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    First day
August 15, 2009

Kindergarten enrollment increases at Emerson

Derrick Miller

DUNCAN — About 90 students enrolled in kindergarten at Emerson Elementary this fall. The influx of students created a situation to where another section of kindergarten had to be added.

Emerson Principal Eva Spaulding said, “They keep coming in. I don’t know where they’re coming from.”

The result is four sections at Emerson. Some of the other Duncan schools, including Plato Elementary, have only two sections of kindergarten.

Glenda Cobb, Duncan Public Schools assistant superintendent, said Woodrow Wilson Elementary also has quite a few more kindergarten students. Cobb said the school district created a kindergarten/first-grade combination class last year.

She said she didn’t know what would be done this year. Cobb said the district will consider the options, which could include adding another section of kindergarten at Woodrow Wilson.

“It’s manageable at this point,” Cobb said.

She said kindergarten enrollment is up in several schools in the district, but overall kindergarten enrollment is down 15 students from the end of the 2008-09 school year.

Cobb said she expects this number to increase in the next few weeks.

“Students will continue to trickle in,” she said.

Horace Mann Elementary also has full classes. Cobb said each kindergarten class at Horace Mann has 25 students, but it’s manageable.

Still, the increase in kindergarten students is a reality for Emerson.

Spaulding said the school had an increased enrollment of about 50 students from the beginning of last year.

She said everyone at the school is working together to make the transitions for the new teachers successful.

“Everyone just jumps in,” Spaulding said. “It’s just gone together.

“If you’ve got to start last-minute, this is the place to do it.”

Many of the grades throughout the district found increases, although many were slight. Others decreased.

• Kindergarten, despite increasing at some schools, decreased overall. At the end of last school year, 325 students were enrolled in kindergarten. On the first day of school this year, 310 students were enrolled.

• First grade increased for the 2009-10 school year. In May, there were 303 first-graders. On the first day of school, this number increased to 312.

• Second grade increased by one student. Last year’s number was an enrollment of 281. It went up to 282 on the first day of school this year.

• Third grade decreased, as it went from 279 in May, to 279 on Thursday.

• Fourth grade also had a decrease. It went from 304 students to 265. Cobb said last year’s fourth grade a large class.

• Fifth grade increased the most among the primary grades. It went from 267 last year to 299 students this year.

The overall primary difference was a loss of 33 students since the end of the 2008-09 school year.

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