Education is Changing

This week marked one of the largest migrations that North Dakota sees every year: the return of the K-12 students to school from their summer camps, part-time jobs, and their spots on the couch. Although this is something that has happened every year for hundreds of years, this year brings with it some startling revelations about schools in our state.

West Fargo has been labeled the City on the Grow for the last few years. Their school district is also on the grow, and has been since 1985. In the 2008-09 school year, West Fargo Public Schools gained over 500 additional students from the previous year. It was an unheard of number, and one that no one thought would even come close to being replicated in the near future.

Today, West Fargo Public Schools released their first day enrollment number for the 2009-10 school year: 6,955 students. That is an increase of 337 additional students from the previous year! As I was quoted so eloquently in the Fargo Forum, “we blew that [our projection] out of the water.”

This large jump in enrollment will hopefully serve as a wakeup call to the citizens of the West Fargo school district that recently voted down a referendum that would have allowed the district to build more schools. At the time, the community felt more schools were not necessary; now, after adding over 800 students (nearly two elementary schools’ worth) in two years time, perhaps they will look at things a bit differently.

Not five miles to the east, Fargo Public Schools announced their enrollment numbers for the start of school this fall: 10,370 students. That is an increase of 14 additional students from last school year. As the largest city in the state of North Dakota, and one that just recently approved the construction of a third high school, this flat enrollment is troubling to many citizens.

The Grand Forks school system is also expecting to announce a flat enrollment figure. With the deactivation of most Grand Forks Air Force Base employees, the public school system has lost several hundred students over the past few years, and continues to do so at an amazing rate.

In many small districts, flat enrollments and declining enrollments are more the norm. In Mapleton, a small community not far from West Fargo, Principal Tim Jacobsen opened with less than 100 students in his K-6 school. Rock Lake, a school in north central North Dakota, opened their doors on Monday for their last first day of school. Other smaller schools across the state are working with the Department of Public Instruction to form co-ops so students can continue to go to schools close to their homes.

I wanted to address these numbers in my blog because I feel it’s important for all citizens to know what is going on in our education sector. These students are the future of North Dakota, and we need to make sure they are being taken care of properly.