They say things age like fine wine and that is certainly true with North Atlanta. Since the school moved into the 11 story IBM building, the student population has drastically increased, along with this, the crowded hallways, classrooms, and elevators too. With this new increase, North Atlanta is now the district’s largest high school.

During the 2013-14 school year– the first year that North Atlanta moved into its new building– there were only 1,400 students roaming around the halls. Fast forward six years and our school is now bursting at the seams with a record amount of 2,100 students. When transitioning buildings, Atlanta Public Schools leaders envisioned the building having a capacity for 2,400 students. So, if the current trend continues, the district could have a problem. 

This drastic change in enrollment is largely due to the great amounts of incoming freshman and the increase in private school transfers. The freshmen class this year is the biggest North Atlanta has had by far. Many students have observed that there always seems to be double the amount of underclassmen than in any other grade each year. “I don’t even know where they come from, but there are so many of them,” said junior Virginia Moses.

 There are approximately 550 freshmen and the large class is at the heart of this year’s record enrollment. “Contrary to popular rumors there are not over 700 students in the freshman class,” said Assistant Principal Meredith Kaltman.

On a scale of all of the APS schools, North Atlanta is the largest school that offers grades 9-12. BEST Academy and Coretta Scott King, all-boys and all-girls school, respectively, have about 300 students each, which puts them on the smaller side of the spectrum. Grady, Maynard Jackson, and Mays with 1,900, 1,100 and 1,700 students, respectively, are among the districts other larger high schools. 

However, when you compare our school to other counties, like Walton, Campbell, or Norcross, who have about an average of about 3,500 students, North Atlanta comparatively small compared to the crazy-big schools in the burbs. But all the same, if you feel like your cafeteria shift is more crowded than ever, you’re right. With this year’s record enrollment, there are a whole lot more Warriors around.