Moorhead Area Public Schools adds 279 students for opening day enrollment
September 6, 2016
Moorhead Area Public Schools saw more than 6,500 students in school on Sept. 6, which continues the recent trend of high enrollment, said Superintendent Lynne Kovash.
The district had 6,538 students in grades K-12 report for school this morning. This is 409 more students than were enrolled last spring and 279 students more than last year’s opening enrollment, surpassing the projected increase of 236 students. The number of students in the district will fluctuate over the next few weeks before stabilizing in October and November, according to historical trends.
Over the past three years the district has added more than 800 students. The most significant increase is in the elementary enrollment. Because of space shortages, all kindergarten students remain at Probstfield Elementary, located at Probstfield Center for Education, this year while new schools are under construction. Dorothy Dodds Elementary for grades K-4 and Horizon Middle School West Campus for grades 5-6 are scheduled to open for the 2017-18 school year.
“With 800 more students over the last three years, mostly in our elementary grades, this demonstrates the needs being addressed by our construction projects,” Kovash said. “I want to thank our community for its support as we work to provide equitable facilities for our students.”
Grade 1 is the largest grade level with 597 students. Third grade is the second largest grade level with 549 students, and second grade is a close third with 547 students. At 455 students, grade 9 is the smallest grade level in the district.
“The continued support of our community is vital as we support learning and operate our schools for our growing student enrollment,” Kovash said. “We want our students to receive an excellent foundation of learning.”
Enrollment at Horizon Middle School is 1,413 students, which is 79 students higher than last year’s opening enrollment. Moorhead High School’s opening day enrollment is 1,772, which is up 52 students from last year’s opening enrollment.
In 2006 the district saw the reversal of an 11-year trend of enrollment decline. This was followed by four years of increases in enrollment after efforts by the district to build and remodel schools and enhance the quality of education. The district’s enrollment was projected to stabilize in 2010 with slight increases over the next few years. The district has been experiencing about 2 percent enrollment growth the past few years.
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