More students than originally thought are attending Niles Community Schools this year than last year, Supt. Richard Weigel said.
Weigel announced the official fall student count total at Monday’s board of education meeting, which was held at Eastside Connections School.
The official student count for the district is 3,858. Weigel had released an unofficial student count earlier of 3,828.
“While we thought we were 138 students up (over last year), we are actually 168 students up,” Weigel said. “That is pretty exciting.”
Weigel said the district gained 19 more students through Schools of Choice than it did last year, while also seeing an increase in the amount of students in adult education programs by 24 students. Niles currently has 60 students enrolled in a new alternative-learning program, called the W-A-Y Niles, with more than 30 on a waiting list for the program.
The district’s home school connection program has 50 more students in it than it did a year ago.
Weigel also said there was an increase of 21 students in the district’s all-day kindergarten classes.