Enrollment numbers are stable in West Aurora School District 129, officials said. West Aurora School District Assistant Superintendent of Operations Angie Smith presented an analysis of student enrollment in a report to the school board last week. The data presented was for kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment numbers for years from 2012-13 to day 10 of the current school year. The enrollment is down roughly 2,000 students since 2012, according to the data. “It’s important to note in 2023-24 we anticipated enrollment would go down slightly,” Smith told the school board. However, district-wide enrollment actually went up a bit, she said. “The good news is enrollment has seemed to level off and is stabilizing. That is something we are hearing from our neighbors as well,” Smith said. “A lot of the enrollment is cyclical,” Smith said, noting Fearn Elementary is at 478 students. Freeman and McCleary elementary schools have enrollments of 554 and 552 respectively. The differences in elementary enrollment can reflect a building’s special programs, she said. “In some buildings there may be programs with fewer students,” she added. Kindergarten has a total enrollment of 511 students, first grade is at 547 students, second grade has an enrollment of 528 students, third grade at 576 students, fourth grade is at 597 students and fifth grade has enrollment of 657 students in the district, according to the data. Class sizes depend on what a building’s designated cap is – 24, 25 or 29. The average class size at kindergarten is 19.65 while the average class size in fifth grade is 24. Total elementary enrollment is 4,606 students in West Aurora School District. Enrollment at the district’s four middle schools range from more than 600 in one school to more than 400 in another. Total middle school enrollment is 2,276 students, while West Aurora High School has 3,599 students. As for trends to watch, “enrollment has seemed to have stabilized and is up slightly from projections at most grades,” Smith said. From year to year, it could be a different building that sees an enrollment hike, Smith said. Meantime, there has been a slowdown in newcomers from other countries joining the district. “We are seeing newcomers but not in the numbers we have seen before,” Smith said. Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.