New London posts increase in certified enrollment Other districts have had drops attributed to COVID precautions

NEW LONDON - In a year where more families are choosing to keep students home, leading to drops in certified enrollment, the New London Community School District has had the opposite experience. The district saw a 17-student increase in its 2020-2021 certified enrollment.

Superintendent Chad Wahls said the district serves approximately 570 students daily, of which 502 are resident students. The district has 97 students who open enroll into the district and 53 who open enroll to other districts for a net gain of 44 students.

The superintendent said the district only saw two students opt for home schooling rather than returning for the school year. Wahls credited the reduced loss in light of the pandemic to the district's commitment to meeting with all families and parents who had concerns about students returning for face-to-face instruction.

'We had individual meetings with families. It only affected two kids, otherwise everybody has continued to attend and be here every day,” he said.

Wahls said the increase in enrollment is a trend for the district, but the jump this year is bigger than that of years past. The previous year, the district saw a two-student increase in its enrollment. Wahls said the district aims to be at about 600 students.

'In 2018, we dipped a little but if you go back to 2015, we were barely above 500 kids,” Wahls said.

The superintendent pointed to several factors that may be contributing to increases in enrollment including the development of new housing in the city as well as the attractiveness of the district's fine arts and sports programs.

'We're one of the small schools that have an auditorium. And our sports programs have been top notch, which is attractive to students who want to participate in sports. There's a lot of contributing factors,” Wahls said.

The superintendent added the district has seen rather large kindergarten classes the previous two years, averaging about 50 students with the need for three class sections. The district anticipates to grow again with another 10 to 20 additional students in the 2021-2022 school year.

'We have one of the smallest senior classes with 33 seniors. With the kindergarten class in the 50-range, we're expecting to see that increase again,” he said.

Wahls said the district continues to strive to be a well-rounded small school, serving students in the smaller community and surrounding areas.

'We're really proud of what we've done, where we come from and where we're going,” he said.