North Andover reports modest enrollment decline, capacity and class‑size breakdowns ahead of October 1 state count

Superintendent Pamela Lathrop updated the School Committee Sept. 25 on preliminary district enrollment figures and class sizes, saying the district's current count is approximately 4,360 students in‑district (4,506 including students receiving out‑of‑district or services‑only placements) — roughly 100 fewer students than the prior year. Lathrop cautioned the numbers are preliminary until the state’s official October 1 enrollment is filed.

Officials noted kindergarten showed a decline from the previous “bubble” year but said preschool figures typically rise through the fall as three‑year‑olds become age‑eligible. The superintendent walked committee members through school‑by‑school snapshots: elementary average class sizes clustered around the low‑to‑mid‑20s with two classes at 25; middle school academic class averages near 22–23 and related‑arts classes averaging higher (around 28); and high school course offerings largely meeting student requests although some scheduling constraints (for example availability of Spanish) persisted.

The presentation included capacity figures and noted the district has room for additional students by raw building capacity, though some spaces have been repurposed for non‑classroom uses. Lathrop flagged that enrollment decline mirrors a statewide trend cited in a Massachusetts Association of School Committees newsletter and that the district will monitor changes through the state reporting window. Committee members asked for longitudinal comparisons and comparable‑district benchmarking; staff said those datasets are available on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education web tools and offered to run comparisons if the committee wanted them.

Superintendent Lathrop said a full financial report will be presented in October once more invoices and payroll runs are reconciled; the finance director will be invited to the next meeting to present the FY26 report and grant summaries.