Few summers have seen as much activity as that experienced by the Grosse Pointe Public School System in 2010. That activity has been driven by change – some of our own choosing and some foisted upon us. The ability to cope with change is integral to survival. But we want to do more than survive. We want to excel.
To do so we must deliver services in a manner best suited to the educational objectives of our program and responsive to the needs of our staff and community. We are doing this well.
This week we have been busy adjusting staffing and budgets relative to enrollment and new contracts. Our forecast is outstanding. On Monday, I anticipate we will make more budget and staffing adjustments that will be well received by all.
Enrollment is the first great story. We are on track to exceed our enrollment projections. Since we are funded on a per pupil basis, this is welcome news. All Day Kindergarten is the lead story. We will have exceeded our original kindergarten enrollment projections by 63 students for a total of 448 students. All but 36 of those have opted for the no fee All Day program. The community clearly values this offering.
Enrollment elsewhere has been strong, which allows us to staff as we want to. In all, we will have hired nearly 40 new teachers for the 2010-11 school year. Class size has always been a concern. Our’s look very favorable. Here are our projected district-wide averages by grade:
- Kindergarten – 21.6
- 1st – 20.6
- 2nd – 20.0
- 3rd – 23.0
- 4th – 23.2
- 5th – 23.3
Out of 150 sections of elementary classrooms, only 19 will exceed 25 students and none will exceed 28. I can assure you, in times like this in Michigan, this is rare.
Our new contracts allow us to take a multi-year view toward financial planning. I believe we budgeted very well for 2010-11 and the new contracts allow us to progress into 2011-12 not with an eye towards “what programs will we have to cut”, but rather “what do we need to do to improve our educational program.” It is an exciting time, brought about by cooperation, ingenuity, and hard work.
More updates to follow as we move into September.
Brendan