Simsbury reports 3,966 students on Oct. 1; kindergarten swings and middle‑school withdrawals drive local shifts

The Simsbury Board of Education reported an official October 1 enrollment of 3,966 students, a decline from the same date last year and the lowest district count since the COVID year, district staff said during the board’s meeting.

District leaders told the board the overall drop is concentrated in a few grades and schools: Squadron Line reported just 60 kindergarten students this year while Latimer Lane reported 84, and an unusually high summer withdrawal at Henry James Middle School — roughly 30 students across seventh and eighth grades — accounted for most of the middle‑school shortfall.

District officials said the Henry James withdrawals were coded as follows: eight students who moved within Connecticut, 10 who moved out of state, two who moved internationally, nine who enrolled in private school and one who went to homeschooling. The superintendent said the pattern of movement appears coincidental rather than the result of a single local policy or event.

Why this matters: enrollment drives staffing, class assignments, state aid formulas and local budget planning. The district will submit these counts to its demographer, Nasdaq (the district’s enrollment forecasting contractor), and monitor classroom capacity as the year progresses.

Details and context - Total district head count reported to the state: 3,966. The district also reported 121 preschool students on the books, producing a system total of 4,087 when preschool is included. The district said preschool seats are split primarily between Latimer Lane and Squadron Line (about 71 at Squadron, about 50 at Latimer). (district materials reported at the meeting) - Kindergarten distribution: Squadron Line 60 kindergarteners; Latimer Lane 84 kindergarteners. District leaders said that variance explains much of the elementary‑level swings between schools. - Middle school movement: about 30 withdrawals from seventh and eighth grade at Henry James were the principal driver of the overall decline; staff provided the breakdown of reasons listed above. - Open Choice and preschool counts: the district reported 175 Open Choice students (used in state percentage calculations) and reminded the board that preschool Open Choice enrollments are counted differently for state formulas. - Homeschooling: the district reported 46 total homeschooled students; staff said multiple siblings are frequently listed under a single family and that the district keeps a separate homeschool registry.

Class‑size and staffing implications - Elementary: administrators reported that no elementary class exceeds the district’s class‑size guidelines; 12 elementary classes fall below guidelines. The district said it had 110 elementary teachers (unchanged from last year) and that class sizes overall are “favorable” compared with the prior year. - Middle school: administrators said the middle‑school schedule is stable and they have continued to staff teams as needed; specific sections are being monitored as students complete the first add/drop window. - High school: Simsbury High School leaders said core classes largely meet acceptable ranges; eight high‑school core sections exceeded guideline thresholds but most are expected to fall after the second add/drop window. The high school reported fewer teachers this year (two fewer than last year) while maintaining manageable class sizes. - Advanced coursework and capstone: board members and administrators discussed rising participation in some AP courses (notably AP U.S. History) and changes in AP Biology enrollment practices. The district said it would circulate a detailed five‑year breakdown of AP and capstone participation to the board; specific multi‑year enrollment tables were not read into the record during the meeting.

Next steps District staff said they will: submit the current enrollments to their demographer (Nasdaq) for updated projections; continue to monitor Squadron Line capacity (the building currently has 31 K–6 classrooms and multiple preschool rooms) and watch class sizes through the second add/drop window in late October.

Ending: Board members praised staff work in scheduling and data preparation and asked for a follow‑up report with Nasdaq’s updated projections when available.