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News
School enrollment growth never stopped : News : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisSchool enrollment growth never stopped
| Committee told district has gained more than 7,900 students since 2003-04
| by Lyle R. Rolfe
| 2/7/2013
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The Oswego School District's dramatic enrollment growth has slowed, but by no means has it stopped.
That was the message that Superintendent Dr. Matthew Wendt had for members of the school district's Advisory Citizens Finance and Operations Committee during a meeting Monday night.
"Since I came here (last June), the numbers have changed almost on a daily basis," Wendt said.
According to his report, the enrollment in the district at the start of the 2003-04 school year was 9,776 students. It has increased rapidly each succeeding year, climbing to today's total of 17,716 students.
More students continue to show up at district schools even though the new housing bubble burst in the wake of the 2008 recession.
When residential growth was at a near stand-still and foreclosures were forcing many district residents out of their homes over the past few years, enrollments still grew because children of young families in the district were reaching school-age, according to Wendt.
These additional students were crowding the kindergarten and other early elementary grade classes and are now moving through the system, increasing numbers at higher grades.
Wendt told the committee:
Total enrollments reached 11,152 in 2004-05 with 1,376 new students and hit its peak increase of 1,547 new students in 2005-06 for a total enrollment of 12,669. The enrollment growth then slowed to 1,276 new students in 2006-07, 842 in 2007-08, and 726 in 2008-09.
Enrollment then took an upward jump of 845 in 2009-10 before hitting its low of only 414 new students in 2010-11. But the climb began the next year with 464 new students in 2011-12 and dipped slightly to 450 this year, 2012-13.
Pre-kindergarten numbers rose over the decade from 176 in 2003-04 to today's 440, showing a drop only one year-from 381 in 2009-10 to 370 in 2010-11.
Kindergarten totals were down 29 this year from their highest of 1,435 in 2009-10 and the first grade enrollment this year of 1,368, was 106 less than the highest year of 1,474 in 10-11.
Second grade hit its peak in 2011-12 with 1,480 students, dropping by seven this year. Third grade peaked with 1,472 this year and fourth grade hit its highest enrollment this year with 1,449.
Fifth grade enrollment was highest in 2011-12 with 1,401 dropping to 1,363 this year, The next three grades peaked this year-1,392 for sixth grade, 1,340 for seventh grade and 1,283 for eighth grade.
Enrollments for high school years decreased every year from freshman through senior except two. In 2007-08 enrollment jumped by nine students from freshman to sophomore year and in 2011-12 there was a jump of 66 students from the sophomore to junior year.
Also, the junior class enrollment was its highest in 2011-12 with 1,239, dropping by 121 students to 1,130 this year.
The decreasing numbers through high school are often attributed to student dropouts and early graduations.
Wendt said he plans to keep the committee up-to-date on enrollment figures as well as the numbers of classrooms in every school and how many students are in each classroom. These numbers will show them which schools are crowded and which ones have space for more students.
Busing some students from crowded schools to those with space may allow the district to postpone new building construction according to some committee members.
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