Matthew sat down with Kristin Magette from the Kansas Association of School Boards, Kimberly Mahugh from Jeffco Public Schools, and Randy Barber from Boulder Valley School District to discuss solutions and strategies for approaching declining enrollment in your district. 

“There’s a part of this that feels very weird to people. This conversation of declining enrollment and closing of schools…[and with] the natural way our minds are wired—if something is declining, that means your product is not good enough…but at the end of the day, you can’t educate kids that were never born.”

—Kimberly Mahugh

Declining Birth Rates and Declining Enrollment
Matthew asked Kimberly and Randy about what was happening in their districts, and based on their experiences, what were some causes of declining enrollment. Kimberly, having a background in the healthcare space, mentioned the “baby bust” and discussed the trend of declining birth rates in the United States and in other industrialized countries. The correlation was then drawn between declining birth rates and declining enrollment. “...at the end of the day, you can’t educate kids that were never born.”, said Kimberly. Randy echoed that correlation, indicating the logistics of fewer births means less Preschoolers or Kindergarteners, which ultimately trickles into the rest of the school system. Randy also noted the cyclical nature of it all, and that so many factors impact enrollment—including economic factors, location, and the offerings and values of a school system. 

Understanding the nationwide trends is a helpful first step, but every community and school district is different—that is where leveraging data comes in. 

Declining Birth Rates and Declining Enrollment

Data informs decision making. Surveying families that were leaving their district allowed Jeffco to learn first-hand what was causing families to leave, and then they leveraged that data to better inform their strategy to address declining enrollment. The team at Jeffco leveraged data, some of which obtained through surveys, regarding why people were leaving their school district and noticed a drop in middle-school enrollments. The principals in that articulation area really empowered their schools in the community and collectively proposed a vision to the board of education by combining their declining middle school with their thriving high school. That resulted in a high school being changed to a 6-12 and allowed district staff to offer a solution for families that may have left at the middle school level. 

“Think about data. Think about the information you would like to know about your school communities so you can be more strategic and thoughtful in how you connect with families.”

—Kimberly Mahugh

Randy and Kimberly also noted the importance of educating communities and families about the population and enrollment declines. Kimberly said this, “I think our role in School Leadership—and in communications specifically—is to really be sense makers for our community.” 

They also mentioned the importance of celebrating what you have and who you are—and sharing that with families. While it is important to note that not every school district is the best fit for every family, it is equally valuable to take steps to ensure community members are aware of your vision, mission, and what your district provides.  

Kristin Magette discussed her success working with Salina Public Schools in Central Kansas
Implementing a comprehensive campaign known as journey modeling. Kristin noted the ambitious, yet scalable process was something she believed any district could replicate. Kristen’s team leveraged data about declining enrollment and decided to approach the campaign in a way that focused on relationship building. Each principal was provided a workflow that included staff to reach out to the families of students they knew and check in with them, see how they were doing and share the updated offerings of the school—opening the door for further discussion about coming back to the school they left. The campaign, which yielded a 10% success rate of welcoming 51 students of 501, included personal moments—like hand written follow-up notes—showing the effectiveness of personalizing outreach. Another example of the impact of their campaign was seen at an elementary school. A principal at one of the district’s elementary schools found out through this process that one student who wanted to come back had some mental health concerns, so by learning that, they were able to put those supports in place for the child and their family when they returned.

Highlighting Programs or Services Unique to Your School District
Here are some ways Kristin, Randy, and Kimberly mentioned they are highlighting their school district offerings. 

• Social Media
• Email Campaigns
• Family Ambassadors and Brand Ambassadors
• Surveys
• Signage, other mediums (one sheeters, postcards, etc)
  

While these discussions focus mostly on how to get students back, an important aspect of a strategy for handling declining enrollment is proactivity. Personal outreach can be an ongoing process for students who are at your school AND who you are looking to welcome back. Kimberly encouraged districts to shift the narrative from declining enrollment and school closures to “lead with the vision for what you’re offering in your community and the fact that you want to provide the most thriving experience for the kids you are serving today and getting people on board with what that would mean for them.” Randy encouraged districts to continue sharing things your district is most proud of—the power in what schools can do for your community; tell good stories.