Roseville Area Schools reports enrollment dip, pre-K gains and rising multilingual enrollment
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Summary
District staff told the board that K–12 enrollment is down about 201 students this year while pre-K and multilingual enrollment rose; staff said kindergarten average class size is 21.5 (target 22) and explained how October 1 counts affect state and federal funding.
District staff presented an enrollment and demographic update to the Roseville Area Schools Board on Nov. 12, reporting a net decline of 201 students in kindergarten through 12th grade compared with last year, alongside increases in pre-kindergarten and multilingual learners.
Maura Ryan, the district’s enrollment presenter, said the current kindergarten cohort is about 460 students while the district kindergarten average is 21.5 students per class versus a target of 22. “We all know that averages mean some classes are lower and some are higher,” Ryan said, noting three kindergarten classes currently exceed the district target and that staff work with principals and teachers to add supports or change scheduling.
The district also reported a 10-year decrease of roughly 475 students overall and highlighted reasons that include declining birth rates, school choice, growth in homeschooling and more virtual options since the pandemic. At the same time, Ryan said pre-K enrollment increased by 43 students between 2021 and 2025 and that about 20 pre-K spots and 11 ECSE co-taught spots remain open.
On demographics, Dylan Smith, associate superintendent, said students of color now make up about 63% of district enrollment, up roughly 1 percentage point from the previous report, and explained differences between federal and state race/ethnicity categories that affect counts for American Indian students and related funding. Smith also highlighted multilingual learner trends: the district reported 7,508 total students with 2,832 who speak more than one language at home and participate in bilingual or dual-language programs.
Smith described increased ELD (English language development) participation at the elementary level—Little Canada, for example, is serving about 39% of students in ELD—and said the district has added four new teachers this year, 75% of whom are multilingual, plus more co-teaching sections at middle and high schools.
Staff described special education as steady at about 18% of enrollment (roughly 1,300 students) with the largest single category being students on the autism spectrum. The presenters also explained how October 1 counts (and subsequent submissions in November–January) are used by state and federal agencies to determine compensatory and other funding, and urged families to complete applications for educational benefits since application rates affect site and district revenue.
Board members said the report will inform the district’s curriculum advisory work and annual report. Staff said updated numbers will be reconciled with state reports in January and that the enrollment and demographic detail will feed strategic-plan work and targeted interventions.
Next steps: staff will finalize updated submissions in the district’s January data filing and use the information to shape curriculum, staffing and outreach to families.
