Wichita district’s largest enrollment growth at elementary schools

Enrollment at Wichita schools this year is 51,133, down nearly 200 students from last year because two programs for adults were reduced or eliminated, officials announced Monday.

The district’s pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade enrollment is up more than 100 students, however, and at its highest level in more than a decade.

“The continuation of our pre-K-12 student population growth is good news for our entire community,” Superintendent John Allison said in a written statement. “The enrollment increase shows our families know their children will receive a quality education.”

The largest growth this year is in the district’s elementary schools, with an increase of 100 students to bring the total to 26,459. High schools also saw an increase, with 69 more students for a total of 12,706. Middle school enrollment dropped by 40 students.

Each year in September, students statewide are counted for their school’s official enrollments. Until this year, state funding was based on full-time equivalency numbers garnered from the official count.

With the new block-grant school funding law, school funding is frozen for two years based on 2014-15 enrollment numbers. Districts continue to count the number of students to target funding and resources to schools and to help manage class sizes.

Wichita’s largest high school still is East High, with 2,217 students. South High had the largest enrollment increase this year, up 84 students to 1,788.

Enrollment at Truesdell Middle School, near Pawnee and Seneca, exceeded 1,000 this year. It also had the largest enrollment bump among Wichita middle schools, up 54 students over last year.

Among elementary schools, Christa McAuliffe Academy, a K-8 school at 143rd Street East and Pawnee, recorded the largest increase, up 59 students over last year. Other Wichita elementaries that increased by 30 students or more this year were Beech, Cessna, Isely and Minneha.

The largest drop was at Mead Middle School, near I-135 and Mount Vernon, which counted 64 fewer students this year. Among high schools, the largest drop was at Heights High School, which is down 53 students to 1,152.

Wichita schools released new demographic information Monday as well. This year, the district’s overall student body is 34 percent Hispanic, 34 percent white, 19 percent African-American, 8 percent multiracial, 4 percent Asian or Pacific Islander and 1 percent Native American.

Wichita’s decline in total enrollment is due to the reduction or elimination of two programs for adults. Last year, the district operated learning centers in east and west Wichita, Enterprise Elementary and the Sedgwick County Jail that served 474 people. Most were learning English.

Officials at several Wichita-area suburban school districts reported enrollment increases.

This year’s preliminary headcount in Goddard was 5,731, up 130 students from last year; Maize’s enrollment is 7,349, up 257 students; Andover’s headcount was 5,139, up 34 students; Haysville’s was 5,633, up 74; Derby’s was 6,582, up 27, and Valley Center’s was 2,897, up 39.

This story was originally published September 28, 2015 at 3:01 PM with the headline "Wichita district’s largest enrollment growth at elementary schools."