COVD-19 pandemic hurt La Grande School District enrollment but not attendance in smaller local districts

Feb. 26—LA GRANDE — Schools in Oregon, overall, have yet to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oregon schools, according to oregonlive.com, enrolled just over 552,000 students last fall, almost the same number as the fall of 2021, but 30,000 fewer than before the pandemic.

The La Grande School District's enrollment picture appears to be aligning with the state's trend. The school district had 2,364 students on Oct. 1, 2019, about five months before the pandemic hit. Two years later, its enrollment was down to 2,163 students, and the number, as of Jan. 31, was 2,117 students, down 257 students since the start of the pandemic.

Scott Carpenter, vice superintendent of the La Grande School District, said some of the students lost may be ones who are now being home schooled or taking classes through online academies. Carpenter said the school district is taking steps to draw many of these students back into the school district.

"We would love to see our enrollment increase. We are striving to make school an enjoyable experience, one that will serve students well into the future," he said.

Examples of programs being started include La Grande High School's Tiger House program, where students in the school's construction class will begin building an approximately 2,000-square-foot mid-level home early in the 2023-24 school year under the guidance of LHS teachers and professional contractors. The program recently moved a step forward when the La Grande School District officials learned last fall the district will receive $515,000 in federal funding to start the program.

The Tiger House will be sold and funds from the sale will be used to build additional homes.

The recent startup of the high school's girls wrestling program is another example of a step being taken to create more opportunities for students, Carpenter said.

"We want to help all students feel like they belong," he said.

North Powder rebounds to pre-pandemic levels

Union County school districts outside La Grande appear to be going against the overall state enrollment trend coming out of the pandemic. Enrollment in the North Powder School District, which stands at 273 students, is about the same as it was before the pandemic started.

North Powder Superintendent Lance Dixon said offering classes in person rather than online early in the 2020-21 school year helped with student retention.

Dixon said this meant students did not get to take classes online long enough to get to like them, which meant they wanted to attend classes again in person.

He also noted that a number of students who were being home schooled or were taking classes online, did return after in-person instruction was offered again. Almost all returned though after the state waived its mask mandate.

"They all came back after the mask mandate was lifted," Dixon said.

The North Powder School District's enrollment picture is even stronger because it is a charter district. Charter district's must accept students from outside the district boundaries when there are openings in a class. Dixon said several classes have waiting lists made up of students from outside the district.

"We have four or five students on some waiting lists," he said.

Union not feeling impacts of pandemic

Enrollment in the Union School District has also not been impacted by the pandemic.

"We are extremely fortunate, our enrollment has remained steady," Union Superintendent Carter Wells said.

He credits part of this the fact that his school district was able to offer in-person instruction earlier in the 2021-22 school year. Wells said it was easier for a small school district like Union to open early because state rules were less restrictive for smaller districts because of factors like smaller class sizes.

Cove, Imbler limiting pandemic impacts

The Cove School District's enrollment has also not been impacted by the pandemic, according to superintendent Earl Pettit. He said its enrollment is up from up from what it was before the pandemic started.

"It is the exact opposite of what the rest of the state has been showing," he said.

Pettit said in terms of average daily membership Cove had 314 students in 2021-22, the school district's highest total in at least 10 years. Cove's enrollment this school year is down about 10 students, but this by design. Pettit said the school district was above its capacity of 306 so it has had to reduce its enrollment by not accepting as many out-of-district students, something the district has the option of doing this because it is a charter district.

The Imbler School District is also coming out of the pandemic in good shape. The school district has 297 students, up 10 from just before the pandemic. Imbler Deputy Clerk Teressa Dewey said enrollment is up despite the fact that seven students who were in school at the start of the pandemic did not return.

Imbler School District Superintendent Randy Waite said he believes that the district's enrollment will not change a great deal over the next several years.

"It should be stable," he said.

Dick Mason is a reporter with The Observer. Contact him at 541-624-6016 or dmason@lagrandeobserver.com.