Day 7 in Wake

Wake has released Day 7 numbers showing a small immediate post-Labor Day enrollment bump.

Wake had 136,828 students today, 3,923 more students than on Day 7 last year. Wake has picked up 768 students since Friday.

Even with the gain, Wake is still far short of its enrollment projection for this school year. Wake has projected it will have 139,247 students by the 20th day of classes.

But reaching that estimate would mean having to pick up 2,419 students by Sept. 22. Wake picked up only 1,097 students between day 7 and day 20 last year, for a total enrollment of 134,002 students.

Wake traditionally gets a rush of new students after Labor Day due to families who wait until early September before enrolling their children. This year's gain is actually less than last year when Wake picked up 870 students between Day 5 and Day 7.

Under Wake's revised projections, the district is supposed to have 68,304 elementary students, 31,136 middle school students, 39,493 high school students and 314 other students.

As of Day 7, Wake has 67,140 elementary students, 30,721 middle school students and 38,967 high school students. The "other students," kids in places like Longview, were folded into the other categories.

No school-by-school figures were released for Day 7.

Wake will next check its enrollment on Monday — the 10th day of classes. Wake will use that day’s figures to determine whether schools need more or less teachers. Funding for teachers is based on student enrollment.