CPS begins first week back with jump in enrollment
Columbia Public Schools saw an increase of 228 students on the first day of the 2019-2020 school year.
CPS Community Relations Director Michelle Baumstark said that number is average for the district.
“We’ve had some bubbles in certain years, where we’ve had a larger kindergarten class for whatever reason,” Baumstark said. “But every year, roughly 200 or so new students each year.”
The district is now home to 19,288 students, but that could change before the final numbers are released.
The state requires a final headcount for each school the last Wednesday in September each year. Baumstark said the district will announce the final numbers at the end of September.
As enrollment booms in CPS, Baumstark said construction on the new middle school to alleviate overcrowding is on track.
The new middle school is scheduled to open in fall 2020 and will help eliminate trailer classrooms at Gentry Middle School.
Gentry Middle School’s attendance rose by 21 students from 2018-2019 this school year. The school has dealt with overcrowding for several years, prompting the construction of a new middle school in south Columbia.
“We had planned to do some other projects prior to the middle school, but because of the growth, we escalated the timeline,” Baumstark said.
She added that the new middle school will “help to go a long way to addressing what our current needs are.”
As numbers continue to grow, Baumstark said the district is always discussing long-range planning.
She said the land the middle school sits on “also has space should we need to build another elementary school.”
Baumstark said the district looks ahead 10 years at population trends to determine if new schools will be needed and where they’ll have to be built.
An interactive graph is below. Select a school from the drop down menu to see the change in enrollment from the 2018-2019 to the 2019-2020 school year.
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CPS Enrollment
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