Winchester Schools Continue to See Enrollment Growth

Winchester Patch By Daniel Marra September 19, 2011

Enrollment continues to increase at the Winchester Schools. The school district saw an increase of nearly 2 percent from the 2010 school year to the start of the 2011 year, with 68 more students attending Winchester schools. Currently, there are 4,264 students enrolled at the Winchester Public Schools, up from the 4,196 that attended last year.

Over the last decade, Winchester has seen a steady increase in students. In 2000, there were 1,634 elementary students; this year there are 2,121 – a 23 percent increase. Ten years ago McCall Middle School had 751 students, now there are 1,046 – a 29 percent increase. And at the high school, in 2000, there were 907 students; now enrollment has grown to 1,097 – an 18 percent increase.

"Keeping class sizes small and manageable is our number one priority," said School Committee member Sarah Girotti said. "The top indicators of student success are class size, so that is the district's top priority.”

According to Superintendent William McAlduff, Winchester has to be especially cognizant of the increased enrollment in the elementary and middle school grades, whose students will eventually end up at the high school.

The district has tried to alleviate some of the strain on the other schools by building a new Ambrose school a few years ago. But after three years, the elementary school is already at its limit of 500 students.

This past January, Winchester voters elected to support building a new Vinson-Owen Elementary school, which will allow the town to redistrict. In the fall, Town Meeting voted to allow a feasibility study to be done at the high school. McAlduff said that over the next three years, Winchester's enrollment is expected to increase by another 220 students. "A new VO will alleviate overcrowding at all schools," McAlduff said. "This is a problem at all schools and we need to correct it."

The Vinson-Owen project, which will help correct the over-crowding at the elementary schools, is scheduled to be open in time for the 2013 school year, while the district expects to have the high school feasibility study done by next year.