 |
| See Table 1 for Detailed Data Click to Enlarge |
Presented here by request from a number of regular readers is a comprehensive analysis on Hoboken High School enrollment over the past 16 years. It is made available here and presented in an easy to understand format.
Regular readers will recall in April of 2009 I helped pass the incorporation of "Choice"* students into the district.
Since that time, there have been many changes to the high school:
In 2009-10 it was decided by the Kids First majority school board to close the Alternative School then housed at Demarest, concurrently it was also decided to relieve Dr. Lorraine Cella of her duties as the high school principal after the school was awarded back to back Honorable Mention recognition by US News and World Report and was declared the "Second Most Improved High School in NJ" by NJ Monthly.
In 2010 it was decided that 8th graders should attend the high school. A year later it was decided that 7th graders should be in the high school building. That is 3 different configurations in 3 years. It was then decided to create essentially 2 schools in one building- a middle and a high school.
During this same period of time, the high school experienced high turnover at the principal position (click here to read about the importance of the principal to a school)-- in total there have been 5 building principals - either interim or permanent - in the high school since Kids First/Forward Progress took majority control of the Hoboken School District. Administrative turnover, various building and district configurations, along with state reports concerning violence and vandalism , district school scores and some very unfortunate incidents have likely contributed to an enrollment plunge in the high school during the Kids First-Forward Progress era.
In 2009-10 it was decided by the Kids First majority school board to close the Alternative School then housed at Demarest, concurrently it was also decided to relieve Dr. Lorraine Cella of her duties as the high school principal after the school was awarded back to back Honorable Mention recognition by US News and World Report and was declared the "Second Most Improved High School in NJ" by NJ Monthly.
In 2010 it was decided that 8th graders should attend the high school. A year later it was decided that 7th graders should be in the high school building. That is 3 different configurations in 3 years. It was then decided to create essentially 2 schools in one building- a middle and a high school.
During this same period of time, the high school experienced high turnover at the principal position (click here to read about the importance of the principal to a school)-- in total there have been 5 building principals - either interim or permanent - in the high school since Kids First/Forward Progress took majority control of the Hoboken School District. Administrative turnover, various building and district configurations, along with state reports concerning violence and vandalism , district school scores and some very unfortunate incidents have likely contributed to an enrollment plunge in the high school during the Kids First-Forward Progress era.
Here I present data from the New Jersey Department of Education and graph of the Hoboken High School enrollment for students who are Hoboken residents. I separated the "Choice" students from the overall enrollment to get a sense of how responsive the Hoboken Board of Education has been to the families and taxpayers of Hoboken. Enrollment of Hoboken resident students in Hoboken High School (grades 9-12) have fallen over 41% since 2009. People are free to reach their own conclusions but it is important to have good data in order to make informed policy decisions.
Table 1: Hoboken High School Grades 9-12 1998-99 to 2015-16
Data: NJ Department of Education
Year
|
Enroll
|
Choice
|
Resident
|
1998-99
|
570
|
0
|
570
|
1999-00
|
607
|
0
|
607
|
2000-01
|
592
|
0
|
592
|
2001-02
|
586
|
0
|
586
|
2002-03
|
593
|
0
|
593
|
2003-04
|
661
|
0
|
661
|
2004-05
|
613
|
0
|
613
|
2005-06
|
611
|
0
|
611
|
2006-07
|
621
|
0
|
621
|
2007-08
|
606
|
0
|
606
|
2008-09
|
598
|
3
|
595
|
2009-10
|
601
|
26
|
575
|
2010-11
|
575
|
32
|
543
|
2011-12
|
508
|
51
|
457
|
2012-13
|
488
|
79
|
409
|
2013-14
|
497
|
98
|
399
|
2014-15
|
468
|
109
|
359
|
2015-16
|
458
|
111
|
347
|
 |
| Click to Enlarge |
* New Jersey's Interdistrict Public School Choice Program enables approved choice districts to enroll K-12th grade students who do not reside within their districts without cost to their parents. The program increases educational opportunities for students and their families by providing students with school options outside of their district of residence and giving parents the power to select a school program that best serves their child's individual needs.
