With 550 students, this year’s freshman class is the largest to have walked these halls in the last several years. The number of students entering their first year of high school has been growing, and it looks like it will continue to do so. Secretary Linda Pierce has called it the “ever-expanding freshman class.”
The class of 2022 is estimated to be about 560 students, not including potential transfer students from other countries, states, cities, etc.

“I suspect that it has to do with our statistics,” guidance counselor Jesse Allgeier said. “When they are moving into the state or the city, they are almost always looking at the schools first. I think that influences what side of the dividing line people buy houses on.”

Troy High is consistently ranked among the top public high schools in Michigan. This bodes well for the school, especially when students may be choosing between local high schools such as the International Academy East (I.A.) and Athens.

“Colleges do have a bigger respect for the [International Baccalaureate] diploma, but people here graduate and are going to amazing colleges anyway, so it’s not really an added benefit,” junior Katie Scoles, who transferred from I.A. this year, said. “I.A. could help you, but you can get the same thing here.”

According to Allgeier, the curriculum here is of similar rigor as that of the International Academy, and some students seem to be realizing that. Typically, around 12-15 students transfer from I.A. after a year of being there, and it could be because of the traditional high school experience, including extracurriculars, offered at Troy.

“The orchestra here is much better than the one at I.A., and I’m really a musical person, so this school works better for me,” junior transfer student Hemanth Tadepalli said. “I like that there are a lot more clubs here and that the school is really diverse. When I came here I was like, ‘Wow! I think I know what high school is! This is the high school experience I want!’”

With a little more than 2100 lockers, fixed hallway space, as well as classrooms and a limited amount of teachers, next year’s freshman class, will push the physical boundaries of the school.