FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 19, 2008

For more information contact:

Ed Hightower

618.656.1182

School begins; District 7 enrollment up

According to Superintendent Ed Hightower, the start of the 2008-09 school year was the smoothest in his 13 years in the District. He credits the successful start on the hard work and extra effort put in by faculty, staff, and parents throughout the summer.

“Planning for this school year required the collaborative effort of a multitude of people, particularly given our new buildings, boundaries, bus routes, and roads. We owe everyone involved in the process a great deal of gratitude. We’re happy to have school underway,” Hightower said.

Part of wrapping up the first day of school is determining school enrollment. And though numbers won’t be final until Tuesday, August 26, the official “sixth day” of the 2008-09 school year, the District’s student population stands at 7,591, up 166 students over the 2007-08 sixth day enrollment.

Kindergarten enrollment stands at 578, the largest kindergarten class in District 7 history. The largest class previously was 505 students in the 2006-07 school year. This year’s increased kindergarten enrollment is spread across the district; five of the six primary buildings each added one kindergarten classroom for the fall.

According to Superintendent Ed Hightower, trend data show that classes add students as they move through grade levels. “Since the 1996-97 kindergarten class enrolled, classes have added an average of 62 students (with a low of 43 and a high of 100) by the time they reach fifth grade. The class of 505 students who started kindergarten in 2006-07 now has 541 students. Last year’s kindergarten class has grown by 19 students,” Hightower said.

Elementary growth has occurred primarily at the kindergarten level, where the District saw an increase of 86 students over the 2007-08 kindergarten class. Middle school enrollment has increased from 1,628 in 2007-08, to 1,714 this year, and high school enrollment has stayed stable with 2,518 students, up eight students from last year.

Board President Jim Speciale said that the Board is pleased with its decision to add classrooms at the elementary level, where students had been housed in undesirable spaces for years. “Without the new schools, that number would have continued to grow as enrollment increased. Now we have quality educational space for our current students and plenty of space to accommodate future growth,” Speciale said.

For Finance Committee Chairman Greg Roosevelt and the rest of the Board, adding classes meant adding six new teachers to an already tight budget. “Given the status of the Illinois budget, there can be no doubt that this will be a difficult year financially for all school districts across Illinois. However, the Board is pleased to see that young families continue to choose District 7 communities as the place they want to raise their families. The Finance Committee and the Board remain committed to small class sizes and maintaining a balanced budget for the 2008-09 school year,” Roosevelt said.

Elementary class sizes average 20 at kindergarten, 20-21 at first grade, 22 at second grade, 23 at third and fourth grades, and 23-25 at fifth grade.