Kindergarten enrollment for the Butler Area School District dropped in 2020, but is slowly on the rise for the upcoming school year.

In 2019, the district had 430 students enrolled in kindergarten, which dropped to 367 in 2020. Superintendent Brian White said the district does not have a projected number for the upcoming kindergarten class, but as of June 24, 301 students have enrolled.

“We still have a lot of families waiting to see what next year is going to look like,” White said at a June 14 school board meeting. “If we get regulations like we did last year, I think families may prefer to wait another year to see if they can get a normal school experience for their kindergartners.”

Beth Glew, executive director of early learning programs for Early Learning Connections, said she believes parents of young children didn't favor virtual offerings, and wanted to wait for a more standard school year.

“Virtual for 3- and 4-year-olds is not optimal,” she said. “Virtual programming was difficult, honestly. We felt good with the program we offered, but it really was a difference.”

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