Carson High School welcomes largest freshman class ever

Carson High School will open its doors Tuesday for the school's largest freshman class ever. At 600, the class of 2004 is 200 students larger than last year's graduating class.

"Between the tech center and the Corbett center, they will be able to handle it - but they will be full," Superintendent Jim Parry said. "They will be at capacity and then some."

School starts Tuesday, but the elementary schools will use the first day as a teacher-preparation day. The first day of classes for kindergarten through fifth-grade will be Wednesday.

"We're ready," said Mary Pierczynski, associate superintendent. "I think everybody's ready to go back to school."

The projected enrollment this year is set at 8,500, about 200 more students than last year.

"We expect the only real growth to be in the size of the high school," Parry said.

After this year, enrollment should stabilize at about 600 in each class.

"We don't expect any classes to have any big jumps," he said. "The high school is bearing the brunt."

In addition to the Jim Randolph High Tech Center and Pioneer High, the alternative high school, Parry said the district is also considering a school within a school at Western Nevada Community College for the 2001-2002 school year.

"Spreading the children out a little bit is about all we can do," Parry said.

Three positions have been added to expand the school's science, special education and English as a Second Language courses.

"We needed to add those positions," Pierczynski said. "We have more ESL and special-education students. Our science has been tight over the past couple of years."

Thirty-five teachers retired or left the district last year and will be replaced.

"We have a lot of young, enthusiastic teachers," Pierczynski said. "They're excited to get into the classroom."

The district will shift two teacher positions from Eagle Valley Middle School, opening one at Carson Middle School and another at Seeliger Elementary.

"We're projecting fewer students at Eagle Valley," Pierczynski said.

Ferd Mariani, who served as principal of Empire Elementary, will take over as principal of Eagle Valley Middle School this year.

The vacant position at Empire will be filled by Pat Carpenter.

The vice principal position will be moved from Fritsch Elementary to Seeliger. Laurel Terry, a counselor at Carson Middle School last year, will take over the position.

"Seeliger is just a bigger school so we took that position and moved it to Seeliger," Pierczynski said.