Moorhead Area Public Schools adds 216 students for opening day enrollment
September 2, 2014
District opens with more than 500 kindergarten students for second year in a row
Moorhead Area Public Schools had 5,928 students in grades K-12 report for school this morning. This is 445 more students than were enrolled last spring and 216 students more than last year’s opening enrollment, surpassing the projected increase of 156 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.
The most significant increase is in the elementary enrollment. The district added all-day kindergarten beginning last fall and for the second year in a row broke 500 kindergarten students on the first day. There are 506 students enrolled in kindergarten today, and 503 were enrolled last year opening day.
“We’re pleased to provide another large kindergarten class with an excellent foundation of learning as we enter our second year of offering free all-day kindergarten,” said Superintendent Lynne Kovash.
Second grade is the largest grade level with 509 students. Kindergarten is the second largest grade level with 506 students, and first grade is a close third with 505 students. At 417 students, grade 9 is the smallest grade level in the district.
“We are excited about the increase of more than 100 elementary students,” Kovash said. “This four-year increase provides a strong enrollment base for the district in future years, but it does crowd our already full facilities and emphasizes the need for this year’s facilities master planning.”
Enrollment at Horizon Middle School is 1,314 students, which is 53 students higher than last year’s opening enrollment. Moorhead High School’s opening day enrollment is 1,646, which is up 13 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 modernize and enhance the quality of education. The district’s enrollment was projected to stabilize in 2010 with slight increases over the next few years.
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