Holland, West Ottawa struggle with enrollment drops

Europa/Holanda/22 de Julio de 2016/Autor: Erin Dietzer/Fuente: HollandSentinel

RESUMEN: Los números de matrícula son críticos para las escuelas públicas de Michigan cuando se trata de obtener la financiación estatal. En resumen, un menor número de alumnos significa menos dinero. Las escuelas públicas de Holanda están a la espera de tener una caída neta de 137 estudiantes en  2016-17, obligando al distrito despedir a nueve maestros.  Parte de esa caída de la matrícula está conectado a los problemas de todo el estado. Según el Departamento de Educación de Michigan números, la población escolar público de Michigan fue en 2003-2004, con cerca de 1,7 millones. A medida que los hijos de los baby boomers empezaron  a graduarse de K-12, los números empezaron a caer, en parte debido al aumento de la matrícula escolar  y una baja tasa de natalidad. En el otoño de 2015, había aproximadamente 1,48 millones de estudiantes matriculados en las escuelas públicas.

Enrollment numbers are critical for Michigan public schools when it comes to getting state funding. In short, fewer students means less money. Holland Public Schools is expecting to have a net drop of 137 students in the 2016-17 school, forcing the district to lay off nine teachers on Monday, July 18. West Ottawa Public Schools is anticipating a drop of 156 students, which is a factor in the district $1.29 million deficit.

«We all own working on those enrollment numbers,» Holland board of education president Steve Grose said to the board at the Monday meeting. «We need to make sure we’re putting as many kids in seats as possible.»

Part of that enrollment drop is connected to statewide issues. According to Michigan Department of Education numbers,  Michigan’s peak public school population was in 2003-2004 with close to 1.7 million. As the children of baby boomers began graduating from K-12, those numbers started to drop, partly due to increased charter school enrollment and a low birth rate. In fall 2015, there were approximately 1.48 million students enrolled in public schools.

The biggest obstacle to enrollment on the local level is Schools of Choice, the 20-year-old mechanism that allows students to transfer from the district they live in to another district. When students transfer districts within the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District, their per-pupil foundation allowance from their home district travels with them to their new district.

Schools of Choice has hit Holland the hardest of local school districts. Around 1,700 students who live within the district’s boundaries chose to go elsewhere in the 2015-16 school year  including 255 students opting to attend Zeeland Public and 431 students opting for charter school Black River.

Holland does have students who come from outside its district, with the largest group being 149 students from West Ottawa. However, it wasn’t enough to offset the loss in the 2015-16 school year.

When people do pick Holland as a school of choice, superintendent Brian Davis said parents are usually choosing it due to specialty programs such as Holland Early College, the TWBI program at the soon-to-open Holland Language Academy and Holland High’s advanced placement programs and performing arts program. Highlighting learning experiences like that is important for keeping enrollment up, Davis said.

«For HPS it is not just about enrollment from a recruitment standpoint, it is about retention,» Davis said. «We want Holland to be the first choice for families who move into our school district. In some cases, Holland doesn’t get a first look due to negative and often incorrect perceptions about who we are as a school district. I invite individuals to take a closer look at who we are, what we offer and where our alumni are attending post-secondary colleges/training and what careers they are in.»

Fuente: http://www.hollandsentinel.com/news/20160722/holland-west-ottawa-struggle-with-enrollment-drops