Fargo Public Schools reports near-prediction enrollment; kindergarten lags projections

Fargo Public Schools administrators reported early enrollment counts that closely match the district’s projections overall but show specific gaps in kindergarten and elementary grades.

On the district’s start-of-year update, an enrollment presenter said the elementary level is about 36 students below the district’s RSP projection “as of today,” and kindergarten enrollment is down roughly 80 students from the projected figure. The presenter described the RSP projection as “about 99% accurate” for estimating how many students will be served at the elementary level going forward.

Nut graf: The preliminary figures will be monitored as the school year progresses; administrators cited small variances by grade and noted middle-school enrollment is effectively on target while high-school totals are slightly below prediction.

For the secondary grades, district staff told the board that middle-school numbers are “right on the RSP projection” in aggregate, though there are variances by grade level. High school grades 9–12 were reported as three students below projection. Staff drew attention to grade 11 specifically, reporting that cohort at 807 students, which the administrator noted is smaller than the cohorts immediately before and after it and will require monitoring as that cohort advances to senior year.

The district also reported two elementary students enrolled in the Virtual Academy and 11 elementary students in the Explorer Academy (EA), the district’s program referenced as Explorer Academy.

Discussion at the meeting was informational; trustees did not take formal action on enrollment figures at this session. Administrators said they will continue tracking numbers and account for cohort-size variations in future planning.

Ending: The board heard the update as part of routine start-of-year reporting and did not change staffing or budget decisions at the meeting.