A total of 147 students are enrolled in the Gaŗezers Latvian high school in Three Rivers, Mich.,  this year, according to secretary Inga Lucāne.

While that figure is less than last year’s enrollment, the graduating class this year promises to be much larger. Fourth-year students number 35, compared to 20 who graduated last year. The Gaŗezers school opened June 27, earlier than usual to accommodate the school’s participation in the Latvian Song and Dance Festival in Chicago from July 18-21.

In addition to the high school program, a separate prepatory program (sagatavošanas skola) is being offered for the second year. Thirty-eight students are enrolled in the three-week course, Gaŗezers Administrator Pēteris Burģelis told Latvians Online.

While the students in Michigan are facing high temperatures and humidity, more pleasant weather is reported in Washington, where 16 West Coast students are attending the Kursa high school near Shelton. That’s the same number of students as last year, said school director Rasma Ekmane. The Kursa program began June 30 and runs through July.