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Enrollment has reached 1,718 students this fall, a 5.2 percent increase from last year. There has been an 11 percent increase in enrollment since 2010, Superintendent David Quattrone said.
According to Quattrone, the school district and Bronxville Board of Education anticipated the growth and added a new kindergarten and middle school teacher for this year.
“Normally, we see attrition between grades eight and nine, with some students leaving for private schools,” he said. “This year, however, we have an increase of 85 students.”
The increased enrollment will have a marginal effect on class sizes. The average class size in the elementary school will increase from 21.4 to 22.6 students per class, with certain grades having as many as 25 students in a classroom. The middle school (22 percent of sections have 25 or more students) and high school (26 percent) will also see an increase in average class size.
“We monitor patterns carefully, but class size is only one variable among many, including teacher quality, space considerations and available support,” Quattrone added. “For first graders, we have aides in every classroom and the schedule provides for small group instruction throughout the week.
David Brashear, the School Board president, said Oct. 1 is the date of the official enrollment count, which was bolstered by several late summer enrollments. He added that the board would investigate ways for the district to accommodate the changes in the village.
“An important project this year will be to explore and understand demographic changes in the village and expected impacts on our school enrollment,” he said. “We entered this year with a larger student body than anticipated. We need to conduct detailed analyses to ensure we can manage our district with financial integrity while delivering a superior education for our students.”
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