AISD enrollment levels out at 493

By Donnie A. Lucas

Albany ISD has registered just under 500 students for the 2023-24 school year, showing a small decrease in enrollment for the first time in several years.

As of Monday, Aug. 21, the district is reporting a total of 493 students, compared to 502 students at the same point last year.

“Our enrollment went very well,” said Leigh Lowe, director of student services. “Our numbers have been relatively stable the last four years.”

This is the third year that the district has conducted registration using the Ascender Parent Portal.

“Parents seem to be familiar with the process now, and there were very few problems this year other than getting some of the applications completed after they were started,” she said. “There were just a few parents who needed assistance to complete the process.”

A total of 261 students were on the roster as of Monday at the elementary campus, down just one student from last year. Lowe said she is actually expecting one more student to be registered which will match last year’s number.

The number of students at the secondary campus was down slightly from 232 this year compared to 240 last year.

“We always expect slight changes each year from class to class,” Lowe said. “We were hoping for 500 this year, but we had two or three families move.”

Currently, the four high school grades total at 167, which is three students more than last year. The junior high had a total enrollment of 65 this year compared to 77 last year.

“Currently, the two junior high classes are the smallest with 33 and 32 respectively,” she said. “

“There are 37 ninth graders and our largest classes are 10th through 12th with 42, 43 and 45 students,” Lowe said. “This is our largest senior class in several years.”

She noted that enrollment at the end of the 2022-23 school year was 475 for all grades, which is almost 20 students fewer than the start of the current year.

Enrollment totals for high school on the “snapshot” day of Oct. 27 will be used to determine UIL classifications for the following biennium. While Albany is well in the middle of the pack to remain in Class 2A, the total in high school could be a factor in determining the separation between Division I and Division II classifications for football, pending where UIL sets the limits.

Currently, the dividing point for small and large school in Class 2A football is 164.5 students.

At the elementary school, enrollment by grade level is as follows: 24 for Pre-K and Head Start, 44 for kindergarten, 36 for first grade, 27 for both second and third grades, 31 for fourth grade, 36 for fifth grade, and 33 for sixth grades.

A large portion of funding from the state of Texas is based on the percentage of students in attendance on a daily basis.

“We are glad to see stable enrollment numbers, but daily attendance is how the state calculates funding,” Lowe said. “Therefore, it is really important that attendance stays at a high percentage on a daily basis.”