Enrollment at Wichita schools the highest since 1975

Enrollment at Wichita schools this year is 51,330, up 161 students from last year and the highest since 1975.

Enrollment has grown by more than 2,500 students – about 5 percent – over the past decade, officials said.

“Unlike many urban school systems that have declining enrollment, we continue to see that steady growth,” Superintendent John Allison said Friday.

“In part because our Wichita families know that they’re going to receive a quality education in our district, that it’s going to be a consistent, positive place for their students.”

The largest growth this year is in the district’s high schools, with an increase of 229 students. The largest increase – 111 students – is at North High. South High increased by 105 students, and West increased by 96.

Elementary school enrollment is up as well, with 116 more students for a total of 26,359. Over the past decade, the district has recorded a 10 percent increase in the number of elementary students. Elementaries that increased by 30 students or more this year include Clark, Isely, Linwood, Chisholm Trail and Gardiner.

Wichita middle school enrollment declined by 162 students this year, after several years of growth. Allison said he thinks the drop is “caused by last year’s eighth-grade, which was a large class, moving on to the high school ranks.”

The largest drop was at Hadley Middle School, which had 132 fewer students this year. For several years, students assigned to certain high-poverty Wichita schools that failed to meet goals were allowed to transfer and get free bus rides to other schools in the district, including Hadley. In 2012, that sanction required by No Child Left Behind was phased out.

This year’s enrollment decline at Hadley “is the final year of the impact from the Title I school choice plan,” Allison said.

Each year in September, students statewide are counted for their school’s official enrollments. Full-time equivalency numbers – the enrollment on which state funding is based – will be calculated from Monday’s official count.

The National Center for Education Statistics predicts that school enrollment across the country will hit record levels every year through at least 2020, reflecting expected increases in the size of the school-age population.

Demographics also are changing. This fall, for the first time, U.S. schools are expected to record a new majority of minority schoolchildren, as the number of Hispanic, black and Asian students in public school classrooms is expected to surpass the number of non-Hispanic whites.

Wichita schools released new demographic information Friday as well. This year, the district’s overall student body is 34 percent white, 33 percent Hispanic, 18.5 percent African-American, 8 percent multiracial, 4.5 percent Asian or Pacific Islander and 1.25 percent Native American.

Over the next few years, the number of Hispanic students in Wichita schools is expected to exceed the number of non-Hispanic whites and become the largest ethnic group in the district.

Wichita officials held Friday’s announcement in the library at West High School, which they said has experienced a rise in its enrollment, graduation rate, confidence and spirit over the past several years. Ten years ago, West’s enrollment was 1,300; this year it’s 1,432.

“It’s a great place to be, and it’s a great time to be a Pioneer,” said principal Joel Hudson.

He credited West’s students, staff, parents and community with the recent improvement. Students “understand clearly this is a great place to be,” Hudson said. “They work hard, they care about their education, and they know that education is the key to their future.”

School officials in the Goddard, Haysville and Maize districts also reported enrollment increases Friday.

This year’s headcount in Goddard was 5,596, up 93 from last year. Haysville’s enrollment is 5,485, up 110 students. Maize’s headcount Monday was 7,142, an increase of 77 students from last year.

This story was originally published September 26, 2014 at 3:27 PM with the headline "Enrollment at Wichita schools the highest since 1975."