Enrollment gain over past 10 years: one student

One student.

That’s the total gain Flathead County’s public school enrollment has seen in the last 10 years.

In fall 2000, according to numbers from the County Superintendent’s Office, 13,280 students were enrolled in a public elementary or high school.

This fall, enrollment was at 13,281.

What the numbers don’t show is how the county’s enrollment fluctuated during the years in between. Total enrollment hit a decade low in 2001, with 13,075 students in county schools. The high came in 2007, when 13,567 students were enrolled in public schools.

The numbers also don’t show gains and losses at individual districts. Some have seen tremendous growth over the last decade. Others have watched their enrollment numbers steadily decline.

West Valley School had the biggest gains. Ten years ago, 327 students were enrolled. This fall, enrollment was at 436, a 33.3 percent increase.

Smith Valley and Kila Schools also have seen impressive growth over the last decade.

Smith Valley’s 183 students this fall are a 10.7 percent decline from last fall’s 205 students. But this fall’s enrollment is 23.6 percent higher than it was a decade ago, when 148 students attended the school.

Kila School’s enrollment is up 21.2 percent from where it was 10 years ago. In fall 2000, 132 students were enrolled, a number that dropped to 112 the next year. This fall, there are 160 students at Kila.

Fair-Mont-Egan and Helena Flats have seen similar growth throughout the decade, with both schools’ enrollments growing by about 11 percent. Helena Flats has 210 students this fall, compared to 189 10 years ago. Fair-Mont-Egan is up to 171 from 154 in fall 2000.

Olney-Bissell School likewise has seen steady growth. Enrollment was at 83 in October, a 12.2 percent increase from 74 students 10 years ago.

The Somers-Lakeside School District has grown by about 9 percent, with 583 students at the middle and elementary schools this fall, up from 535 students in fall 2000.

Kalispell Public Schools’ elementary district has grown by 350 students, or 14.7 percent over the last decade. The biggest increase happened in fall 2007, when the district introduced full-day kindergarten. That year, enrollment climbed by 181 students from the year before.

This fall, 2,730 students were enrolled at a Kalispell elementary school. Ten years ago, the elementary enrollment was at 2,380 students.

Kalispell’s high school enrollment has grown as well — the only high school district in the county to do so. There were 2,655 students enrolled at Flathead and Glacier high schools this fall, up from 2,425 in fall 2000, a 9.5 percent increase.

Other high school districts have seen declines over the last decade. Bigfork High School is 21.5 percent smaller than it was 10 years ago, with 288 students enrolled this fall compared to 367 in fall 2000.

Whitefish High School’s enrollment declined even more. Over the last 10 years, it has gone from 697 students to 511, a 26.7 percent increase.

The decline has been more slight at Columbia Falls High School, whose student population is 11.1 percent smaller than it was a decade ago. Enrollment this fall was 782; in 2000, there were 880 students enrolled there.

Those declining high school districts all have corresponding decreases in their elementary districts. With 486 students this fall, Bigfork’s elementary enrollment is up slightly from last year’s 474 students, but still down 10.8 percent from fall 2000.

Columbia Falls’ elementary schools have 1,518 students enrolled this fall, an 11.3 percent decrease from fall 2000’s 1,712 students.

Whitefish’s elementary district has had a 14.3 percent drop in enrollment, from 1,279 students in 2000 to 1,096 this fall.

The biggest public school enrollment decline has occurred at Deer Park Elementary, which is down 47.1 percent from a decade ago. Enrollment dropped dramatically this fall, from 88 students a year ago to 64 this year. Time will tell whether the low number is an anomaly or the beginning of a trend.

West Glacier likewise is considerably smaller than it was in 2000, when there were 50 students at the school. This fall, 28 students are enrolled at the school, up six from a year ago but still 44 percent decrease over a decade.

Enrollment in private schools, including Flathead County’s home-school population, has declined over the decade. Overall private school enrollment is down 14.4 percent.

Elementary private school enrollment peaked in 2002, when 1,418 students were home-schooled or attended a private elementary school. That was a 5.4 percent increase from 2000’s 1,345 students.

This fall there are 1,151 students in a private elementary or home school.

The decline has taken place despite two private schools opening in Flathead County in the last decade. Glacier Waldorf opened in 2006 and Woodland Montessori, which has preschool and kindergarten classes, opened in 2006. Enrollments are down this year at both, with just three students at the Waldorf school and 13 kindergarteners at Woodland Montessori.

In 2007, Kid Kare — corporate child care for employees at Northwest Healthcare, which includes Kalispell Regional Medical Center — added kindergarten. There are six kindergarteners there this fall, down from 14 in 2007.

The valley lost an elementary school this fall when Flathead Valley Montessori Academy, which had operated since 2006, closed.

St. Matthew’s School is the only private elementary that has grown over the decade. Enrollment there is up 49.7 percent this fall from enrollment in 2000, when 175 students attended the school. This fall, 262 students are enrolled at St. Matthew’s.

The biggest enrollment decline happened at Valley Adventist Christian School. With just four students enrolled this fall, the student population is 82.6 percent lower than it was in 2000.

Whitefish Christian School also is considerably smaller than it was in 2000, when the school was still Cross Currents Christian. In fall 2000,105 students attended the school. This fall there are 74 students enrolled, a 29.5 percent decrease.

At the private high school level, only Montana Academy, a therapeutic boarding school in Marion, has grown over the last decade. There are 81 students enrolled this fall, up 62 percent from fall 2000.

Another therapeutic boarding school, Summit Preparatory School, has also grown, but it has only been open since 2003. That fall, there were 23 students at the school. This fall, there are 42 students enrolled.

Total private high school enrollment is 279 this fall, down from 326 in fall 2000.

Gains or losses are difficult to track among the county’s home-school population.

The County Superintendent of Schools reports home-school enrollment numbers to the state in October, just as it does for other public and private schools. But home-schoolers are not required to notify the county of their intent to study at home by a certain date. Home-school students simply have to notify the county superintendent annually.

This means the enrollment numbers kept at the county superintendent’s office fluctuate dramatically throughout the year. In October, the county had heard from 398 home-school students. On Monday, home-school enrollment was at 507 students.

Total enrollment is likely down from 2000. In October that year, 509 elementary home-school students and 148 high-school students had notified the county superintendent’s office.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com