Student Enrollment In District 81 Shows Very Slight Overall Increase

Like a weatherman trying to follow hurricanes, District 81 planning director Ned Hammond tries to give warning, prepare for crisis, then offer theories to explain the unexplainable.

This fall, student enrollment figures for North Side schools are as erratic as a storm. In the same West Central neighborhood, Garfield Elementary School added 32 students and Holmes Elementary School lost 35.

“We just have an awful lot of movement within the school district,” said Hammond. “In some cases we have neighborhoods that are very stable. Others … are in the process of turning over, which happens every 20 years or so.”

Overall, the district had an increase of less than 1 percent. Elementary schools had fewer students for the third consecutive year. Middle schools grew 2.7 percent, high schools by 2.2 percent.

In general, enrollments at North Side schools are down. Exceptions are in high growth areas - especially the Indian Trail neighborhood - and where new programs have been started or expanded - such as an increase in English as a Second Language students at Madison Elementary School. But the broader trends can’t explain strange quirks like at Holmes and Garfield.

The largest increases were at Shaw Middle School, up 9 percent, or 69 students; Madison Elementary School, up 8.7 percent, or 34 students; and Balboa Elementary School, up 8.3 percent, or 28 students.

Lidgerwood Elementary School dropped a surprising 40 students, or 12 percent of its enrollment. “Past history at Lidgerwood is up and down, and I assume this is a down year,” said principal Cris Welch. “So next year they could be back, or winter they could be back. But I don’t know back from where.”

Shaw principal Pete Lewis said some of his new students are in the school’s ESL program the only one in the district at the middle school level. Ten students were added in a program for students who require medical counseling in school.

Final enrollment at Shaw, like most of the other North Side schools, was near expected levels. That is good news because his school is not overstaffed. “In this day and age, it’s a good idea to be conservative with tax dollars,” said Lewis.

The continued decline in elementary students gives the district pause when considering new facilities. Although Indian Trail elementary schools are at or slightly over capacity, other schools are below. “It’s pretty tough to say we need to build when we have empty rooms in other parts of the district,” said Hammond.

, DataTimes