Lincoln Public Schools enrollment fell by 675 students this fall, but continued growth at Lincoln’s edges has pushed Northwest and Standing Bear high schools beyond their original enrollment targets and prompted the addition of portable classrooms.
The district reported 41,265 students in prekindergarten through 12th grade as of Oct. 1, down about 1.6% from the previous year. LPS released the official figures Friday after submitting them to the Nebraska Department of Education.
Mike Gillotti, LPS associate superintendent for educational services, said the decline reflects a trend the district has anticipated: larger classes graduating while smaller classes enter elementary school. He linked the smaller incoming classes to lower birth numbers in Lincoln.
The senior class has 3,588 students, compared with 2,608 kindergartners. Elementary enrollment declined by 426 students, middle school enrollment fell by 148 and high school enrollment dropped by 232. Early childhood programs added 131 students, partially offsetting those losses.
Gillotti also identified a decline of a little more than 200 English learners as a possible contributing factor. He said that suggests reduced immigration and refugee arrivals in Lincoln. “So that would just indicate a little less immigration, a little less refugee movement into the city of Lincoln,” Gillotti said.
The district is still awaiting state figures on nonpublic school and homeschool enrollment, which Gillotti expects around December. He said option enrollment into and out of LPS appears relatively stable, while he anticipates a modest increase in homeschooling.
Despite the districtwide decline, enrollment continues to rise in developing areas near Northwest and Standing Bear. “And anybody who’s driven around our community, particularly if you’ve gone around Northwest and Standing Bear, you know we still have growth happening there,” Gillotti said.
Standing Bear added 155 students, bringing its enrollment to 1,091. Northwest added 83 students and now enrolls 1,184. Gillotti said both schools were designed around an enrollment target of 1,000 and have added portable classrooms this year.
LPS will review whether to continue restrictions on transfers into grades 10 through 12 at those schools for next year. Gillotti said school choice for incoming ninth graders will remain available, with high school open houses beginning in December and choice forms due in early January.
Growth also varied among elementary and middle schools. Robinson Elementary posted the largest elementary increase, adding 48 students, while Moore Middle School added 54.
Lincoln High remains the district’s largest high school with 1,974 students, followed by North Star with 1,866. All eight LPS high schools remain below 2,000 students.
The full district statistics booklet is still being compiled. Enrollment information is available on the LPS website.