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Enrollment dropping in
By Gordon Weeks
gordon@masoncounty. com
Sixty students left the Shelton
School District in September and Octo-
ber, and district officials are concerned
a further large exodus will force them
to return money to the state' in Janu-
ary.
Starting the school year exclusively
online in September, the district had
4,217 students in its eight schools. The
district budgeted the school year for
4,125 students. On Nov. 1, enrollment
was down to 4,160 —'and in the past
five years, the district has experienced
steadily decreasing enrollment until
the end of the school year in June.
The state pays the district about
$8,000 per student. The average en-
rollment from September through
January will determine if the district
receives more state money, or pays
some back.
District finance director Brenda
Trogstad and Superintendent Alex
Apostle outlined the challenge at the
Shelton School Board’s regular meet-
ing conducted Nov. 24 via Zoom. Apos-
tle said the two discuss the budget to-
gether every day.
“We’re not the only school district
in the state not meeting the projected
enrollment,” Apostle said.
“I hope the federal government and
the state realize we are suffering for
various reasons in terms of maintain-
ing our enrollment,” he added.
Apostle said president-elect Joseph
Biden has indicated the federal gov-
ernment will help schools.
“All school districts are losing mon-
ey because enrollment is declining,” he
said.
Trogstad displayed a graph that
charted the district’s month-by—month
student population for the past five
years and two months. Enrollment
typically rises from September to Oc-
tober, and then begins a steady decline
the rest of the school years.
Trogstad pointed to the sharp plum-
met last March.
“This is where the COVID hit and
we shut down,” Trogstad said.
Some of the students have dropped
out, others have, moved away after
parents lost jobs. At the beginning of
the school year, the departures came
from all grades — now most of them are
high school students, Trogstad said.
The superintendent said the dis—
trict will share the information on the
Shelton district schools
district’s website on whether students
dropped out or moved away.
Shelton community
forum tonight
The Shelton School District hosts
an open communityforum from 6 to 8
tonight via Zoom.
The session is conducted in English
from 6 to 7 pm. and in Spanish from
7 to 8 pm.
The agenda includes information
about the budget for the current
school year.
The Zoom meeting link is available
on the district’s website.
Native American
parents advisory
meeting Monday
The Shelton School District’s Na-
tive American Education Program
Parent Advisory Group hosts a meet-
ing via Zoom from 5:30 to 7 pm.
Monday.
The Zoom address is available on
the school district’s website.
For more information, contact
Kelly Neely, the district’s director of
curriculum and instruction and state
and federal programs, at 360-426-
1687.
Shelton Schools
survey on health
care clinics
The Shelton School District seeks
your comments as it explores the pos-
sibility of placing a health care clinic
on school grounds.
The clinics, called school-based
health care centers, increase student
access to health care services such as
routine wellness visits, sports physi-
cals, mental health care, sick visits
and prescription medication.
A survey on the proposal takes
about 10 minutes. Responses will be
accepted until Dec. 18.
The survey is at plu.az1.qualtrics.
com/jfe/form/SV_82rV6Br4chqG9v.
Cedar: ‘built of collaboration’
continued from page A-1
Anderson said Cedar is different than
CHOICE High School, where students
have individual programs.
“CHOICE is more of a true alterna-
tive program Cedar is more built of
collabbration,” she said.
The school’s inaugural students
include ninth-graders from Shelton
and incoming freshman from Pioneer,
Southside and Hood Canal school dis-
tricts. Former Shelton and CHOICE
High students also signed up. These
students want a small student body
and the ability to to work on authentic
community projects, such as solving
homelessness, Anderson said.
“They are creative thinkers they
like to look at things in a holistic view,
‘ how things connect in the world,” An-
derson said.
Mike Kuhn taught at CHOICE
High School for 20 years before joining
the Cedar staff this fall. He teaches
language arts and social studies, and
advises seniors.
Kuhn said he is one of three Cedar
teachers working in the building. He
has poor internet reception at home.
Some of Kuhns’ students don’t have
,a work place at home and are lying on
their beds with laptops.
“I have had students fall asleep in
class They will disappear,” he said.
“When you’re that close to the pillow,
it’s easy to lose focus.”
But some Cedar students, particu-
larly juniors and seniors, are excelling,
Kuhns said.
“They’ve got the ability to work
ahead, on their own schedule,” he said.
Kuhns said he is more concerned
about the freshmen and sophomores,
who might not. understand the im-
portance to completing credits toward
graduation.
' “The challenge to me is that I don’t
get to see my students,” he said.
The district continues to look for a
second site for the Cedar High School
programs, Anderson said.
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