Dizney Words

Forty-four former Fort Payne students, including two high school seniors, will be looking for another place to go to school in August.

But no kindergarteners were denied this year. The students were accepted or denied based on an out-of-district policy passed by the Fort Payne City school board in April 2007.

Superintendent Jimmy Cunningham said Wednesday 524 students who live outside the city limits were enrolled.

Cunningham said the school system tries to hit the 2,800 mark of total students enrolled each year.

Last year – the first year the policy took effect – 63 students were denied enrollment.

Cunningham said the enrollment committee made its final decision on the applications early Wednesday morning.

Acceptance or denial letters will be sent out to parents next week, Cunningham said.

He said the policy gives him and the enrollment committee the ability to deny enrollment to students based on overcrowding, attendance, behavior and academics.

Last year, four kindergartners were denied enrollment based on overcrowding reasons, but this year things appear to be different.

Cunningham said the number of kindergartners enrolled was down this past year, prompting Wills Valley Elementary School to cut back to 15 classrooms with 18 students per teacher.

“At this point, we have been able to accept every student who has applied, but kindergarten is really an unknown factor until after the first day of school,” Cunningham said. “It is one of those situations where we won’t really be able to tell until the first day of school, because there is always the possibility the students could show up that day.”

He said most of the students in first through fourth grades were denied because of overcrowding.

Cunningham said since the policy was installed in Fort Payne he hasn’t really heard a lot of feedback on the policy.

“Everyone who has a child in our system that lives outside our district must apply each year,” Cunningham said. “It gives our committee a chance to go back and view their attendance, discipline and academic record.”

He said the committee takes into consideration space and seats available in a classroom when considering applications.

“We also look at the students who have applied and if they are coming to us for the right reasons and we have the space, then, of course, they are accepted,” Cunningham said. “We do the exact same thing with anyone who doesn’t live in DeKalb County and transfers here. We ask them to send their attendance, grades and discipline records to us.”

Cunningham said 63 new students have been admitted this year and of that 38 were kindergarten students.

Number of students by grade denied enrollment due to Fort Payne’s out-of-district policy.

Kindergarten 0

First grade 6

Second grade 1

Third grade 10

Fourth grade 6

Fifth grade 3

Sixth grade 3

Seventh grade 1

Eighth grade 6

Ninth grade 1

10th grade 3

11th grade 2

12th grade 2

 

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Tags: Education //