By Carol P. Bartold, Senior Reporter                     

Sep. 27, 2017:  The Bronxville School opened the 2017-2018 academic year with a total enrollment of 1,657 students, down 14 students from 2016-2017's official enrollment of 1,671 students. The total enrollment includes three self-contained special education classrooms, one in each school, with a total of 30 pupils. Special education enrollment in 2016-2017 was 28 pupils.

Enrollment figures do not become official until October 1 when they are reported to the state.

Dr. Roy Montesano, superintendent of the Bronxville Union Free School District, reported the enrollment and class size numbers at the September 19 Bronxville Board of Education meeting.

The elementary school has a total of 717 students in Kindergarten through grade 5, a decrease of 9 students from last year's enrollment of 726. Average class size this year is 20.7, compared with 21.6 in 2016-2017. Grade 1 has the smallest cohort in the elementary school, with 92 pupils.

Trisha Murray, elementary school principal, informed the board that grade 1 has five sections this year, as compared with six sections last year. She also noted that this particular cohort began Kindergarten last year with 93 students, also the smallest in the elementary school.

Middle school enrollment stood at 411 students at the opening of this academic year, a decrease of 26 students from 2016-2017's enrollment of 437 students. Average class size, with 255 class sections offered, is 20.7. In 2016-2017, average middle school class size was 21.3.

Among different class section sizes, there are more classes with 20-24 students, 119, than with any other size. There are 59 sections with 15-19 students; 41 sections with fewer than 15 students; 33 sections with 25-29 students; and 3 sections, music ensembles, with more than 30 students.

Bronxville High School saw a significant increase of 42 students as the 2017-2018 academic year opened. The high school has a total of 529 students, compared with 487 in 2016-2017.

"We have noticed that the enrollment bubble is just starting to go through the high school," Dr. Montesano said. "I think we have to keep an eye on the high school as it grows." He added that the increased enrollment might call for a reallocation of some resources.

Average class size in the high school has increased to 19.1 students in 238 sections from 18.5 students last year.

There are more class sections with fewer than 15 students than with any other size. Ann Meyer, high school principal, explained that courses in those 63 sections tend to be part of a sequence, such as foreign languages and mathematics, or are very specialized, such as AP music theory, and are maintained even if enrollment is very low. "If we were to discontinue the sequence, students would lose more than just one year of instruction," she said. She added that the school would not run a "pure elective" class with enrollment below 15 students.

The high school has 57 class sections with 15-19 students; 54 sections with 20-24 students; 53 sections with 25-29 students; and 11 sections with over 30 students. Per Meyer, band, orchestra, and chorus have over 30 students, as do some AP social studies sections. She added that none of the electives offered has more than 30 students enrolled.

"We had a very nice opening," Dr. Montesano stated. "We are fully staffed, and the kids are just amazing as they start getting to work and getting their classes organized."

Pictured here: Trustee Jeffrey Rohr (L) and Roy Montesano, superintendent of the Bronxville Union Free School District, at the meeting of the Bronxville Board of Education on September 19.

Photo by N. Bower