By SUSAN RUMBLE

Special to The Press

Parkland School District began the 2024-25 term with 10,320 students, an increase of 163 over the last school year.

The nine elementary schools have 4,358 children enrolled in kindergarten through fifth grade.

The two middle schools have a total of 2,375 students in sixth grade through eighth grade, and the high school includes 3,299 young people in grades nine to 12.

At the Sept. 17 board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Mark Madson commented on the number of students.

“It is an immense challenge to start a new year, to navigate 10,000 students,” he said, also giving credit to the bus drivers for transporting people effectively.

School Board Director Chris Pirrotta complimented faculty and administration for a successful start of the new term.

Fellow board member Rob Cohen offered his thoughts on the start of a new school year.

“It’s an exciting time — the new school year,” Cohen said.

In another matter, Director of Online Learning and Alternative Education James Moniz reported at the Sept. 9 committee meeting that the Parkland Virtual Academy has one elementary student, seven middle schoolers and 185 high school students enrolled at the start of the new term.

Moniz also said the district has 316 students receiving English as a Second Language support.

He also gave an update on Parkland Summer School 2024 results.

Moniz noted 93 students successfully completed and recovered 119 course credits with an over-all passing rate of 87.5 percent.

Three senior earned diplomas through the program.

The students who did not pass will retake the course this school year in addition to their regular schedule.

Looking to the future, the board approved an agreement for rental of the PPL Center for the Parkland High School graduation ceremony on June 4, 2025.