School enrollment is steady

By Charles Sercombe
This year’s student enrollment in the public school district is holding strong.
According to the recent fall student headcount, the district has only three fewer students than last year.
The official number of students enrolled is 3,320. Last year it was 3,323.
The district has seen a continued increase in recent years as more kids from Yemen move into the city.
The district has also been waging an aggressive enrollment campaign in recent years ever since charter schools have opened and drained off students from the district.
There are about a dozen charter schools operating in the city and just outside of it in neighboring Detroit.
With the continued increase in students, the district had to purchase an additional building last year. The Tau Beta Elementary School on Hanley had been a charter school, but that school was forced to close after losing its sponsorship.
That building is historical. It dates back to 1927 when four Grosse Pointe teens who were members of the Tau Beta Society founded a training school for new immigrants to better help them assimilate into American culture.
Most of the students at that charter school transferred to the public school district.
Schools Superintendent Tom Niczay said the district had expected 3,271 students to enroll this year. Each student represents about $7,000 in state funding.
Here is a breakdown on the enrollment in each of the district’s schools:
o Early Childhood Elementary: 152
o Tau Beta: 267
o Dickinson East: 738
o Dickinson West: 426
o Holbrook: 235
o Kosciuszko: 359
o Hamtramck High: 1,013
o Horizon High: 130

Oct. 19, 2018