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Coming Soon...
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Results of our new elementary reconfiguration are extremely positive, continued enrollment growth is a reality
October 7, 2005 A Message from Dr, Don Helmstetter, Superintendent Greetings! Our students, staff, and most parents are already well into the start of the school routine. The start of each school year is always exciting, and frequently there is something new. This year is no exception at Spring Lake Park Schools, and, in fact, the “new” has created a lot of conversation as well. Two of the three “new” topics—the “New Beginnings” elementary school reconfiguration and the Facilities Utilization Task Force Study—were actually a large part of conversation throughout the district last year as well. The third topic, however, was more of an internal conversation and a part of district planning, but it was only a part of other discussions, not a separate item. That topic is student enrollment growth. And while that topic has been part of the elementary reconfiguration discussion and a part of the Task Force Facilities Utilization Study discussion, in the past it has been merely a concept, now it’s become a reality. According to former state demographer Hazel Reinhardt, our district will see an enrollment growth of over 400 students at the elementary level and nearly 400 more students in the secondary schools. This growth has already begun and will reach the 800-student increase within 6-10 years, Reinhardt says. The growth is largely reflected in the development areas in the northern section of our school district, but we’re seeing it in other areas as well, and even in the older sections of the school district, populations have remained stable. As a part of our elementary reconfiguration presentations to the public last fall, we used September 2004 enrollment data to make projections into the coming year. We also made our original staffing assignments in February 2005, long before the start of this school year. Our enrollment in September 2004 was 1,885 elementary students and in September 2005 we have 1,964 students enrolled in our elementary schools—an increase of 79 students from last September and over 100 students since last June. Even without adding our Learning Alternative Community School enrollment, our student enrollment grew from 4,106 to 4,307 between last September and this September. Another example of enrollment growth arriving? Last spring, we projected 300 kindergarten students and by August 13 we indeed had 302. But, by September 7, the number of kindergarten students rose to 352 and it is still growing. We also projected, last year, that the reconfiguration would create classroom balance, lower class size ceilings, and provide more effective use of elementary teachers. We believe that all of this has occurred and our feedback from parents, teachers, and staff has also been extremely encouraging. In the fall of 2003, we had 25 elementary sections (affecting 715 students) that were above our Board’s desired class size ceilings, and in 2004, there were 24 sections (affecting 652 students) that were above that ceiling. This fall, 2005, there are zero elementary sections over the class size ceilings and zero students that are negatively affected. Many of the reconfiguration’s changes, made to benefit student learning and achievement, are achieving the desired results. While the administration is pleased with this, it is obviously our students and teachers who benefit most. At a Board meeting in September, Assistant Superintendent Jeff Ronneberg compared our present number of teachers and staffing with what would have been needed to maintain the same class size ceilings, balance, and equity based on last year’s configuration. The difference is significant. In last year’s configuration, we would have needed an additional five teachers. Multiply these five teachers by an average teacher salary and benefits figure and the district would have spent an additional $250,000. But that’s not all. Based on the enrollment growth that occurred over the summer, we absolutely would not have been able to maintain our previous K-5 boundaries. If we had, Woodcrest Elementary, as one example, would have greatly exceeded its building capacity with 644 students. Boundary changes, therefore, would have been necessary and, as we demonstrated last fall, that would have impacted many students and families and would have had a huge impact on our transportation budget. The growth within our school district, while very positive, is not without its issues. Classroom space is reaching its limit, and the increased number of students riding buses created a few start-of-school concerns. While most issues have been resolved, continuing discussions with the bus company will result in result in even smoother, safer, and more timely bus routes. In addition, we will soon pilot GPS technology in our buses, which would enable our transportation coordinator to know exactly where a bus is located at any given time. We’ve emphasized “New Beginnings” this fall, and it looks as if we indeed have a very good beginning to this new school year. Anything new creates excitement—and sometimes a little anxiety, but we believe it’s a “new beginning” of a new era of quality programs, services, and outcomes that appropriately reflect our district’s purpose: High expectations. High achievement for all. No excuses. As always, I would urge you to go to www.springlakeschools.org for more |
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