Archive: News

Over the past three years Lansing school enrollment has fluctuated in a fairly level range.  Last year enrollment was down by 17 students from 1184 this time in 2010.  This year the number has gone up by six students to an overall total of 1173 as of last Monday, when Acting Superintendent Chris Pettograsso shared enrollment statistics with the Board Of Education.  There are greater fluctuations within grade levels, and these directly impact the number of teachers needed in each grade.  In these troubled budget times monitoring the number of teachers absolutely needed has become vital, but it is far from an exact science.

The bottom line this year is that the elementary school is significantly up, the high school is markedly down, and the middle school is about the same, although fifth grade enrollment is alarmingly down to 69 students from 97 last year.

The greatest controversy revolves around the fifth grade, which was cut from five to three teachers this year.  In recent years the team has fluctuated between four and five teachers.  That put fifth grade class sizes at 22 and 23 students, up from 16 last year.

"In the middle school there is little change in total numbers," said Middle School Principal Jamie Thomas.  "I think it is interesting to see eighth grade with 100 students and fifth grade with 69. That is really challenging."

Fifth grade English writing teacher Lisa Waldrop said Monday that higher class sizes adversely affect the amount of time each student gets with a teacher, reducing teachers' abilities to cultivate relationships with students she said are a key feature of modern education.

The Board Of Education has been struggling most of the summer with the problem of whether or not to hire an additional fifth grade teacher in light of serious budget concerns.  School officials estimate that adding a teacher would cost the district in the arena of $60,000.  Current class size is within the cap set by the board for considering new hires or changing the policy on raising class size, but proponents of adding a teacher argue that the fifth grade is critical because students are moving from the elementary to the middle school, with new rules, new procedures, and new teachers.

Breaking down enrollment numbers gives principals a chance to plan for coming years.  That starts with kindergarten enrollment numbers that are significantly up this year.  At this time in 2010 the Lansing kindergarten had 75 students, and that went down by four in 2011.  Monday's figures show 98 students enrolled, up by 27 from last year.

"We had 14 new enrollments in kindergarten, 14 new enrollments in first grade, 12 in second grade, eight in third grade, and three in fourth grade," said Interim Principal Christine Rebera.  "At the same time we have had a smaller number of students who have transferred out.  We have four in first grade, five in second, two in third grade, and five in fourth grade for a total of 16.  If you look at all the grades this year they're all pretty high."

Classes also grow or shrink as new families move in and others move out.  For example, the 2010 kindergarten class has grown from 75 students to 87 who are now second graders.  That also works the other way.  The high school finds itself in the unusual position of having the fewest number of students in the district this year.  School Board member Tom Robinson noted that there was a significant drop of 14 students between last year's 10th grade and this year's 11th.  Hartz said he would look at the individual cases to see if there is a trend.  He said that students choosing to attend New Roots Charter High School may be a factor in that drop, saying that was around the time New Roots opened its doors.

The charter school began in the 2009-2010 school year with a 9th and 10th grade class.  It added 11th grade in 2010-2011 and 12th in 2011-2012.  Numbers were not provided Monday for 2009, but you would expect a proportional drop in grade numbers as the charter school added new grades.  That does not account for the drop at Lansing from 92 students in last years 10th grade to 78 in this year's 11th. 

According to Lansing School Business Administrator Mary June King there are currently 11 Lansing students enrolled at New Roots, which accounts for the total of students across grades 9 through 12.  She said that is down slightly from last year.

Pettograsso said she is scheduling time to observe the program at New Roots Charter High School to see what that school offers that attracts some students away from Lansing.  While it is probably not the one factor impacting Lansing High School's enrollment it certainly is a factor.  Whatever the reasons, Lansing High School dropped significantly from 396 students last year to 356 as of Monday.

"We knew this was coming," Hartz said.  "Over the summer we lost a few number, but two of the twelfth graders graduated because they went to summer school, so that's a really good thing.  I don't look at that as students leaving -- I look at it as students completing.  Six new ninth graders, two new tenth graders, and one eleventh grader have moved into the district this school year.  Four ninth graders, six eleventh graders, and the two graduating seniors left."

Five students in the senior class are students who did not graduate last year, but chose to come back to finish high school.

"That is a great thing," Hartz said.  "I know they didn't graduate on time, but I would much rather see them come back for a fifth year and finish rather than walking away from school."

School officials say that enrollment numbers are a moving target as students come and go throughout the school year.  That makes the fifth grade decision more tenuous for school board members who are carefully monitoring those enrollment numbers as the district tries to keep spending in line.

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