As year begins, enrollment slightly lower than expected
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| SNP photo by Dan
Trittschuh Liberty Elementary School second-graders (from left) Marissa Hutmire and Rylee Morgan, and Rylee's sister Regan, a third-grader, load up at the hot dog stand Sunday, Aug. 24, during the school's family picnic. The event was moved inside due to thunderstorms in the region. |
* Enrollment at Worthington schools is 9,552 -- down both from last year and from this year's projections.
By PAMELA WILLIS
District enrollment seems steady as the new school year
begins, although student numbers are lower than projections,
officials said.
Assistant Superintendent Paul Cynkar gave an update on enrollment to the Worthington school board during its Monday, Aug. 25 meeting.
Cynkar said 9,552 students are enrolled in Worthington schools so far, down 17 from last year and down 57 from the projected number.
High school enrollment was right on projections, however, with 3,126 projected and 3,127 enrolled this year, he said.
"Enrollment is pretty steady, but Worthington Kilbourne will start feeling the decline from the elementary schools by next year," he said. "Middle school and high school enrollment is easier to predict, but kindergarten is hard.
"We had 709 kindergarten students last year and projected 728 for this year, but we are now at 657," he said.
Cynkar said the district is "overall in pretty good shape" as far as enrollment is concerned, and school officials will not have to use Sutter Park to gain extra classrooms.
Sutter Park houses the district's preschool classrooms, but was an elementary school before 2005, when it was merged with Liberty Elementary School, due to declining enrollment at the elementary level.
That same year, the district leased 5,250 square feet of vacant space in Sutter Park to the Helping Hands Center, a therapy and education center for children ages 3-6 with developmental disabilities.
Only a few individual classes remain crowded, Cynkar said.
"We have just a few classes over the guidelines and we are working with principals to find ways to deal with the overflow," he said.
Also during this week's board meeting, a request to approve a $3,000 grant to Nationwide Children's Hospital Foundation to support cancer research, from the Worthington Educational Foundation's Gary Smith Fund, sparked discussion among board members.
Julie Keegan said donations from the fund have been given to the hospital in former years, but since the foundation is dedicated to providing school and teacher grants, board approval of the donation was considered necessary this year.
David Bressman was opposed to the idea, but said he was not trying to be like "the Grinch."
"I will not vote to support this because I don't think the donation is in the (foundation's) function to benefit students and teachers," he said. "I feel there should be some benefit back to the school district."
Board member Charlie Wilson also said he was disturbed by the donation.
"I'm troubled by laundering this money through the educational council," he said, "but I knew Gary Smith and I think he was an outstanding human being."
Marc Schare said people can donate to several funds within the foundation.
"People donate to the Gary Smith fund for a reason," he said. "When I donate to the Worthington Educational Foundation, I trust them to do what they're going to do."
The resolution for the donation was approved, with Wilson and Bressman voting against it and board President Jennifer Best, Schare and Keegan voting for the resolution.
In other board business, a new Phoenix Middle School course was proposed, dubbed Connections 2.
Jennifer Wene, director of student achievement and professional development, said the eighth-grade course concentrates on the development, continuation and expansion of critical thinking and communication skills.
The course examines the concept of wellness as it relates to health and well-being, but students focus on the "nonphysical aspects of life such as will, motivation, feelings, desires, sense of purpose, thoughts, memories and beliefs," Wene said.
The course will have an emphasis on community service learning, she said.
The next school board meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 8 at the Worthington Education Center, 200 E. Wilson Bridge Road.
Assistant Superintendent Paul Cynkar gave an update on enrollment to the Worthington school board during its Monday, Aug. 25 meeting.
Cynkar said 9,552 students are enrolled in Worthington schools so far, down 17 from last year and down 57 from the projected number.
High school enrollment was right on projections, however, with 3,126 projected and 3,127 enrolled this year, he said.
"Enrollment is pretty steady, but Worthington Kilbourne will start feeling the decline from the elementary schools by next year," he said. "Middle school and high school enrollment is easier to predict, but kindergarten is hard.
"We had 709 kindergarten students last year and projected 728 for this year, but we are now at 657," he said.
Cynkar said the district is "overall in pretty good shape" as far as enrollment is concerned, and school officials will not have to use Sutter Park to gain extra classrooms.
Sutter Park houses the district's preschool classrooms, but was an elementary school before 2005, when it was merged with Liberty Elementary School, due to declining enrollment at the elementary level.
That same year, the district leased 5,250 square feet of vacant space in Sutter Park to the Helping Hands Center, a therapy and education center for children ages 3-6 with developmental disabilities.
Only a few individual classes remain crowded, Cynkar said.
"We have just a few classes over the guidelines and we are working with principals to find ways to deal with the overflow," he said.
Also during this week's board meeting, a request to approve a $3,000 grant to Nationwide Children's Hospital Foundation to support cancer research, from the Worthington Educational Foundation's Gary Smith Fund, sparked discussion among board members.
Julie Keegan said donations from the fund have been given to the hospital in former years, but since the foundation is dedicated to providing school and teacher grants, board approval of the donation was considered necessary this year.
David Bressman was opposed to the idea, but said he was not trying to be like "the Grinch."
"I will not vote to support this because I don't think the donation is in the (foundation's) function to benefit students and teachers," he said. "I feel there should be some benefit back to the school district."
Board member Charlie Wilson also said he was disturbed by the donation.
"I'm troubled by laundering this money through the educational council," he said, "but I knew Gary Smith and I think he was an outstanding human being."
Marc Schare said people can donate to several funds within the foundation.
"People donate to the Gary Smith fund for a reason," he said. "When I donate to the Worthington Educational Foundation, I trust them to do what they're going to do."
The resolution for the donation was approved, with Wilson and Bressman voting against it and board President Jennifer Best, Schare and Keegan voting for the resolution.
In other board business, a new Phoenix Middle School course was proposed, dubbed Connections 2.
Jennifer Wene, director of student achievement and professional development, said the eighth-grade course concentrates on the development, continuation and expansion of critical thinking and communication skills.
The course examines the concept of wellness as it relates to health and well-being, but students focus on the "nonphysical aspects of life such as will, motivation, feelings, desires, sense of purpose, thoughts, memories and beliefs," Wene said.
The course will have an emphasis on community service learning, she said.
The next school board meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 8 at the Worthington Education Center, 200 E. Wilson Bridge Road.
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