With fall in the air, students, staff and parents have settled into the routine of another school year.

On the Plateau, where new housing developments are springing to life, that means more parents and kids. And schools are seeing growth. Here’s a look at the three local school systems.

ENUMCLAW

The big news in the district, aside from an enrollment climb, is the glaring absence of heavy construction.

District students had been, at different times and at different places, disrupted for the past several years. A voter-approved bond issue in 2015 first saw Black Diamond Elementary students transported to Enumclaw for an entire year while their school was razed and rebuilt. Work then moved to Enumclaw High where the sights and sounds of construction were a part of daily lives for both students and staff.

It was particularly tough on music and choir students, who trekked off campus to attend their classes at nearby Enumclaw Middle School.

“It was a pretty intense time in our district,” Superintendent Mike Nelson said of the two major construction projects. But, aside from some small things still being tackled, the work is complete.

“It’s been an amazing beginning” to the school year, he said. And part of that involves “a little blip in enrollment.”

A year ago, the Enumclaw district counted fewer than 4,000 students. To kick off the 2019-20 year, Nelson said, the number has crossed the 4,100 barrier.

“We’re seeing growth across K-12,” he added, correlating the district’s growth to the ongoing boom in new home construction. As prices climb, Nelson said, buyers are often moving a second time; and that means older kids.

Opening week numbers showed Enumclaw High School in the 1,200 student range, an increase over last year. For the first time in year, Enumclaw Middle School topped 500 students and Thunder Mountain Middle School was just a bit below 500. Elementary school counts showed Sunrise and Kibler as the district’s largest, with between 450 and 460 students each; the other three elementaries (Black Diamond, Southwood and Westwood) all were sitting between 330 and 360 students.

WHITE RIVER

The enrollment bump in the White River School District isn’t dramatic, but it’s enough to push the total student count over 4,000.

“We’ve grown a little,” according to Assistant Superintendent Mike Hagadone, who adds that numbers are creeping upward at all levels.

Factored into the district enrollment figure was the opening of White River’s Early Learning Center. The building on 120th Street East – formerly the district’s middle school – was remodeled to suit the needs of the younger set. In its first year, Hagadone said, the ELC is home to 216 kindergarten students and 116 who are even younger. The building houses all preschool, early-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten students from the Foothills and Mountain Meadow boundary areas, along with Wilkeson’s preschool and early-K students.

Early counts show White River High with an enrollment of 1,119 and Glacier Middle School adding another 910. The elementary figures show 493 at Foothills, 466 at Elk Ridge, 401 at Mountain Meadow and 313 at Wilkeson.

The district experienced “a great start to the school year,” Hagadone said. Part of that excitement is due to near-completion of an extensive remodel at Elk Ridge and continued progress at Glacier.

At Elk Ridge there are just “a few final items” to deal with, Hagadone said, in advance of an Oct. 30 ribbon-cutting ceremony. At the middle school work continues with students primarily occupying portable classrooms; some are even using space in the nearby administration building.

The historic stadium on the GMS grounds, Sheets Field, will not be used for the entirety of the school year, Hagadone said. The field was excavated and is being rebuilt, along with a new track ringing the field. The surface will still be grass rather than an artificial turf.

CARBONADO

In Carbonado, where it often seems that everyone knows everyone else, there were no great surprises to start the school year.

That means an enrollment of about 200 in the school, which enrolls kids in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. There were no “no-shows,” or students who were expected but simply didn’t show, according to Superintendent/Principal Jessie Sprouse.

Sprouse has worked at the district since 2007, but is in her first year in the top job.

The other news to start the year was the near-completion of a major construction project.