Ottawa's Catholic school board sees jump in enrolment, public board short 1,100 students this fall

An empty teacher's desk is pictured at the front of an empty classroom on Sept. 5, 2014. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)

The Ottawa Catholic School Board has seen a jump in enrolment this school year, while the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is reporting a drop in the number of students in schools this fall.

New statistics show 51,142 students are enrolled in Ottawa Catholic elementary and secondary schools in September, up 4.5 per cent from last year. The 2024-25 budget for the Ottawa Catholic School Board shows projected enrolment was 50,565 students.

A report for the Ottawa Catholic School Board says the board has added 135 additional teachers and 29 registered Early Childhood Educators to support the increased enrolment.

Despite the spike in enrolment, staff say no class sizes exceed the cap of 23 students in Grades 1 to 3, while the average class size is 20 students for Grades 1 to 3, 26 students for Kindergarten, and 24.5 students in Grades 4 to 6. The board also reports an average class size of 24 students in Grades 7 and 8 and 23 students in Grades 9 to 12.

This is the second straight school year the Ottawa Catholic School Board has reported an increase in students at the start of the school year. In October 2023, the board reported an enrolment of 48,186 students, up 4.9 per cent (2,252 students) from the year before.

Last week, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board reported enrolment dropped by 1,100 elementary students in September compared to projections. There were 50,497 students enrolled in elementary schools in September, down from the projection of 51,628 students.

The board was forced to reduce 42 full-time equivalent teaching staff across the system, with changes at 40 schools. Staff say 38 schools had to be reduced by one class and two schools had to eliminate two classes. Two schools added one class as part of the reorganization process.

Trustees were told it’s unclear why there was a drop in enrolment in OCDSB schools this fall.