Youngstown student rolls drop by 500, figures show

By Denise Dick | October 19, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Youngstown

Preliminary numbers for city schools enrollment show a loss of more than 500 students since last school year.

The district stresses that the head count of 5,908 is preliminary. Schools haven’t reviewed the data yet, and the numbers haven’t been submitted to the state.

Last year, the local head count was 6,418, but after school and state reviews, that number grew to 6,475 students.

The first full week of October was Average Daily Membership week, when schools count students to submit the numbers to the state. Those numbers are important as they are used as part of the formula to determine state funding.

Karen Ingraham, school district communication director, said in an email that once the number is finalized and the district knows how many kids have gone to other schools and how many no longer live in the city, personnel will be better able to assess reasons for the enrollment number.

“We may even find mistakes, once schools look closer at the data,” Ingraham said. “The number will change.”

This school year marks the first under a revitalization plan that converted Chaney into a visual and performing arts and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math school for sixth- through 12th-graders, changed P. Ross Berry into an eighth- and ninth-grade academy and turned Volney Rogers and Wilson into sixth- and seventh-grade academies.

“I attribute that [fewer students] to a lot of people didn’t understand the rationale for the revitalization plan,” said Lock P. Beachum Sr., school board president.

Superintendent Connie Hathorn is trying to change the culture in the district and establish the schools as safe and effective learning environments, Beachum said.

“There’s nothing surprising about the numbers this first year,” he said.

Some parents may be waiting to see how the first year goes before sending their children to the city schools, the school board president said.

Beachum believes the trend of students leaving Youngstown in favor of other schools and districts will turn around.

“Every school I’ve visited has changed a lot,” he said. “The enthusiasm of teachers is changing. It’s an entirely different climate at East. It’s an entirely different climate at Chaney. I wish the community could see it.”