School District 57’s enrolment numbers have jumped this year by 30 students.
The district held its annual enrolment count on Sept. 29, and although the official results will be released at the school district's Oct. 30 board meeting, preliminary results show an increase of just 30 students.
There are 13,009 students enrolled for the 2018-19 school year, and the 30 new students are spread throughout the district.
“In terms of the enrolment, we knew we were going to be up again this year, but I think the growth is a little less than what we originally thought it might have been,” says school board chair Chair Tim Bennett.
He notes that the slow growth is good news.
“Our district is currently looking at how to address catchment and capacity issues so it’s a great news story that we are growing, but it’s also a good news story that the enrolment is not growing as quickly as we thought it might,” says Bennett.
School District 57 has seen steady growth in the past few years.
In 2016, enrolment numbers jumped up by more than 100. The following year the school district reopened Springwood Elementary, a school that had been closed since 2010, and the district consequently saw a growth of more than 195 students.
“And it’s a good news story that we do not see the same level of growth this year as we did last year and we are able to continue to look at how we are addressing our growing schools,” says Bennett.
For this 2018-19 school year, Bennett notes the small growth means “it’s business as usual.”
