Oswego school officials are wondering where all the kindergarten kids have come from.
A total of 1,078 kindergartners reported for half-day classes when school opened last week in Oswego School District 308. That’s 270 more than last year and 182 above projections, according to figures announced at this week’s District 308 School Board meeting.
It may be coincidence that the district happened to have more new residents with kindergarten-age children. And it’s also harder to track pupils who haven’t yet been in the system.
Joel Murphy, assistant superintendent for planning, technology and operations, said new residents are encouraged to fill out forms for the district indicating the number of school-age children in a family. If information forms aren’t returned, the district can’t easily project the number of new students.
The 33.4 percent increase in kindergartners over last year is the largest at any grade level in District 308, which reported growth at every level except the senior class at Oswego High School.
First-day figures showed an enrollment of 10,956 in the district’s 13 schools, a 17.8 percent increase over 2003-04. That number includes special-education students who have not yet been assigned schools.
To accommodate the growth, the district opened two new schools last week–Oswego East High School and Lakewood Creek Elementary–and has three more elementary schools under construction for occupancy in 2005-06.
Oswego East, a freshman- and sophomore-only school this year, opened with 728 students, while Oswego High School welcomed 2,014 students.
Although Oswego High School’s population declined by more than 300 students, the district’s high school-age enrollment is 2,742, up by 359 from last year.
There were 5,579 students enrolled in kindergarten through 5th grade in the district. The three junior high schools reported a total of 2,431 students, up more than 300 from last year. Thompson Junior High remains the largest at 1,047.
District 308 will take an official head count on Sept. 30.
