Seeing double: Clinton grade school has 15 sets of twins

Seeing double: Clinton grade school has 15 sets of twins
Twins • However, the numbers are fairly close to the national birth rate for twins.
By Carol Lindsay

Special to The Tribune

Published: February 22, 2012 01:38PM

Paul Fraughton | The Salt Lake Tribune. West Clinton Elementary School has 15 sets of twins. Front row left to right: Mason and Averie, Jaxson and Reese, Manuel and Juan, Jacob and Joseph. Second row: Darius and Chris, Chase and Nick, Connor and Trevor, Maren and Brock, Jane and Kate.Third row: Gage and Chance, Damion and Hannah, Marissa and David. Top row: McKenzie and Madison , Makayla and Makenzie. Students have been enrolling at West Clinton Elementary in pairs.

Granted, it is a big school with a population of nearly 1,000 children. But still, 15 sets of twins under the same roof is something to talk about.

The school has only two sets of identical twins. The rest are fraternal twins, which simply populate the rolls with identical last names.

Principal Steve Hammer described it as the biggest population of twins he has ever heard of in a school. But it hasn’t caused him many problems as a principal, aside from occasionally mixing up twins when talking to a parent.

“We had one rambunctious set,” Hammer recalled. “When one would get in a fight, the other would join in.”

So do the twin attend the same classes? Sometimes. Other times they are separated. It all depends on what the parents decide. West Clinton allows parents to request a particular class for their child.

Fifth-grade twins David and Marissa Bowles have spent their grade-school years in the same classes.

“They’ve tried to separate us,” David said, “but our mom doesn’t want to deal with two different sets of homework.”

But the two don’t seem to mind.

“We pretty much ignore each other unless we are talking about something from home,” David said.

Salt Lake City obstetrician Stephen Lash’s first reaction to 15 sets of twins in one school was this: “We need to see what’s in the drinking water out there.”

Then, on a more serious note: “Twins have been increasing awhile because of assisted reproductive technology and more older women having babies” Lash said.

The Centers for Disease Control estimate that 20 percent of twin births are to women 45 and older. Less than 2 percent are to teen mothers.

Kindergarten twins Jane and Kate Fletcher are identical — with blonde hair and freckles. They talk at the same time and finish each other’s sentences.

“We share a room at home,” said Jane, the older of the two. “We sleep in the same bed. We don’t ever want to have our own rooms.”

However, Jane and Kate have decided not to dress alike. Why? Because they don’t like people mixing them up.

“We like to be called our same name and not the different name,” Kate said.

But that doesn’t mean they don’t like being twins.

“We are special because we are twins,” the two remarked in surprising unison. “We like being the same, and we are friends. Its fun being twins. We are never alone.”

Kristine Hatch, Jane and Kate’s teacher, has had twins in her class during five of the past eight years.

“They are really good to tell me who they are,” she said. “They don’t like to be mixed up. I keep telling them they can trick me, but they don’t.”

The explanation for all these West Clinton twins? The Centers for Disease Control reports that the twin birth rate reached 33.2 per 1,000 births in 2009. So with 30 twins in a student population of 971 students, West Clinton is actually right on target a perfect representation of twins.

closeup@sltrib.com

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By the numbers •

West  Clinton  twins

18 • Boys 12 • Girls

4 • Sets of twins in first grade

3 • Sets of twins in kindergarten

3 • Sets of twins in second grade

2 • Sets of twins in fifth grade

1 • Set of twins in third, fourth and sixth grades, respectively


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© 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune
Seeing double: Clinton grade school has 15 sets of twins
By Carol Lindsay

Special to The Tribune