Nearly 1,000 new students have enrolled in Princeton ISD schools since the first day of school last year, while two new elementary schools and an expansion at Lovelady High School opened this week to help make room for this increase.
Each new elementary campus, Green and James, opened doors for the first time with 427 students.
There were 9,141 students who started classes across the district, which is an increase of 986 students over the first day of 2023. In 2023, there were 4,070 elementary students on the first day of school compared to 4,619 this year, which is an increase of 549 students.
“Fortunately, we opened the two elementary schools, which should alleviate the pressure on most elementary campuses this year,” Superintendent Donald McIntyre said. “But, as of right now, our growth is exceeding current projections. So, it is good that we have four additional construction projects underway.”
All student populations are experiencing growth.
The PHS population went from 1,661 on the first day of 2023 to 1,163 this year, because an entire grade level moved to Lovelady. The expanded Lovelady campus with 9th- and 10th-graders had an enrollment of 1,292 Thursday morning, As a freshman center last year, the campus had 595 students on the first day of 2023. Both high school campuses combined represent a total of 2,455 high schoolers, compared to 2,256 last year.
For the middle school level, there were 2,067 students who reported on the first day this year, which is up 238 students from 1,829 who reported on the first day in 2023.
In terms of total numbers, the 1st-grade class has the largest enrollment for the first day this year with 759 reporting Thursday.
“We have four grade levels right now reporting over 700 students,” Mr. McIntyre said. “We believe 1st grade will hit 800 students this year, and kindergarten, 2nd and 3rd grades will be close behind. By October, we fully anticipate every grade level 9th and below to have over 700 students.”
The smallest class is the 12th grade at an enrollment of 573, and the junior class is only one student larger with an enrollment of 574.
According to Mr. McIntyre, growth is a daily occurrence for Princeton ISD.
“The district grew by nearly 150 students by the second day of school,” he said. “It wouldn’t be surprising at all to have another 200 kids by Monday.”
As the district prepares to keep up with this pace, work is underway on four building projects, which include three new schools.
“The biggest stressor we are seeing right now is with the Canup Early Childhood Center, so it will help when we open the district’s second early childhood center next year,” Mr. McIntyre said.
To further assist with growth management, Banschbach Middle School and Carrell Elementary School will open in 2026 to provide overcrowding relief, and elementary school No. 10 will be ready for the 2027-2028 school year.
“These campus construction projects are crucial based on the numbers we are seeing,” he said. “We anticipate Princeton ISD could exceed its current demographic projections by more than 250 students by October.”