The Board of Education meeting on June 26 focused on a demographics presentation by Richard Grip, executive director at Statistical Forecasting.
Grip’s presentation highlighted the increased enrollment in Haddonfield public schools based on his study of historical enrollments in the district, birth and fertility rates in the community, community population trends and age structure, new housing growth and geocoding.
“Looking at these factors, I can get a good look into what will happen in the future,” Grip said. “These trends dictate what the future will hold for Haddonfield and the public schools.”
The 2,600 student enrolled in the district this school year was the highest enrollment since 1971, and Grip’s data indicates the enrollment could reach as high as 2,800 students in the next five years.
“Nine out of the 10 school districts I’ve studied recently are declining,” he said. “Haddonfield is that one out of 10 that is actually increasing.”
The enrollment is not increasing by traditional standards, however. The borough has seen decreased birth rates and a small percentage of new housing growth, which are usually the largest indicators for increased enrollment.
The district has also seen negative first-grade replacement in the past decade, which means there are more graduating seniors than incoming first-grade students. And yet, enrollment continues to rise.
“Haddonfield breaks every rule I know,” Grip said. “This borough defies all logical statistics, but the numbers don’t lie. It’s probably hard to believe, but there are actually more students graduating than entering kindergarten, but the schools are still growing.”
Grip equates the increased enrollment to people moving to Haddonfield during the first few years of elementary school to take advantage of the high educational standards for which the borough is known.
“Who wouldn’t want to move here,” Grip said. “This district is nationally recognized and is one of the best in the state, so people are flocking here to make sure their kids get a great education.”
Grip also focused on what areas of the district have seen the largest growth of incoming students using geocoding, which maps the district according to where the students live. The projections show that in five years, Central and Tatem Elementary will see the largest increase in students.
The reason Grip focused his study on a five-year window was due to the age of students entering kindergarten. By focusing the study on the five-year window, Grip did not have to take into account projected birth rates, which are difficult to predict.
In other news:
• The board recognized the Elizabeth Haddon Science Olympiad Team, which finished second at the New Jersey Elementary Science Olympiad Tournament. Students on the team included Oisin Carthy, Christopher DeMedio, Phoebe Fitzmaurice-Shean, Alexis Hochgertel, Olli Janssen, Tobi Janssen, Nate Jensen, Cyrus Marwaha, Samir Marwaha, Allessandro Meucci, Ethan Morgan, Jessica Morgan, Dan Nolan, Jack Nuckols and Zoe Weiner.
• The board recognized the Central Elementary Odyssey of the Mind Team, which placed in the top three at the regional tournament, second at the state tournament and 14th out of 58 teams at the world tournament in Ohio. Students on the team included Danny Cavanna, Evie Ellis, Jada Eible Hargo, Jesse Eible Hargo, Joe Tichansky and Sam Timar.
• The next Board of Education meeting is July 24 at 7:30 p.m.
