Number of Pupils in Lennox District Breaks a Record : Education: The increase is attributed to a surge in the immigrant population.

The Lennox School District, the largest immigrant “port-of-entry” school district in the state, has enrolled a record number of students at its five elementary schools and one middle school, district officials said this week.

Supt. Kenneth L. Moffett attributes the increase that brought total enrollment to more than 5,700 students to continued immigration in the area.

The state uses the term “port of entry” to define school districts that serve as the first settling areas for large numbers of immigrants to California; such districts commonly have a high number of students with limited proficiency in English.

The designation is based on a formula that takes into account the number of immigrant students in a district and the number who are not proficient in English.

At Lennox, the enrollment of 42% immigrant students is the highest among the eight such school districts in the state, school officials said.

About 4,500 Lennox students are classified as not proficient in English.

Enrollment this term has risen to 5,708 students, a 4.5% increase over the 5,471 children enrolled through early October of last year, according to school officials.

The district earlier this year had projected an enrollment of 5,670 students by March, 1991, but that number was exceeded in September. Enrollment is being monitored on a daily basis, Moffett told the district’s Board of Trustees on Tuesday night.

The district has leased six portable classrooms to accommodate the increase and is considering changing the school calendar to a four-track, year-round schedule, said Bruce McDaniel, assistant superintendent.

The average class size is 29, about the same as last year, because the district has added eight teachers. The biggest enrollment increases have occurred in kindergarten, first and second grade, McDaniel said.

Except for a three-year period in the mid-1980s, enrollment in the Lennox district has increased every year since 1974. However, having such a large enrollment gain so early in the school year is unusual, McDaniel said. Generally, enrollment reaches its peak in the spring, he said. District officials are unsure how high enrollment might reach by the end of the year.

The recent gain is made more startling by the fact that almost no new housing has been constructed in the 1.1-square-mile community. This has led school officials to surmise that there has been a significant increase in the numbers of multiple families living in areas zoned for single-family residences. Officials also believe the size of families living in the unincorporated community is larger than what it used to be.

The district now operates on a modified year-round schedule that takes into account the cultural needs of its students, Moffett said. More than 90% of the students are Latino. Because a substantial number of Mexican immigrant families in the community return to Mexico during the Christmas and Easter holidays, the schools take a three-week vacation during those periods, Moffett said. Summer vacation is shortened to about seven weeks. The schedule has increased attendance and is equally popular among students, faculty and parents, he said.

However, if enrollment continues to increase, the district might be forced to change the schedule to a a year-round system that would put some portion of the student population in school buildings most of the time, Moffett said.

This year the district is relying on the six portable classrooms to “get us through the year,” McDaniel said, adding that more teachers would be hired as needed.

The newly opened Kenneth L. Moffett Elementary School recently shut its enrollment at 1,088 students, 40 over its capacity, Moffett said.

At the start of this week, Whelan elementary school was just three students below its capacity of 532. The school is expected to close its enrollment soon. New students will be referred to Jefferson and Buford schools, Moffett said.

Three of the portable classrooms will be at Felton Elementary School and the other three at Lennox Middle School. However, they are expected to be in place no sooner than four to six weeks from now, McDaniel said.

Putting portable classrooms at the district’s other schools will be more difficult because of the limited open space at those campuses, Moffett said.

LENNOX SCHOOLS’ ENROLLMENT GAINS Chart shows Lennox School District student enrollment by school in October, 1989, and October, 1990. Caltrans built Moffett school as a replacement for the old Larch school, which is being demolished to make way for construction of the Century Freeway.

Regular Regular Pupil- Special Totals students teachers teacher educa- ratio tion BUFORD 1989 634 22 28.82 0 634 1990 664 24 27.67 8 672 FELTON 1989 768 27 28.45 20 788 1990 796 28 28.43 19 815 JEFFERSON 1989 909 31 29.33 23 932 1990 983 35 28.09 21 1,004 LARCH 1989 964 33 29.22 23 987 MOFFETT 1990 1,063 35 30.37 25 1,088 WHELAN 1989 521 18 29.95 8 529 1990 517 18 28.72 12 529 LENNOX MIDDLE SCHOOL 1989 1,559 53.5 29.14 42 1,601 1990 1,555 52.5 29.62 45 1,600 TOTALS 1989 5,355 184.5 29.03 116 5,471 1990 5,578 192.5 28.93 130 5,708

SOURCE: Lennox School District