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Wednesday, January 13, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
STUDEnTS: Students
leave for a range
of reasons
Continued from page 1
departing families. (Note: the
numbers they were operat-
ing with represent a slightly
earlier snapshot, and totals
vary somewhat from the most
current enrollment report.
Enrollment continues to fluc-
tuate slightly day to day and
week to week. In addition,
some students may be taken
out and re-enrolled in short
order, or leave for extended
vacations and are “dropped”
in accordance with state law.
They later re-enroll.)
SES Principal Becky
Stoughton noted that SES
received 27 new kids in
August and 23 during the
school year so far. That was
good news for a district that
had seen recession-related
decline in incoming enroll-
ment. However, others are
departing. Thirteen families
moved before the start of the
school year.
“During the fall 2015, 31
students moved from SES,”
Stoughton noted.
Twenty-one went to other
districts in Oregon.
“In talking with these fam-
ilies, most moved for reason
of new jobs for family mem-
bers,” Stoughton said.
Eight are enrolled in
another state, having moved
there for jobs and affordable
housing, according to
Stoughton. One withdrew for
“personal reasons”; one’s sta-
tus is unknown.
Stoughton noted that “we
had seven new kids that were
waiting for us when we got
back from break…”
SMS enrolled 49 addi-
tional students this year, but
because of departures and a
big eighth-grade class mov-
ing on to the high school,
total enrollment at SMS as
of January 8 is down 6.5
students.
Principal Marshall Jackson
reported that five SMS stu-
dents left Sisters for another
local district and another five
moved to another district
within Oregon.
“Reasons range from cus-
tody issues to housing and
employment,” Jackson said.
Three students moved out
of state for family reasons
that “were housing/job-type
things.”
Eight students went to
either Redmond Preparatory
Academy (RPA) or Baker
Web Academy (BWA). Three
students went to Sisters
Christian Academy (SCA).
Jackson noted that the
school also received incom-
ing enrollment who had tried
BWA or RPA or had enrolled
at SCA and were coming back.
The board asked several
questions about online edu-
cation, which is increasingly
viewed as a viable alterna-
tive to traditional classroom
education.
Mark Stewart, who admin-
isters Sisters’ own online
education program, reported
that about 175 students are
involved in it. Some students
work primarily online; others
just take a single class online.
“It’s a very good fit
for some kids,” said
Superintendent Curt Scholl.
He said that Sisters has to
continually work to refine its
offerings to serve the needs of
all students.
“A little competition is not
a bad thing in this circum-
stance,” he said.
SHS Principal Joe Hosang
reported 10 students migrating
to another local school district.
“The reasons range from
sports (to) affordable housing
as well as ease of transporta-
tion because the parents work
in either Redmond or Bend,
to a few personal reasons
due to social needs,” Hosang
reported.
Five moved out of state.
Seven students went to
BWA or RPA.
“The reasons ranged from
special needs to wanting
to graduate early to social
issues,” Hosang said.
Other students departed
because they “needed an
alternative setting that fit their
educational needs that were
outside of what Sisters has to
offer.”
Enrollment is a quandary
for Sisters and other small
districts. It takes increasing
enrollment to maintain and
enhance programs that attract
and serve students. So, in a
sense, it takes enrollment to
attract and retain enrollment.
And outside factors, like the
affordability of housing and
the availability of local jobs
have an impact that the dis-
trict cannot control.
The reasons range from
sports (to) affordable
housing as well as ease of
transportation because
the parents work in either
Redmond or Bend, to a
few personal reasons
due to social needs.
— Principal Joe hosang
So, as the district holds
its own after years of seeing
enrollment drop, they con-
tinue to seek ways to attract
students to Sisters — and
keep them here.
Snowpack at
138 percent
of normal
SALEM (AP) — Decem-
ber snow and cold has brought
Oregon’s snowpack up to 138
percent of normal.
The Statesman Journal
reports that at this time last
year, the snowpack was 53
percent of normal. This win-
ter’s snowpack is higher than
at any time last year.
A hydrologist with the
Natural Resources Conser-
vation Service says fall and
early winter precipitation has
started to fill reservoirs across
Oregon that were depleted
from last year’s drought
conditions.
But it’s too early to declare
an end to the drought in east-
ern Oregon.
Most reservoirs in Oregon
are still below normal, except
for the Willamette basin.