In OSD’s budget discussion on Thursday during the June 26 board meeting, they will recommend closing schools (which one(s)? Not sure! Come on Thursday to find out with us!). The supporting presentations they have posted on Board Docs sites a persistent decline in elementary enrollment. However, this does not take into account other factors that affect overall enrollment at the elementary level.
🌟 Did you know that 8 is the legal age for when a child must attend school in Washington? It’s not 5 or 6. Therefore, wouldn’t it make sense to look at enrollment at that age? We’ve done that, and you can see that enrollment has actually been steady for many years. In fact, overall enrollment has been steady or increasing year by year.
🌟 Did you also know that some local preschools extend their services into kindergarten? So some children will be starting their journey after kindergarten.
🌟 Did you also know (you probably do if you are someone with school-aged kids), that many families are moving to new places because they like the community and can work from home? The flexibility and chaos of the last five years means that trends are still stabilizing. It’s incorrect to assume that where we are now is where we will be in four years. And despite the turbulent times, OSPI enrollment data for OSD is relatively stable.
The graphs here are using the exact same sources as OSD, yet it tells a completely different story.
- Birth count source: https://go.boarddocs.com/wa/osd111/Board.nsf/files/DHU2AM01412F/$file/OSD%20Additional%20Data%20Regarding%20Elementary%20Enrollment%20and%20Staffing%20ACC.pdf
- Enrollment source: https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYWQ4NDRmMTYtNDlhYS00YjExLWExNDYtMGE2MDY3NGQ4MWRlIiwidCI6ImVmNWI3ZGIxLWE4YzMtNDQ2Mi05ZDZhLWEyMTEwZjFjNjYxNyIsImMiOjZ9