Enrollment at Kennewick schools grew by nearly 2 percent this fall compared to 2009, according to numbers released by the school district Wednesday.
School district officials counted 15,577 students in Kennewick's elementary, middle and high schools, compared with 15,310 enrolled at the start of school in 2009. That's 1.7 percent more students matriculating in the Tri-Cities' largest school district.
Kennewick schools started Monday.
Pasco schools posted gains again Wednesday after seeing enrollment up on the first day of classes Tuesday.
Enrollment numbers Wednesday showed a total of 13,910 students in K-12. That breaks down to 7,305 elementary school students, 3,260 middle school students and 3,345 high school students.
Pasco officials said those numbers are up from Tuesday by 57 students in grades K-5, 74 in grades 6-8 and 97 in grades 9-12.
"We expect those numbers to continue to increase throughout the week, becoming more stable after the holiday weekend," Superintendent Saundra Hill said in a statement.
The number of students walking the halls in Richland schools appeared to drop a little Wednesday after the district saw gains of 2.4 percent over last year when classes started Tuesday.
Tuesday's enrollment numbers showed 11,157 students in Richland's elementary, middle and high schools, but numbers provided by the district Wednesday showed 11,142 students.
-- Staff writer Sara Schilling contributed to this report.
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Enrollment increases in all Tri-City school districts
Enrollment increases in all Tri-City school districts
Wednesday was a big day for the man in charge of providing classrooms to Pasco students.
For weeks, projections had been made, portable classrooms allotted to schools and teachers hired. Now it was time to see whether the calculations matched reality.
"I'm sitting here going 'Oh, my gosh,' " said John Morgan, Pasco schools' director of operations, late Wednesday.
2 Mid-Columbia school districts report higher enrollment
2 Mid-Columbia school districts report higher enrollment
Today was the first day of school for most -- but not all -- Tri-City students, and two districts already were reporting student enrollment increases.
Pasco welcomed kids in grades K-5, sixth and ninth back to school Tuesday. The other students will join them today.
On the first day, Pasco had 7,496 elementary school students, 1,123 sixth-graders and about 857 high school freshmen, said Leslee Caul, a district spokeswoman.
Pasco task force recommends year-round schools
Pasco task force recommends year-round schools
The Pasco School District soon may be the first in the state to run some of its schools all year.
The school board Tuesday received the final report from a task force that was assembled earlier this year to figure out how to ease overcrowding in Pasco schools.
The group, which is made up of parents, teachers and representatives of community organizations, recommended the district make sixth grade part of elementary schools. Those elementary schools then would switch to a multi-track, year-round schedule once they exceed certain enrollment thresholds, which are yet to be determined.
State praises progress by schools on proficiency exams
State praises progress by schools on proficiency exams
As most kids around the Mid-Columbia started their new school year Tuesday, state school officials released results of how students fared in last year's standardized state tests.
State Superintendent Randy Dorn announced the results in a news conference, applauding teachers and administrators for keeping scores on the rise in many categories despite deep school budget cuts.
This year saw a whole new type of testing -- end-of-course tests in math. These tests, taken in the year in which a student is enrolled in the first two stages of high school math -- usually algebra 1 and geometry -- replaced the 10th-grade High School Proficiency Exams, or HSPE.
Kennewick levy: Yes
Kennewick levy: Yes
Elementary students in the Kennewick School District have been very successful in reading! Last year, 90 percent of our third grade students were reading at or above grade level at the end of the school year. Across the nation this is a great accomplishment! This accomplishment is a foundation for even more success as children move from elementary school into middle school and high school.
Our district has created this success with good teachers, good reading programs and good teacher training, all of which are partially funded with levy dollars. As a homeowner in Kennewick, I consider levy dollars an investment for our future.
This year's levy is a replacement, not a new tax. It is a levy for 2013-14 and maintains current operation levels. Please vote yes on the Kennewick School District 2012 levy election and invest in our future!
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