The number of students enrolled in the public school system in Iowa went up last year. The Iowa Department of Education says the number of students increased by six-tenths of a percent or 2,676.
It’s the second straight year enrollment has increased and Jay Pennington, the chief of the department’s bureau of information and analysis, says it’s due in part to a temporary spike in birth rates that started going up in 2003 and then leveled off in 2008. He says the increase in enrollment will eventually also level off.
Overall 156 of the 346 school districts reported an increase in students, 183 reported a decline, and 7 stayed the same. Waukee and Ankeny led the list for the largest increase in the number of students at 568 and 516. Iowa City saw a gain of nearly 400 and the Des Moines district increased by 351. Southeast Polk rounded out the top five with a gain of 217 kids.
Waukee, Ankeny, Des Moines, Iowa City and Pleasant Valley top the list for most students gained over a five year period.
The Clinton school district has lost the most pupils over the last five years at 328. That’s followed by Vinton-Shellsburg and Council Bluffs with 214 and 211. Newton at 199 and Mason City at 184 round out the top five districts for student losses in the last five years