For East Mecklenburg High School, the number of students this year is unlike any other. After an inconsistent last two years, the administrative team did not expect the jump in student turnout for the current 2021-22 school year.

This year, 2,147 students have shown up to attend classes. When asked about the number of students this year, Zainab Hundley, the school’s registrar, said she expected to see “around 20 to 30 students less” than the number of students present. 

Due to the rise of the student population, for the first time ever, East had to issue every teacher at the school a homeroom class. 

After COVID-19 hit Charlotte in early 2020, a plethora of schools had to adjust to instructing their classrooms through a virtual environment. East, being one of them, had many students leave their registry during the transition. The next year, the school only had 2,009 students attend their virtual classes. 

“I would say that that number is lower than usual, based on my experience here,” Usually, we have more students,” Hundley said.

Despite the increase in numbers, the school is still missing 65 students who have yet to show up for class since the start of the school year. 

East will continue to move through uncertain times with tours of the school periodically and teachers prepared to accommodate new students.