Missoula School District Expecting Another Enrollment Increase

School is back in session today, Wednesday, August 26th and school busses are busy ferrying children all over Missoula County School District One. MCPS District 1 Superintendent Mark Thane said =the school system is expecting more students than last year.

"We anticipate welcoming about 8,900 students into Missoula County Public Schools," Thane said. "Of course, we have worked hard with parents and with the teaching staff as well as our support staff to ensure that we get the year off to a great start. We're really looking forward to having kids settle into a routine and wishing nothing but the best for the 2015-16 school year."

Although the overall number of students is expected to increase, Thane said it will be a while untill we see significant student increases in the high schools.

"We're anticipating being up again slightly," Thane said. "For the past four years we've averaged about a hundred students growth in our elementary buildings. We expect our high school enrollment to remain somewhat static for a couple more years before those enrollment increases hit the high school level."

Thane said a good school year requires a lot of coordination between parents and teachers. Many Missoula schools have "Back to School nights" this week so parents and teachers can speak one-on-one.