Enrollment now exceeds the building’s capacity
DANBURY — The overcrowding at Danbury High School is most evident when the sea of almost 3,400 students move in the hallways between classes.
“If you ever walk the halls between the bell schedule, you move with the tide,” said Rachel Chaleski, school board chair. “There is no going in any other direction but that sea of kids.”
But the ever increasing enrollment at the high school also means classes fill up quickly, counselors are burdened with about 300 students each, and heavy traffic during drop-off and dismissal time, among other challenges.
Danbury High School — and schools across the district — has long been overcrowded, but the situation appears to be at a breaking point. Enrollment is at about 3,390, which is just over the building capacity of around 3,370, according to figures presented to the school board earlier this month.
But next school year, about 3,590 students are expected to be at Danbury High School. When students at the Alternative Center for Excellence and the Reach program are included, there could be more than 3,700 high school students in the district.
Principal Dan Donovan said the high school can “make it through” next school year, but the 2023-24 academic year could be tougher. The school will need to look at “serious options,” which could include an alternate schedule or finding ways to add space.
“Everything would be on the table since we don’t have the space,” he said.
The city is expected to announce plans on Monday for the location of the highly anticipated career academy, a school that would serve 1,400 middle and high school students.
“On the horizon we’re going to relieve the spacing issue, especially at the high school,”
Danbury Mayor Dean Esposito said. He praised the school district for how they’ve handled the growth.
But the academy isn’t projected to open until fall 2024, and that’s if planning and construction stays on schedule after negotiation issues with the Summit, the west side development where the city initially wanted to build the school. It’s still unclear whether the city has sealed a deal with the Summit.
The academy would take about 1,000 students out of the high school, which would make “all the changes in the world,” Donovan said.
After learning about the cramped conditions in the schools from a state representative at a hearing this past week, the newly approved state education commissioner said she’d visit the high school.
“When a student’s more concerned about how to get to the next class than what’s going on in the class, that weakens the educational experience,” said state Rep. Bob Godfrey, D-Danbury, who asked the commissioner to come to the school.
Growing bigger
Danbury’s population increased 7 percent from 2010 to 2020, according to the latest U.S. census data.
The city’s growth has been attributed to its affordability, strong economy and low crime.
The city has long been popular with immigrants and has been attracting more people from New York since COVID-19 began.
This has meant student enrollment grows faster than the schools can expand.
“The district and the city are doing everything they can to solve these problems,” Donovan said. “Their hands tied.”
The school district has surpassed 12,000 students, with elementary and middle schools scrunched for space. Danbury opened a preschool center on Granville Avenue last school year and is constructing an addition to Ellsworth Avenue Elementary School that is set to open in the fall.
“The number of students in all our schools have literally affected every aspect of operations in the system,” Chaleski said. “It’s not just a space issue, building capacity, but it’s staff, it’s curriculum, academics, and opportunities we can provide to our students, technology, transportation, scheduling.”
Danbury High School has been expanded several times over the last 40 or so years, Donovan said. Classrooms have been added to buildings A, C and D, with another gym constructed to building E and the black box theater added to building A, he said. Building G, also known as the freshman academy, opened in August 2018
“We’ve pretty much maxed out everywhere we can go,” said Donovan, adding enrollment has grown by 400 to 500 students since he became principal in 2016.
Simply adding classrooms to the high school wouldn’t work, officials said.
“No matter what you do with addressing classrooms, you can’t make the corridors wider,” Godfrey said. “It doesn’t make the gyms bigger. It doesn’t make the cafeteria bigger.”
With the rising enrollment has come an increased number of students with high needs, including English learners and special education.
Life at the high school
This year’s freshmen class is about 1,180 students — far greater than the 700 to 840 students each in the other grades, according to figures presented to the school board.
State Rep. David Arconti, D-Danbury, said the high school was crowded when he graduated from there in 2004, but now “it’s worse.”
Hallways are generally “manageable” during the five-minute passing times, but parts of the building become overly congested based on the directions students move, Donovan said.
Students don’t have time to stop at their lockers, so they carry everything with them, Chaleski said.
Most teachers need to switch classrooms, too, lugging their materials from one part of the building to another, Donovan said.
“Clearly it adds a lot of stress to the faculty and to all the educational staff because it’s hard to address the needs of large classrooms full of students,” said state Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury. “I think the impact on the educators is dramatic.”
The high school switched from a seven-period to eightperiod day this academic year to offer more classes because starting with the Class of 2023 graduates must now earn 25 credits, rather than 21.
Even still, students have had to be placed in extra study halls because there aren’t enough courses available, which could put them at risk of falling behind on credits.
“We’ve pretty much tackled that problem, but as more and more students come to our district — this time of year, we get a little influx of students — we have to pull some magic to make sure they have all the classes that they need,” Donovan said.
Counselors have about 300 students each, when the recommendation is 250, Donovan said.
“That’s even by many to be considered high, especially with the way things are going with our students now,” he said. “Coming back from COVID, there’s a lot more mental health issues happening.”
Some said they worry students can’t get individual attention. But Chaleski said teachers are strong at connecting with their students. The school also offers various programs in art, music, sports — whatever students are interested in, she said.
Long-term solutions
The career academy is main way the city looks to address the overcrowding. The project is estimated to cost $144.5 million, an increase from an initial $99 million estimate. The state is expected to cover 80 percent of the cost.
But some argued Danbury needs to build other schools, as well.
“For years, I’ve said we need two or three additional schools in Danbury,” Godfrey said.
The superintendent and school board have discussed looking into this, too. The city may pursue a plan to expand Great Plain Elementary School, as well.
The Open Choice program, which would allow Danbury students to attend nearby suburban schools, could help a bit, Chaleski said. But the program failed to start for next academic year and is only meant to serve 50 students in its pilot year.
Chaleski supports the charter school, which would eventually serve 770 students. She said it would “offer assistance with not just space but closing the achievement gap.”
Danbury needs to provide resources to the school to keep up with the growth in the city, Arconti said. This should be one of the factors in the 10-year master plan the city is developing, he said.
“They really need to put an emphasis on development versus the impact it’s having on the school system and the resources for our city,” Arconti said.
This year’s budget cycle could serve as a turning point, as well. The school board has requested $152 million, which would add 30.5 staff members and increase local spending by 6.2 percent.
Esposito said he’s evaluating this request and will consider rising enrollment as part of that.
“I feel sorry for the mayor and feel sorry for the superintendent,” said state Rep. Ken Gucker, D-Danbury. “They’re kind of walking into a ticking time bomb. None of this is of their doing, but they do have the opportunity, at least the city, to really make some hard choices.”