Scott Buckley said. “The School Committee over the past years has prioritized keeping class sizes, especially at the elementary (level) really manageable, and I think that really does have a great impact on the education that everybody receives.”
The official school enrollment figures will be released October 1.
