Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Brandy Baker / The Detroit News Kindergartners Javan Goodman, left, and Breanna Ramsey leave Guyton Elementary in Detroit. The school got a reprieve from closure.

Districts push to get kids in class for student count

With funding at stake since state aid is tied to Wednesday's attendance, officials offer prizes.

By Kim Kozlowski / The Detroit News

Brandy Baker / The Detroit News Breanna Ramsey skips down the hallway at Guyton. The Detroit district has launched a campaign to get kids to come back to school. Count day Don't miss school on Wednesday. That's the message school officials are sending to kids and parents across the state as the official enrollment count will be conducted. School are making a big push for Wednesday attendance since enrollment is directly tied to how much state money a district will get. Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

School officials throughout the state are making public announcements, promising pizza parties and sending home reminders for students to show up at school Wednesday, a day that will determine critical funding based on how many kids are in class.

Michigan's formula for school aid is based on attendance during two days in the school year: one earlier in the year and the critical fourth Wednesday in September, which counts for 75 percent of the formula. Since the state funds districts based on how many students are in class that day, many districts want to make sure every enrolled student is counted, especially since so many are strapped for cash.

"If the count is low, schools may indeed have more students than showed up. And they of course have to provide an education for those students, but they are receiving no dollars for them," said Kathleen Booher, executive director of the Waterford-based Tri-County Alliance for Public Education.

For Detroit Public Schools, there is considerable need to have every student counted. In the midst of a $200 million deficit and facing a projected loss of 10,000 students this year, the district has launched a $500,000 campaign to get kids to come back to school. Part of the campaign focuses on the Wednesday count, and the district has put up billboards, run radio ads and promised pizza parties and prizes, so kids show up.

"There's a lot at stake," spokesman Lekan Oguntoyinbo said. "We really need our numbers to be up this year. If we are just one student short, it could throw our budget into a tizzy."

The 144,000-student district last year received $7,180 per pupil.

Ruth Jordan's daughter, Kendall, is in seventh grade at Burton International School in Detroit and knows she has to be in school on Wednesday. But she doesn't miss school anyway, unless she really has to.

"She doesn't care about the pizza parties," said Jordan. "That's not a big deal to her. It's about going to school and getting an education and going to basketball practice."

Missing just one day could have lasting impact, and officials at Detroit's Guyton Elementary aren't taking chances. A town crier, armed with a bullhorn, will roam neighborhood streets tonight to remind students and parents to show up to school Wednesday.

"We know how important this is," said Sharon Meadows, chairwoman of Community Partners to Revitalize Guyton, which was among 34 Detroit schools slated to be closed but got a reprieve. "It's a big surprise that we nearly lost this incredible school, and now we appreciate how critically important it is we maintain this school and that requires we get the kids in school on count day."

But it's not just Detroit schools that are encouraging kids to come to school.

Southfield Public Schools sent home fliers, reminded students over the public announcement system, and held parent-teacher meetings to stress the importance of showing up for school Wednesday. District spokesman Ken Siver said the push is not as hard as it is in Detroit, but the district, which received $10,802 per pupil last year, will make sure to remind everyone about the need to be counted.

Dearborn Public Schools, which received $7,180 per pupil last year, isn't doing anything special to encourage kids to come to school Wednesday, said spokesman David Mustonen. That's because most students are present on the official count day.

You can reach Kim Kozlowski at (313) 222-2024 or kkozlowski@detnews.com.

Brandy Baker / The Detroit News Breona Bell, Guyton kindergartner, whispers to her dad, Vincent, during a Detroit Public Schools press conference.