The superintendent told the HESD governing board the district had a smooth opening to the school year, with maintenance, custodial and staff teams completing preparations and a districtwide MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports) training in August.

“As of Day 4, we were down 244 students compared to last year and about 80 below our projection of 6,510,” the superintendent said in the report, noting enrollment figures continue to change daily. The superintendent said the district’s Day 4 count was 6,436.

The superintendent credited principals and office staff for staging staggered family packet pick-ups and shorter first-day lines, and said this year was the first in which all district schools had air conditioning at the start of the year. She also described the district’s Shine event and other staff efforts to prepare campuses and reduce food and coffee lines.

Where numbers were notably low, the superintendent said several sites had substantially fewer transitional kindergarten registrations compared with last year and that some families are keeping young children home this year. She said back-to-school nights are being scheduled and that board members who plan to attend should notify staff to arrange introductions with principals.

No formal board action was taken on enrollment figures during the meeting; the report was informational. Staff and board members discussed outreach and monitoring as enrollment continues to shift in the opening weeks of the school year.