Published in the September 8, 2016 edition.
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — Total student enrollment in the Wakefield Public Schools is down slightly, with 3,529 students enrolled system-wide for the 2016-2017 school year. That’s 37 fewer than last year’s total enrollment of 3,566.
But enrollment trends varied from school to school and within grade levels.
In the 2015-2016 school year, 1,024 students attended Wakefield Memorial High School. This year, the total WMHS enrollment is 1,006, a drop of 18.
The total number of seniors at the High School is down from last year, with 238 currently in 12th grade, compared to 252 last year, a drop of 14.
But there are 32 more juniors at WMHS this year: 270 compared to last year’s 238.
The number of sophomores took a dive, down 38 from last school year’s total of 265 to the current number of 227.
There are two more freshmen enrolled at WMHS this year — 271, compared to 269 last year.
The Galvin Middle School also saw an overall decrease in the number of students, with 1,082 currently enrolled, 59 fewer than last year’s 1,140. That decrease is also reflected in each grade level at the Galvin.
There are 295 eighth graders this year, compared to 305 last year. The seventh grade population also dipped slightly from 293 last year to 287 currently. The sixth grade total at the Galvin fell the most — from 290 last year to 254 this year, while Grade 5 shrunk from 252 to 246 students.
The district-wide enrollment numbers were up across the board this year for elementary, kindergarten and pre-K.
There are 257 fourth graders, 24 more than last year’s 233. Third grade enrollment is up slightly, from 257 last year to 259 this year. There are 10 more second graders in the elementary schools this year – 263 compared to last year’s 253. First grade enrollment in the district decreased by one from 257 last year to the current total of 256.
Kindergarten enrollment increased from 255 pupils last year to 265 this year. There was a slight decrease in the pre-K numbers from last year’s 139 to 133 this year.
Current enrollment totals at all four elementary school increased from last year.
The Dolbeare currently has 442 students, compared to last year’s total of 416. There are 102 children enrolled in kindergarten at the Dolbeare, 93 in first grade, 85 in second grade, 79 in third grade and 83 in fourth grade.
The Woodville also has 444 students, up from last year’s 425. There are 119 children attending kindergarten at the Woodville, 83 in first grade, 80 in second, 70 in third and 92 in fourth grade.
There are presently 227 pupils enrolled at the Greenwood School, compared to last year’s 218. The Greenwood had 44 children in its kindergarten, 46 in first grade, 50 in second, 44 in third grade and 43 in fourth.
The Walton School showed a slight increase from last year’s 196 students to this year’s 197. The Walton has 44 children in first grade, 48 attending second grade, 66 in third and 39 in fourth grade.
