Newton School Enrollment Down More Than 5 percent Amid Pandemic

NEWTON, MA — Enrollment in Newton Public Schools has gone down by 5.4 percent amid the pandemic, and the kindergarten class saw the biggest overall decrease.

And while the district predicted a slight decrease this year in enrollment, 686 fewer students enrolled this year compared with last year is about 5.2 percent more than projected.

"NPS believes that this unexpected decrease is likely related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but they are careful not to declare that as this is based in part on anecdotal information," Mayor Ruthanne Fuller said in a statement.

Declining enrollment down the road could have an impact on funding, said district officials Monday during a school committee meeting. But just what that will look like is too early to tell.

In 2019, 12,611 students were enrolled from kindergarten through 12th grade. This year preliminary numbers put enrollment at 11,925.

The majority of the decrease, 563 fewer students, is among those in kindergarten through fifth grade, with decreases at each of the city’s 15 elementary schools. The two high schools have 126 fewer students enrolled this year, while the four middle schools saw a slight increase of 3 students over last year’s enrollment, according to district data.

The biggest drop in enrollment is in kindergarten.

Last year during the 2019-2020 school year, there were 825 kindergarten students. Based on previous years and development factors the district had projected enrollment for this year to go slightly up to 837.

As of Oct. 1, the enrollment is 675 for kindergarten students, a decrease of 19.4 percent from the district projection. Typically, Newton sees about 30 to 60 kindergarten students enroll in the previous spring or over the summer and then withdraw. This year, 190 incoming kindergartners were withdrawn, choosing instead another year of pre-K, homeschooling or private kindergarten, according to the district.

In Massachusetts you are legally not required to send your child to kindergarten, but the lower turnout signals a possible challenge for next year.

"As we're planning for next year, we should be ready for a number of kids entering [school] who may not have been in school this year," said School Committee member Margaret Albright Monday.

Enrollment at the middle schools was expected to increase this year and it did, but 120 fewer students than projected enrolled. During the summer, 162 middle school students who had already been enrolled, withdrew compared with 147 last year.

At the high schools, enrollment was projected to decrease by 25 students this year. The figure as of Oct. 1, however, shows 101 fewer students than projected, with a bigger variance at Newton South than at Newton North. Summer withdrawals this year were 127 students, compared to 72 last summer.

Approximately 76 percent of elementary students are enrolled in the “hybrid” program with two days of in-person classes, and 24 percent are enrolled in the Distance Learning Academy online only program.

As of Oct. 1, almost all middle school students are participating in the distance learning model, with the exception of 186 students who attend in-person at least once a week based on individual needs. The schools plan to offer a hybrid model sometime next month.

Almost all high school students are also in a distance learning model. There are 235 high school students who attend in person based on individual needs.

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how .