Student enrollment is on the rise at Brandywine Community Schools, according to unofficial numbers from the Oct. 7 count day.

Supt. John Jarpe told members of the Brandywine school board Monday that 1,357 students are currently being educated in the district.

That number is an increase of six students when compared to last year’s fall count of 1,351.

“A lot of people are losing students. That is kind of the trend in Michigan,” Jarpe said. “For us to be above where we were last year and above where we projected … is good.”

Jarpe said the district projected to have an enrollment of around 1,319 for the fall count.

He credited the new Brandywine Innovation Academy, a non-traditional web-based program added this year, with contributing to the better-than-projected enrollment figures.

“That’s been very beneficial to our numbers,” he said.

The BIA has around 70 people enrolled.

Student counts are done twice a year at all public schools in Michigan — once in the spring and once in the fall.

The spring count occurs on the second Wednesday in February and represents 10 percent of state funding. The fall count occurs on the first Wednesday in October and represents 90 percent of state funding.

The amount of state aid allotted to districts is based on a blended count that is derived from the number of students reported during the prior spring and the current fall count days.