Thread: Minority enrollment on rise for many Minnesota schools

http://www.duluthsuperior.com

Posted on Sun, Jul. 24, 2005

Minority enrollment on rise for many Minnesota schools

EDUCATION:In one school in New Ulm, Minn., about 40 percent of the students are Hispanic.

BY AMY FORLITI

ASSOCIATED PRESS

At Sleepy Eye (Minn.) Elementary School, both students and teachers can take Spanish classes. When notes are sent home, many parents receive them in Spanish. And for parent-teacher conferences, interpreters are available.

That's life in a district with a distinctly changing complexion. Fifteen years ago, the school in the small town west of New Ulm, Minn., had just two Hispanic students, according to principal Arla Dockter. Today, with migrant families lured by work at the Del Monte canning plant and a calendar company, about 40 percent of the 370 students this fall will be Hispanic.

"It's helped us maintain our enrollment," Dockter said. "I think we would be very much in trouble if we didn't have our Hispanic populations."

In many other parts of Minnesota, the story is the same.

From fall 2000 to fall 2004, the number of minority students has risen 18 percent, according to data analyzed by the State Demographic Center. At the same time, the number of white students declined6 percent.

Hispanics saw the greatest surge in enrollment, up 44 percent over the four-year period. The black student population increased 21 percent; the Asian student population grew 5 percent; and the American Indian student population grew by 2 percent.

Minority enrollments have been on the rise for decades. What's new, according to state demographers, is where it's happening -- not just near obvious sources of migrant work or in the inner cities, but also in the suburbs as first-time home buyers spread out in search of affordable housing.

In Sleepy Eye, Minn., the increase in Hispanics is due to an influx of immigrant families looking for work. The proportion of students with limited English proficiency in the school district rose from13 percent in 2000 to 27 percent in 2004, said Martha McMurry, a research analyst for the Minnesota State Demographic Office.

Dockter said many migrants leave Sleepy Eye in the winter months, but "we definitely have seen more families staying and living here year-round."

McMurry, who analyzed data from the state Education Department, said overall public school enrollment declined about 2 percent. She said a lower birth rate was partly responsible. The data included charter schools, but not private or home schools.

From 2000 to 2004, the Minneapolis school district saw the largest increase in the number of Hispanic students. St. Paul, Richfield, Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan, Robbins-dale and Osseo also saw large gains.

In Sleepy Eye, the school district has continued to expand English-as-a-second-language services. Other services include a summer migrant program that is in its fifth year of operation. This year, there are 160 children in the program, which offers academic classes, nutrition services, and a hobby hour, where kids can paint and do other activities.

"It's helped us maintain our enrollment," Dockter said. "I think we would be very much in trouble if we didn't have our Hispanic populations."

Why is it a good thing to maintain your enrollment when most states have dropped the class room size to give students more attention so they can perform better? What is the goal of this principal anyway?

From fall 2000 to fall 2004, the number of minority students has risen 18 percent, according to data analyzed by the State Demographic Center. At the same time, the number of white students declined 6 percent.

I thought they just said they had a rise in their Hispanic populations...who are Caucasian and therefore "white".

Hispanics saw the greatest surge in enrollment, up 44 percent over the four-year period. The black student population increased 21 percent; the Asian student population grew 5 percent; and the American Indian student population grew by 2 percent.

So, they've obviously had "growth" without the illegals. So what is Minnesota's Agenda....an Alien School Nation? I guess so.

"It's helped us maintain our enrollment," Dockter said. "I think we would be very much in trouble if we didn't have our Hispanic populations."

AND FURTHERMORE:

I think you will be in very much trouble when you don't have your AMERICAN population, you MORON!!