Cramped hallways and overflowing classes are fairly common one week into the school year.

Understandably so, since there are 2,163 students.

According to attendance secretary Candace Morgan, the class sizes are as follows:

Freshmen: 594

Sophomores: 578

Juniors: 514

Seniors: 476

But it’s an increase of nearly 150 students from last season. The biggest difference is that there are 24 more freshmen than last year’s class and 43 more seniors.

So many students mean changes, most noticeably in class sizes. 

“We’ve got that challenge when we have a lot of kids,” assistant principal Corey Gabbert said. “We have a lot more students and the same amount of teachers, so spots start getting tight in classrooms and class sizes start getting high.”

Large classes may bring challenges.

“It can make it a little difficult (to learn) because people can get distracted and it could be harder for teachers to focus more and help us learn,” junior Sierra Duckworth said. 

The increased number of students affects the teachers, too.

“I have less time to get around to help everybody,” said Mary Morgan, who teaches math and engineering. “(But) I like lots of students.”

Despite these issues, junior Sean Wentling believes the higher number of students could be a positive change. 

“I think we need to address it better,” he said. “I think we need to rethink and readjust to the influx of kids coming in, but I overall think it’s a good thing for Derby. I think it shows, for lack of a better term, we’re prospering.”