Enrollment Up Slightly in 281

From the Sun Post;

Enrollment was at 11,519 students in Robbinsdale District 281 schools on June 6, the last day of school, an increase of 69 students more than were enrolled on June 9, 2011. Dennis Beekman, District 281’s executive director of technology, on June 18 gave the last of his three annual enrollment reports to the School Board.

“We do monitor enrollment very carefully,” Beekman said. Elementary and high school enrollment is greater than 2010-11 levels, though middle school enrollment is less than last year, according to Beekman.

While midyear enrollment attrition rate was similar to 2010-11, the high school midyear attrition rate was “significantly lower,” Beekman said, primarily due to midyear enrollment option transfers.

Average daily membership exceeded the original 2011-12 enrollment projects by 1 percent, according to Beekman.

It’s so nice to not hear complaining about declining enrollment!

“The primary reasons for the variation are a slightly larger kindergarten and less midyear attrition than anticipated at the high schools,” he said. Whereas there was very little attrition at the elementary level and some reduction in middle school enrollment, there was more attrition at the two high schools, Beekman noted.

Mobility is still supposedly an issue;

Regarding mobility in the elementary schools, Meadow Lake in New Hope, Northport in Brooklyn Center and Lakeview in Robbinsdale had the highest rates of student turnover. Meadow Lake had a 25 percent mobility rate, Lakeview had 26 percent and Northport had 35 percent.

Secondary attrition rates were higher at Robbinsdale Middle School than a Plymouth Middle School, and also higher at Cooper High School than at Armstrong High School, according to Beekman.

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