Schools to study why students transfer out of district

Whitefish School District administrators would like to know more about why students transfer into and out of the district, and where they end up when they do leave.

Enrollment numbers in the district for the year are down 31 students since September. There are 1,550 students attending classes this month compared with 1,581 students at the beginning of the school year.

“I think it’s worth our consideration to figure out how we can start tracking kids who come and kids who leave us,” Superintendent Kate Orozco said. “Where they go and for what reasons.”

Orozco noted that most students ask for records to be forwarded to another school when they leave the district, but some do not.

“It’s an issue for us to know where they go,” she said. “It’s important for us to know why they leave, but also why they come to us.”

According to a report from the Flathead County Superintendent of Schools, of the students who live in the Whitefish elementary district, some 188 attend school outside the district. The bulk of those attend private schools, at 96 students, and 40 are homeschooled. Some 71 students who live in another school district are currently enrolled in the Whitefish elementary district.

At the high school level, 87 students who reside here attend schools outside the district. Many of those students, 68, attend Kalispell schools. Twenty students who reside outside the district attend WHS.

Enrollment at Muldown sits at 585 students, down eight students from September. At the middle school enrollment is down 13 students at 493, and the high school has 472 enrolled, down 10, both since the start of the school year.

High school principal Kerry Drown said that prior to the holiday break about four students left the school, a few due to families relocating for jobs.

“We do have information,” Drown told the school board. “If you would like more information we might be able to provide a monthly picture of what is happening.”

Muldown principal Linda Whitright pointed out that the enrollment figures don’t show the full picture. From September to December, Muldown’s total head count stayed almost even despite students leaving and enrolling.

“Since the beginning of the year we’ve had about 100 students in and out,” she said. “You could not tell that information just by looking at the total numbers.”

Several school board members expressed concern about the impact to an individual student’s education when they leave and enter a new school.

Trustee Charlie Abell said the district has historically been known to have a 30 percent turnover rate and would like to know if that still holds true.

“What a demand that places on our educational professionals trying to bring those kids up to speed that have been somewhere else,” he said. “Is this unique to us?”

Orozco said she would look into tracking student movement more extensively and provide more detailed information pertaining to the enrollment numbers.

Enrollment from the 2011-2012 school year showed a similar trend as this year with student numbers decreasing from fall to spring. The district had 1,610 students in September and 1,558 in June, a decrease of 52 students.

According to the county superintendent, overall enrollment in the county is up from last year. The report is based on enrollment counts taken in October.

Whitefish elementary enrollment is down 1 percent over last year at the same time. Conversely, Columbia Falls is up 1 percent, Bigfork up 5 percent and Kalispell up 11 percent.

At the high school level, Whitefish is down 4 percent and Columbia Falls is down 4 percent. However, Bigfork is up 5 percent and Kalispell is up 3 percent.

Over a 10-year period, Whitefish numbers are down at the elementary and high school levels, 8 percent and 29 percent, respectively.