Where are the children Enrollment trends in rural Minnesota schools

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Where are the children? Enrollment trends in
rural Minnesota schools
Martha McMurry and Barbara Ronningen Minnesota
State Demographic Center Rural Minnesota Forum,
2006 November 15, 2006
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What is a rural district?

• Many definitions are possible.
• We define rural as less than 10 students per
  square mile.
• Urban and rural categories are both subdivided.

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Examples of urban districts

• 100 students per square mile Mostly inner city
  and suburban districts. St. Paul,
  Anoka-Hennepin, Shakopee.
• 10 to 99.9 per square mile Some suburban, some
  regional centers. Farmington, Austin, Duluth.

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Examples of rural districts

• 5 to 9.9 students per square mile New
  London-Spicer, Fergus Falls, St. James.
• 2 to 4.9 per square mile Moose Lake,
  Kenyon-Wanamingo, Grand Rapids.
• 1 to 1.9 per square mile Deer River, Warroad,
  Warren-Alvarado-Oslo.
• Under 1 per square mile Kittson Central, St.
  Louis County, Grygla.

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Average number of students per district, by
district density 2005-2006
Minnesota Department of Education data LMIC area
data
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Average square miles per district, by district
density 2005-2006
Minnesota Department of Education data LMIC area
data
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75 of Minnesota school districts saw enrollment
declines between 2000-2001 and 2005-2006
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Enrollments fall faster in rural districts
Minnesota Department of Education enrollment
data density from Land Management Information
Center
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Enrollment in lower grades is less than high
school in all types of district (12th grade100)
Density
Minnesota Department of Education data
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No direct relationship between density and
enrollment diversity
Minnesota Department of Education enrollment
data density from Land Management Information
Center
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White enrollments fall, minority enrollments rise
in districts of all sizes
Minnesota Department of Education enrollment
data density from Land Management Information
Center
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Percent of students who do not speak English is
rising in all types of districts
Minnesota Department of Education enrollment
data density from Land Management Information
Center
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Labels are total non-English speakers in the
region.
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Southern Regions Most Linguistically Diverse
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Spanish Speakers Predominate in Southern Regions
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ELL Funding Squeezes Small Districts

• Formula provides 700 per student for ELL
• Formula minimum is 20 ELL students or 14,000
• For small districts, funding ELL can be a
  tremendous challenge

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http//www.mnsu.edu/ruralmn/pages/Publications/rmj
/rmjmain.html