Newport-Mesa’s enrollment increases

Deirdre Newman

As the second week of school draws to an end, many principals are

close to completing the tricky process of balancing staff with

enrollment.

Enrollment in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District has been

surging over the past few years, so inevitably more students show up

at various schools than anticipated.

That was the case at TeWinkle Middle School in Costa Mesa last

week, when 65 eager youngsters arrived on the first day with no

teachers ready for them.

The district makes enrollment projections based on the numbers

available over the summer, and teachers are hired based on those

figures. But school administrators say preparing for the first day of

school is still a gamble.

“Part of trying to estimate [the number of teachers needed] is

that you don’t want to be over and have to cut someone,” said

TeWinkle Principal Jeff Gall.

The increase in district enrollment is due to changing

demographics and success in enticing students away from private

schools, said Supt. Robert Barbot.

The district is up about 530 students from last year and officials

are in the process of hiring 15 to 18 additional teachers to handle

the burgeoning enrollment -- which was about 22,582 students at the

end of the day Thursday, Barbot said.

When the extra students came to TeWinkle on the first day of

school, Gall asked the assistant principal and counselors to meet

with them in the auditorium to explain the situation. By afternoon,

reinforcements -- in the form of substitute teachers -- had been

called in and the students were assigned to classrooms, where they

have been ever since, Gall said.

TeWinkle will be getting two new teachers to deal with its

increased enrollment, which now stands at 1,128 students, Gall said.

Ensign Middle School in Newport Beach clocks in at a little more

than 1,200 students, up about 70 students from last year, said

Principal Mike McGuire. Instead of adding teachers, the school has

slightly increased the number of students in its core curriculum

classes, McGuire said.

“We’re fine,” McGuire said. “I’m absolutely not [concerned]. It’s

been a smooth start. At the end of the first two weeks of school,

everyone’s pretty settled in.”

Of the high schools, Newport Harbor tallies the highest number of

students, with 2,373, said Principal Michael Vossen. The school added

4.2 staffing members -- the odd number is due to a combination of

full and part-time teaching positions.

“The bottom line is the additional staff members really helped us

a lot,” Vossen said. “They will bring the class sizes down. The mixed

blessing is that we have to redistribute the classes to bring down

the numbers,” Vossen said.

In terms of attracting students who previously opted to go

private, one parent attributes the increase to the district making

“significant strides” in trying to meet the challenges of various

types of students.

“I think when you look at the money you spend on private schools

and look at what our public schools have to offer, there’s a good

value [in the public schools],” said Bob Love, a Costa Mesa resident

whose daughter transferred to Newport Harbor High School from a

religious school during her freshman year.

Newport Harbor High’s academics are of a higher caliber than

private school offerings, Love said.

“They put together a very strong academic program to meet the

needs of all the different levels of students, from students who are

struggling with language to students who are high achievers,” Love

said.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.