Hopwood posts 20-percent surprise spike in enrollment

Hopwood Junior High School’s enrollment numbers went up this school year despite efforts by the Public School System to adjust school zones to unclog the traditionally crowded middle school, according to principal Jonas Barcinas.

From just 1,114 students on Friday, Hopwood’s enrollment spiked to 1,250 yesterday, the first day of school, said Barcinas who, along with vice principals Epi Cabrera and Dominic Camacho, expressed surprise at the high number of enrollees.

To make matters worse, more students are expected to enroll at Hopwood within the month because some are still waiting for supporting documents and are on the school’s waitlist.

PSS re-zoned the villages of Tanapag, San Roque, and part of San Vicente this school year to re-direct incoming seventh graders to Chacha Oceanview Junior High School in Kagman to reduce the number of students at Hopwood. The move resulted in over 100 students from these three villages now going to Chacha Oceanview.

Hopwood ended the last school year with 1,046 students. Yesterday’s registration is a 20-percent increase; the number could still go up in the next few weeks.

Cabrera disclosed that many last-minute enrollees are transferees from private schools on island and from Guam, China, and the Philippines.

“We’re expecting a few more students because there are still some on the wait list completing the enrollment requirements. In two weeks time, we’re expecting to have a final enrollment figure for the school year,” said Barcinas.

Despite the larger number of students, yesterday’s opening went smoothly, the three officials said, attributing it to the collaboration of the faculty and staff who prepared early for their classes.

This school year, classes for secondary schools start at 8:30am, 30 minutes later than last year’s 8am schedule.

To guide enrollees on their first day, the names of students, their assigned classrooms, and schedules were posted on the wall of the main office. A large number of parents were also seen on campus, helping the children on their first day of classes.

“Despite the increase in our enrollment at the last minute, we can say that we have a very smooth opening of classes today. Students were on campus as early as 8am and we saw a lot of parents supporting their kids on their first day,” said Barcinas, adding that orientations and meetings held prior to the opening was a great help.

Based on its enrollment numbers, Hopwood’s teacher-to-students ratio is currently at 1:32 for seventh graders and 1:26 teacher for eight graders, said Cabrera. With more students expected in coming weeks, the ratio for eight graders could go up to 1:28, he added.

As of yesterday, Barcinas said the school had 44 classroom teachers, including substitutes for two incoming teachers from the U.S. mainland.

The school has 44 classrooms, all with upgraded lighting and electrical circuits, brand new air-conditioning units, renovated windows and doors, and new paint.

“We have enough classrooms because we downsized the teachers’ count because of the [highly qualified teacher] requirement,” said Cabrera, adding that Hopwood has in fact seven extra rooms.

Beginning this year, the school will also tighten its procedures and other policies to ensure student safety on campus. Among them is the quarterly conduct of emergency crisis management drills for fire, earthquake, and tsunami, which used to be held only once a year.

Barcinas also vowed to aggressively pursue educational tax credits to help with the school’s operational expenses. The school gets $16,000 to $20,000 in educational tax credit donations a year.