Number of K students on rise in Lynn

LYNN – Lynn’s smallest students are increasing in numbers and school officials are working to accommodate the kindergarteners’ new clout.Superintendent Catherine Latham ran through some of the numbers at the School Committee meeting this week.Kindergarten enrollment has jumped from 830 children last year to 1,103 as of this week. And as Latham reminded the committee, there’s always a chance that more children will enroll.Some concerns have been raised about kindergarten class sizes in schools throughout the district, but Latham said some problems have been resolved and some are still being watched.”At 32, we are opening new rooms,” she said, explaining that step had already been taken at Ingalls Elementary School. All three kindergarten classes at Ingalls had reached the 32-student tipping point, but with a new room and new teacher class sizes will be down to 24 kids.School Committee member Maria Carrasco asked if another room could be opened at Cobbet Elementary School where there are four kindergarten classes with an average of 30 students each.”We know if we don’t do something now, they will never progress,” said Carrasco.Latham said no changes are planned for the Cobbet kindergartens, but she added that could change.”There’s still a chance that if any of those numbers go higher, we’ll split those classes as well,” she said.Assistant Director of Early Childhood Education Marilyn Mahoney and Michelle Flynn, an early education program specialist, told school committee members about the district’s push to make parents aware of kindergarten registration. In addition to the bright yellow banners hung around the city as reminders, the Early Education program sends out fliers to families who have children in elementary school. Next year, they hope to deleiver information through churches and health organizations.