UPDATED: 254 Students Added To Framingham High Since First Day of School

UPDATED:

Since the school began in August, 254 new students have enrolled at Framingham High, said Principal Elyse Torbert.

In comparison, Framingham High awarded 476 diplomas to seniors in the Class of 2015.

The high school has seen a trend in additional students enrolling after the first day, but this year’s numbers are on a pace to be the highest increase ever.

“Last year, for the entire year, there were 287 students, who enrolled after school began,” said Torbert.

There are 180 school days per year, which means on average about 8 new students entered Framingham High per week during the 2014-15 school year.

In comparison, in the 2012-13 school year, a total of 183 new students entered Framingham High after the first day of school. In the 2013-14 school year, that number increased to 240.

Many of the new students coming to Framingham High have had “significant gaps in their formal education (SLIFE)“, said Torbert.

More than two-thirds of the new students are being placed into the English Language Learners (ELL) program.

The high school has 185 ELL students , explained Torbert, and 66 new ELL students were added since the first day of school.

The new 254 students speak 12 different languages and hail from 20 different countries.

Torbert said Framingham High is seeing an increase in students coming from Central America and Brazil.

“Many of these new students are more complicated. They have gaps in their learning. They need help with a language. Some struggle with learning disabilities,” explained Torbert.

About one in every three students at Framingham High, English is not the student’s first language, according to state data.

More than 65 different languages are represented in the Framingham Public Schools in grades K-12, according to the district bilingual department.