Photo by NCinDC

Enrollment at D.C. public schools has grown again, according to unaudited figures published by the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education today. The numbers show that overall enrollment in public schools rose from 76,782 last year to 80,823 this year, a five percent jump that caps off three steady years of enrollment increases.

But much like in years past, the jumps in enrollment have largely been led by the city’s public charter schools. This year, according to OSSE, enrollment in public charter schools increased by 11 percent, from 31,562 to 35,019. Enrollment in D.C. public schools, by contrast, only jumped by a single percentage point, from 45,191 to 45,835.

That the numbers are unaudited provides one caveat, though—once F.S. Taylor & Associates checks over the numbers and releases the audited final tally next year, enrollment in D.C. public schools may remain flat or even go down slightly. Looking at last year’s unaudited and audited reports, for example, D.C. reported 78,200 students in October 2011 and an auditing firm concluded that there were actually 76,517 students in public and public charter schools.

Regardless, city officials said the numbers were a good sign for D.C. “One of the strongest indicators that our school system is improving is a steady increase in enrollment numbers-an increase I’m proud to see we have once again achieved This marks the largest enrollment increase in the District’s public schools in 45 years,” said Mayor Vince Gray in a press release.