Districts in Growth: A Good Thing, and Yet…
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With Ohio’s per-pupil funding formula, enrollment growth will send more tax dollars into your district. But like the proverbial knife, growth cuts both ways.
A Good Thing
Growing schools indicate a robust community, as reported in the Columbus Dispatch: “The districts with large percentages of preschoolers and large enrollment gains are seeing new students primarily because houses are being built in those areas.”
South-Western City Schools, one of the fastest-growing districts in Central Ohio, reports a 4% enrollment and 8.3% preschool population increase. With 687 new students just this year, South-Western is working diligently to accommodate the growth. The district opened four intermediate schools, including Holt Crossing, and will add number five when the new career academy opens. That’s a good thing.
And Yet…
Dealing with issues of growth involves more than new buildings.Increased numbers bring a proportional increase in diversity of cultural, geographic, and curriculum backgrounds.
New Albany Schools, for example, currently the fastest-growing district in the state, saw District Report Card scores fall from a perfect 27 in 2000, scores fell to 24 this year.
As reported in New Albany This Week, “The challenge is getting students adjusted and acclimated and ready for what is being asked on a test in the state of Ohio on a given day. The problem is not new students; the problem is acclimating students.”
So What’s a District to Do?
What can help students acclimate to new schools? Principal’s Office has its money on Balanced Literacy, especially as implemented in districts like South-Western City Schools
Sources:
Columbus Dispatch, January 22, 2002, pp. B1, 2
New Albany This Week, January 23, 2002, pp. 6, 7
