Number Of Students On The Upswing

A bulging freshman class at Shadle Park High School needs more pre-algebra classes, gym teachers and time to boogie.

A freshman mixer last week for the unexpectedly large 513-student freshman class saw almost all of them get down to the macarena, the latest dance craze.

“Just image 500 freshmen dancing the macarena. It was great,” said assistant principal Staci Vesneske.

The freshman funk phenomenon was the biggest story in the yearly analysis of enrollment trends in the area. With few exceptions, schools were like a middle-aged waistline: steadily bulging.

Salk Middle School, which draws from fast-growing northwest Spokane, grew by 53 students. Stevens and Logan elementaries in the Logan neighborhood, an area with many rental houses and apartments, are unexpectedly packed.

The principals, predictably, had another explanation.

“We are not usually up,” said Stevens principal Celeste Stoddard, who has 41 more students this year than last. “But we are the best school in the city, so people want to be here.”

“Salk is a very good school with a good reputation,” said Salk principal Mary Haugen. “Parents talk and find out that this is a great place to go.”

School administrator Ned Hammond said the figures were mostly consistent with projections.

He speculated the cap on Indian Trail development limited growth in elementary schools, and the growth at Salk is the result of a boom several years ago. The school district bought property in the neighborhood in anticipation of more growth.

Many families moved during the summer, he said. “When you have 32,000 kids, they tend to move around,” said Hammond.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Enrollment in North Side schools