North Allegheny officials plan for growth in student enrollment

Projected growth in Franklin Park, Marshall, and McCandless could add almost 300 new students districtwide in the coming years, North Allegheny officials say.

New residential development in Marshall, Franklin Park and McCandless is driving the enrollment projections, according to an enrollment report presented to the school board in October.

“The district is always studying enrollment numbers because they play a large role in the decisions we make for North Allegheny. From staffing to resources to transportation, the number of students attending NASD impacts both our long-term and short-term plans,” said Dr. Melissa Friez, superintendent of schools.

Of 586 planned housing units in the Marshall Elementary school zone, 380 were complete as of October, the school district’s research shows. This brings a potential 152 new students into kindergarten through 12th grade.

The Franklin Park Elementary School zone had 130 new residential units planned, with 20 complete as of October. This has the potential to bring approximately 100 new students into the district.

Another slight jump is in the Peebles Elementary school zone with 102 units proposed, bringing possibly 17 new students districtwide. The McKnight and Hosack zones combined could add an estimated 25 students to North Allegheny.

That is approximately 296 new students potentially coming into the district, though the October report notes it is unclear when the remaining houses or units will be finished and ready for occupancy.

In comparison, last year’s analysis had a grand total of potential new students at 191.

“I feel like we will be a growing district over the next five years,” said Kermit Houser, assistant director of finance and treasurer at North Allegheny, who helped prepare the report based on enrollment counts taken on the third day of the new school year.

The estimates are based on approved projects that each municipality has provided to the district. Some housing units have been started or are near completion, and some are in the very early stages and could take years to complete. The estimates of new students are based on approved development and demographer information, Houser said.

However, with the pandemic and online learning along with recent redistricting of the school zones, this wasn’t a normal data year.

“The 2021 to 2022 enrollment year is probably not a good representation of overall enrollment trends due to challenges related to covid-19,” Houser said.

For instance, Franklin Park Elementary went from 201 students in 2020 to 698 this year. In 2020, the pandemic saw an increase in NA cyber education with the third-day enrollment at 2,574. In, 2021 third-day enrollment dropped to 219.

NA Cyber needs to be continued to be monitored and assessed to see if it will affect long-term space needs, said Friez.

Other data trends were provided in the October report. Private and parochial education in the district has steadily decreased from 2010 when enrollment stood at 979. It decreased to 761 this year. Homeschooling has increased from 99 students a decade ago to 137 this school year.

North Allegheny enrollment also is changing.

“We see the student body getting more diverse year to year,” said Sean Hoover, data analyst for the district who helped present the October report.

In 2010, almost 83 percent of students were white, almost 14 percent Asian, with the remaining 3.5 percent made up of other race categories.

In 2021, students classified as white dropped to about 72 percent. There were 19.5 percent of students classified as Asian, about 3 percent multiracial, 3 percent Hispanic, followed closely by Black/African American, then American Indian/Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.

The special education student population fluctuated over the past 10 years, but increased overall.

These enrollment figures aid in long-term facility planning, especially with a potential growth in primary grades.

The 2020 redistricting realigned elementary populations and provided some capacity to handle growth. Regardless, middle school space should be monitored, officials said. Middle school classrooms have the flexibility to handle the projected larger student body coming in from the lower grades. But common areas, such as cafeterias, may need alterations.

Officials recommended an assessment of facilities and education programs at both the intermediate and high school level to plan for needed renovations there.

“The district’s steady enrollment is a testament to everything that NA has to offer – from our outstanding faculty to our achievements in academics, activities, and athletics,” she said.

North Allegheny, like many other school districts, takes count of all students at all grade levels on the third day of each school year. Last year’s third-day enrollment was listed at 8,510, and for 2021, the district total was 8,483, including cyber school.

The numbers are used for planning purposes, though enrollment can fluctuate over the year.

“Like most districts, enrollment numbers at North Allegheny always tend to fluctuate given several factors like annual birth rates, new housing developments that bring new families to the area, changes between public and private schooling, and most recently the global pandemic,” Friez said.

A complete report is available through the North Allegheny School District website.