Former charter school pupils finding a place in city district

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Where students are going to attend classes next month is coming into focus as the Schenectady City School District prepares to open three new schools.

Superintendent Eric Ely told the Board of Education Wednesday that 87 students are registered to attend the new Katharine Burr Blodgett Elementary School, 135 at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Elementary School and 247 at Keane Elementary School. The district is leasing Blodgett and Roosevelt facilities at the former St. Adalbert’s School on Lansing Street and Immaculate Conception School on Bradt, respectively, to deal with the influx of students from the closed International Charter School of Schenectady. It had already planned to open Keane — located at the former St. Luke’s School.

Ely said he had expected that more students would be at Blodgett than FDR, but the reverse has proven to be the case. He pointed out that these numbers are still fluctuating because about 30 to 40 students are registering daily day as the start of classes looms.

Other enrollment data shows that Zoller Elementary School is at 438 pupils and Yates Elementary School is at 374. District officials are happy because they have been trying to reduce overcrowding at Zoller and raise the enrollment at Yates. In addition, Ely said the district has been able to reduce the enrollment at its middle schools. A six-classroom addition at Paige Elementary School is nearly finished and the sixth-graders will be located there. Among the middle schools, Mont Pleasant’s enrollment is at 674, Oneida is at 532 and Central Park is at 544.

“When I came here four years ago, Mont Pleasant was over 900 students,” Ely said.

At the high school, Ely said it looks like there will be slightly fewer than 2,600 students attending. He believes the total enrollment of the district will hit 10,200.

Board member Gary Farkas expressed concern about the size of the high school and wondered whether enrollment would reach 3,000.

Ely said enrollment at the high school has been fairly static in the last few years. However, he said it could increase if the district is successful in its efforts to keep students from dropping out. He added he intended to update the board on a plan for all of its facilities in the coming months. For example, the high school science classrooms are in need of renovation.