BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI

North Country This Week

MASSENA – Enrollment at Massena Central has slowly declined over the previous six years, with the school district averaging around 2,500 students in recent years.

Director of Curriculum Stephanie Allen highlighted a number of figures and trends at a recent school board meeting on Nov. 18, highlighting many of the changes the district has seen.

Of note, the split between male and female student population declines is a nearly even split, with a decline of 120 female students and 117 male students.

“It’s like probability, you flip the dice and you get the 50/50 here,” Allen said.

Students with disabilities have also declined, with a decline of 31 students over the last three years, according to Allen.

Though the total number of students with disabilities decreased, a larger percentage of students enrolled today have a disability, according to Allen.

“If you think about the total number of students we had in our enrollment back in 15/16, that would have been 17.5% of our population, students with disabilities. This year, with our BEDS day numbers, that rose to 17.9%,” Allen said.

Not all trends are on the decline, with Native American student number rising from 248 to 252 total enrolled in the previous six years.

The rise in enrollment represents a 1% increase, Allen said.

Economically disadvantaged student numbers also declined by 255 over the six-year period as well, however the figures are not an accurate representation, Allen said.

During the COVID shutdowns in 2020, the school district offered free lunches to all students, regardless of economic status.

Some families, however, did not take advantage of the option, according to Allen.

As a result, the total figures of the decline in economically disadvantaged students are not an accurate representation and can have long-term effects, according to Allen.

“The number of free and reduced lunch students is directly tied to our title funds. So when we have less students that fill out that application and are said to be free and reduced lunch, thus poverty, and I have fewer students that handed in that paperwork, in the long run I have less money coming into the district, “Allen said.

Homeless numbers also declined, though Allen feels the numbers are skewed heavily due to poor tracking during the pandemic.

In the 2017/2018 school year, when the number was first tracked, 53 students were listed as homeless.

To date, 14 students are listed as homeless as of the most recent meeting.

“I would be very fair to say that the number is higher in actuality. For example, we had three new students just today that came across my desk today,” Allen said.

Other figures presented showed a slight decline in migrant students, with a decline of three over the six year period.

A sharp increase in students that are in foster care is also a trend the school has seen, with a rise in 35 students since the figure was first tracked in 2016, Allen said.