Abhay Malik ‘17: This year, Episcopal Academy has the highest enrollment number in its history, with a total of 1,233 students across the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools. Last year, the enrollment number was only 1216, with the Upper and Middle schools having held consistent numbers for the last few years and the Lower School recently experiencing a quick rise.
“There were people that were always on the fence on when to enter Episcopal, whether it be Lower, Middle, or Upper School. This increase reflects that parents want to make the investment [of sending their children to EA] earlier, with the idea that [their children] are going to stay for the full 13 years,” explained Dr. Delvin Dinkins, Head of the Upper School.
In the Upper School, where enrollment has been fairly consistent in recent years, the number of enrolled students jumped from 516 to 528 in 2013-2014. This increase in population, however, will not have as dramatic an impact on the Upper School as one might think, due in part to careful scheduling and also to the structural design of the campus itself. “On our new campus, each of the classrooms was designed to accommodate more students should there be a desire to grow,” noted Dinkins.
Photo Courtesy of Katilin Croney ’16
Much of this increase in numbers is actually from the Lower School, which increased its enrollment from 414 to 432 students this past year. Despite this year’s increase, the average enrollment since 2008 has been 436 students, meaning that this isn’t even the highest year for enrollment in the Lower School. In fact, “the Lower School enrollment for the past several years has been down, and this last year it came back up, which helped us with the boom in total enrollment, and in reaching the highest enrollment ever,” said Zachary Richards, Associate Director of Enrollment Management and Athletic Liaison. Dinkins explained the rise in Lower School enrollment, saying, “There was some room for additional students in the Lower School this year, and many of those slots have been filled. Some parents have decided that Lower School at EA is a great time that is full of opportunities to learn at such a young age.”
These high numbers will certainly yield some effects in day to day life here at Episcopal. The major negative effect that could arise from a higher enrollment is the potential for an increase in class sizes, which would then lead to less effective teaching, as a result of a perceived change in the student-teacher ratio. However, “Although the number of students has increased, the teacher to student ratio remains nearly the same because of the hiring of additional teachers,” affirmed Peter Anderson, the new Director of Enrollment at Episcopal. In addition, Richards noted, “[this increase] will hopefully translate into better theatre productions, better sports teams, better testing and more positive [experiences] in the classroom.” Richards continued to describe the positive effects of a record high enrollment number, saying, “The addition of more students to our school adds unique perspectives to different classes as well as to our community as a whole.”