The student population at North Allegheny School District is becoming more diverse, at a slow but steady pace.
While the majority of students districtwide identify as white, at 69% for the current school year, the number has dropped annually since 2015-16, when it was 83%, according to an enrollment and facilities report presented to the school board on Oct. 23.
The next largest demographic in the district is students who identify as Asian, at 21%, or 1,791 students. That has also increased annually, from 1,126 a decade ago.
Students who identify as multiracial are about 4%, Hispanic at more than 3.5% and Black or African American at 1.75%. A small portion of students identify as American/Indian Alaskan Native, followed by Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.
The report provides the past 10 years of various enrollment statistics and changes in student demographics. It also helps guide planning of the facilities and services within the district.
“Trends showing changing demographics, special education and English-learning enrollment expected to continue. And you see in the in-depth report, that’s where you see some constraints in the school buildings by the space that all of those programs are taking up,” said Brandon Chaola, North Allegheny director of facilities.
The number of students using English language development services has grown significantly. There were only 75 students a decade ago, compared with 255 for the current school year, some of whom opted out of the Title 3 services to which they’re entitled, said Yuko Wong, district data manager, who presented part of the report along with Chaola.
Since Oct. 1, when the report was compiled, the district has enrolled 12 additional English language development students, Wong said.
While the report listed 27 languages spoken by families of English-learning students, there are as many as 45 languages that can be found throughout all the homes within the district, Wong said.
The top five most spoken in North Allegheny are Spanish, Chinese Mandarin, Telugu (the official language of the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana), Korean and Russian.
The report also provides an update on students who receive special education, which has grown to 1,190 since Oct. 1. That is 4.5% lower than the Allegheny Intermediate Unit average and approximately 6% lower than the average statewide.
Wong said a more precise count will be ready on Dec. 1, when the district is required to submit the report to the state Department of Education on special education needs.
Elizabeth Warner, school board president, said with the increase in special education students, she feels it’s more inclusive to have the students being taught within the district and with their peers.
She noted providing services within North Allegheny when possible is much less expensive than paying a private school, but district officials must prepare for the future.
“We do need to be cognizant that it takes up space in our buildings, and some of our buildings are having enrollment increases overall. And enrollment in these special programs needs dedicated space. A lot for us to think about as board members,” Warner said.