87 fewer freshmen expected for next year

Additional reporting by Christopher Consolino

Blair is expecting 87 fewer freshmen for the 2005-2006 school year now that Round I of the selection process for the five Downcounty Consortium (DCC) Montgomery County high schools has been completed.

As of April 22, Blair has registered 463 freshmen into the mandatory Connections course for next year. With an additional 175 spaces for CAP and Magnet students and an additional 50 to 75 spaces for ESOL I and II, Blair's Academy Coordinator Susan Ragan estimates that the overall freshman class would come out to approximately 700 students. This is 87 fewer than the current number of 787 first-time enrolled freshmen.

Students in the DCC have the option of attending one of five schools: Montgomery Blair, Albert Einstein, John F. Kennedy, Wheaton and Northwood. This year, however, more current eighth graders were denied their first-choice school, according to Ragan. This factor contributed to there being fewer freshmen predicted at Blair next year and more at the other schools. Numbers are expected to change slightly after the Round II selection process has been completed.

Regarding the distribution of current freshmen within the five academies Blair offers, Ragan said that next year, the most popular academy will be the Science, Math and Technology Academy. Human Services Professions is close behind with only three people fewer, followed by Media Literacy and Entrepreneurship. According to Ragan, the smallest academy by far is International Studies. As of now, 40 freshmen are undecided and have been placed in a non-binding academy team.