The average size of a high school in America is around 800 students. Seminole High has a population over 4000. With the school expanding due to the institution of the freshman center, it is only certain that Seminole’s population will grow. Seminole High has great ratings, with many AP classes available, and the International Baccalaureate, Health Academy, and PSI high programs. Because of Seminole’s great opportunities, it only seems certain for students to flock from Lake Mary, Longwood, and many cities in the district. Problems with a larger student population can be a feeling of overwhelm for many, an increased demand, and significant budget cuts for faculty.

Seminole High School was regarded as the same size as several colleges in Florida. In fact, some regard it as a miniature-college due to the large campus and student population size. Rollins currently has 3,272 students enrolled and Flagler College is not much behind with 2,574 students. Too many students can lead to chaos and can create a stressful atmosphere causing many to feel overwhelmed by their surroundings. 

More students does not always mean more space. With each additional set of students, comes limited seats in classrooms; Certain classrooms do not have enough desks for every student. This increasingly becomes an issue with textbooks, materials, and the student to faculty ratio. Currently, the ratio at Seminole is 19 students to 1 faculty member. With more students entering the campus in the years to come, Seminole will need to hire more teachers to meet the growing demand.

“Last year in AP [United States History], there were not enough desks in the class to accommodate everyone. Some kids would fight over seats,” said one anonymous student.

Students also note the problems associated with limited resources.

“They ran out of textbooks for the class, so I had to use the online version. It was really inconvenient and that impacted my grades,” continued the student.

The influx of students can lead to serious budget cuts in the future, which may eliminate several faculty and staff positions, worsening the student to teacher ratio issue. Sometimes, this can even result in less pay to make up for all the students’ needs. Printing costs double, new desks and chairs need to be ordered, an increased shipment of textbooks, and extra transportation costs can all play a role in what the faculty’s pay is sacrificed for. 

“[There’s a problem with] the lack of teachers allocated to the classes and the lack of resources to handle over four thousand students. More students means a less productive learning environment, so kids don’t learn as well. Cutting down on the paper and handouts both helps and hurts because it saves money and paper, but kids are not as diligent if the resources are not directly presented to them,” said one anonymous teacher.

Seminole High’s overcrowding in classrooms and growing population size is increasingly posing a problem in limiting student involvement and can cause a feeling of overwhelm for some. With the 9th grade center and the great programs and many amenities Seminole has to offer, it seems only fitting for people to come from all over the district, and maybe further. Regardless of this, it is important to make the experience worthwhile and use the resources Seminole has to your advantage.