Vanishing Act Wed. Aug. 26

On the front page of today's Fargo Forum is a picture of my boss, Tim Jacobson, and the school in which I teach at. The picture on the front page shows our elementary school in Mapleton, North Dakota. The population of our little town is approximately 700. Our school enrollment peaked at around 80 at the beginning of this new school year. Since our classrooms start at preschool and end at 6th grade, our average class size is around 11.

With that being said, this article is focusing on how North Dakota seems to be losing more and more school districts every year. I wanted to know more about the reasons behind this.

According to the article, in 1985 North Dakota had 312 districts. Today, there are only about half that many. "Every year, we have one or two (districts that close or consolidate)," said Jerry Coleman, the state's school finance director. I found out that it's partially to do with a districts loss of money or families with children move.

Here's one example of why Eureka School District near Minot, North Dakota closed its doors for the last time last week: FIVE STUDENTS WERE ENROLLED! This school, prior to just closing had a 100-plus year history of staying open for their community.

Why is North Dakota's population declining? According to a graph located on the front page by the principal of our school, in 1994 the enrollment in public K-12 schools in ND was up to almost 120,000. There shows a significant decline and in 2009 the numbers were less than 95,000. North Dakota Department of Public Instruction predicts the numbers will continue to drop to around 92,000 in 3 years!

Like I said, the school in which I teach at has an enrollment of about 80 students. Our school only goes up to 6th grade. In years past, Mapleton used to go up to 12th grade. Because of the numbers decreasing, Mapleton is now considered only an elementary school. However, we are one of the lucky districts, our numbers are increasing year after year unlike most small districts in the state.

According to North Dakota School Superintendent Wayne Sanstead, North Dakota has declined by 2,000 children each year for the past 15 years, though it's now slowed to about 500 fewer children a year.

Economics could also be a factor for the decline in student enrollment. 20 years ago children were one-third of North Dakota's population. In just a few years from now, children could only make up of about one-quarter of the state's population. Agriculture has slowed considerably since the 1980's.

Every year Mapleton has to endure the "what if's. What if we have to close down? What if our numbers decline? What if our little community of around 700 changes? As a community, as a district, as parents, as teachers, we want answers to the possible "what if's.

What are the solutions? Is there a possible solution to help our school and other schools in North Dakota to keep their doors open? Government officials and legislators are trying to find solutions to this problem.

To read more on this article in the Fargo Forum go to: http://www.inforum.com/

This could affect you as an educator, too!