Wednesday was the first of two student count days this school year, and those districts and schools saw drops in enrollment of between five and 129 students this fall compared to last fall.

Only the Western School District, Leslie Public Schools and Jackson Arts and Technology Academy — a charter school in the city — reported gains.

Jackson Public Schools did not have a final tally by Wednesday but plans to release the number as soon as it is available, said district spokeswoman A’Lynne Robinson.

“We think we’re level at the elementary. Some are up, and some are down,” Robinson said. “At the middle school and high school, we don’t know.”

Jackson Arts and Technology Academy gained the most students with an increase of 55 students from 108 last fall to a count of 163 Wednesday.

Principal Septembra Williams credits the increase to a new energy in the building, a family atmosphere and a commitment to the students’ educational and social well-being.

She also did some recruiting during the summer that included radio and television advertising and appearances at stores, churches and in neighborhoods.

“We just really go out in the community and let parents know what we’re all about,” Williams said.

Enrollment at Albion Public Schools dropped by an estimated 129 students — the largest number among Jackson-area schools, according to information available Wednesday.

Albion Superintendent Frederick Clarke could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

This week’s student counts are tentative. The state allows districts up to 30 days to account for students who were absent on count day.

Total enrollment — calculated by “blending,” a formula that uses the fall head count and the previous winter tally — is used to determine how much state aid public schools receive.

In other words, when a district loses students, it loses money.

“Our graduation class last year was larger than our entering kindergarten class, so we did anticipate and budget accordingly,” said Linda Brian, superintendent of the Hanover-Horton School District, which lost 14 students from a year ago. “But the bigger issue is that as we decline in enrollment, students don’t all come out of one class. … They’re across the board.”

In other words, it is a challenge to reduce costs because a district cannot simply close one classroom to save money, she said.

Schools with falling enrollment could be hit doubly hard with the state also trying to make $482 million in school cuts. That might include slashing $218 per student in state funding to schools.

“That really, significantly hurts districts,” Brian said.

During the last school year, each Jackson-area student generated at least $7,316 a year in state funding.

An estimated loss of 29 students and the potential cuts to state aid should not prevent Stockbridge Community Schools from maintaining its programs, Superintendent Bruce Brown said. He said the reduction in students was less than the district’s projected 1,650 blended student count.

“The enrollment drop from people leaving the state doesn’t seem to be as bad as we thought it was, but it’s not good,” Brown said.

Napoleon Community Schools lost only about seven students, a drop Superintendent Jim Graham said was a blessing.

“We were hoping to stay at least flat, and I think we accomplished that,” he said.

Area school districts

Student head counts for area school districts with the difference from September 2008 in parentheses:

Albion — 1,046 (-129)

Columbia — 1,660 (-25)

Concord — 884 (-38)

da Vinci — NA

East Jackson — 1,304 (-32)

Grass Lake — 1,251 (-21)

Hanover-Horton — 1,335 (-14)

Homer — 1,026 (-40)

Jackson — NA

Jackson Arts & Tech. — 163 (+55)

Leslie — 1,378 (+13)

Michigan Center — 1,358 (-49)

Napoleon — 1,584 (-7)

Northwest — 2,984 (-57)

Paragon Charter — 644 (-28)

Springport — 1,029 (-5)

Stockbridge — 1,667 (-25)

Vandercook Lake — 1,290 (-13)

Western — 2,870 (+5)

White Pine Academy — 160 (-55)

Sources: Center for Educational Performance and Information, Jackson County Intermediate School District and local school districts

Bay County student counts are in, drops as expected

By Andrew Dodson | The Bay City Times

October 01, 2009, 8:28AM

 

Sarah A. Miller | The Bay City Times

 

Students at the Bay County Public School Academy were allowed to wear blue jeans instead of uniforms on Wednesday as an incentive to make sure they came to school.

 

“It was enough to get them here,” said Principal Jennifer Parrish.

 

Principals and superintendents around Bay County wanted to make sure the highest number of students were in class Wednesday for the state’s count day, which falls at the end of September each year. The number of students in a district determines the school’s state funding. That funding is expected to be about $7,000 per pupil, although the state budget hasn’t been set yet. 

In Bay County, Bay County Public School Academy, a charter school, was the only district to gain, with 58 more students compared to last year’s fall count.  

 

“I think our smaller class sizes are helping,” said Parrish. “People have more of an awareness that we are here and we can offer personalized attention with our class sizes.”

 

The average class size is around 18 students, said Parrish.

 

In Bay City Public Schools, 8,878 students were counted Wednesday, down 75 students from last year. 

 

“We predicted we were going to lose a little bit more actually,” said Marty Gottesman, director of student services for Bay City schools.

 

The district will see a bit of an increase in the final numbers after full-time equivalent numbers come in from parochial schools, said Gottesman. Public school teachers who teach subjects in the arts and foreign languages at parochial schools can add up those hours to equal a number of students.

 

Essexville-Hampton schools counted 24 fewer students than last year. 

 

“We are losing students, not because of education quality, but because our students’ parents can’t find jobs,” said John Mertz, superintendent of Essexville-Hampton Public Schools.

 

Pinconning Area Schools had 78 fewer students and Bangor Township schools counted 54 fewer students. It was the first time in eight years that Bangor Schools reported a decrease in students. 

Wednesday’s numbers were a preliminary count. The final counts should be calculated by the end of the week, school officials said.