Enrollment in D.C. Public Schools is projected to increase next year for the first time since the early 1970s, due in large part to an influx of the youngest students.

More than 5,200 3- and 4-year-olds are expected to fill public school classrooms in September, up nearly 30 percent from about 4,100 in 2001, according to enrollment figures from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. About 4,700 3- and 4-year-olds attended D.C. public schools this year.