(Atlantic) The Atlantic Community School District enrollment is up. All schools must certify their enrollments by October 15, so officially the count will be completed by Friday.
Atlantic Schools Superintendent Steve Barber presented the following numbers as of Wednesday, October 13. Barber says the certified enrollment is 1,376.16, an increase of 42.84 students from the previous year, the enrollment figure the State uses to determine regular program financial costs.
Barber says another important number school districts pay attention to is the open enrollment into versus out students. Atlantic’s open enrollment into the district is 133.8 students, an increase of 6.5 students from last school year, and open enrollment out of the district is at 33-students, a decrease of 10-students. Barber says some of these students returned to Atlantic after attending the virtual school in CAM last year, and he says given a net positive of 100.8 students. The district’s total served student population is 1,476.96 students, an increase of 59.39 students from one year ago.
Mr. Barber reported COVID continues to affect individual staff and students in Atlantic Schools. He says to date, and the district has around 25 staff members involved, around 60-students.
Barber says the district is in the eighth week of school, and from day one, some students and staff coming down with positive cases. The current Return-to-Learn plan follows the Iowa Department of Health in treating this as a childhood illness and not quarantining any close contact. Barber says last year, the State and Local Public Health spent endless hours following close contacts and testing all students and staff. The State’s priorities have changed, so having accurate numbers as far as positivity rates are not available.
Barber says providing rapid tests for staff is an effective mitigation strategy by identifying both positive and negative tests. He says this includes information that helps the districts’ nurses ensure individuals are quarantined with a positive test and back to teaching students once symptoms reside for those who test negatively. Barber says, for the most part, the parents and staff are taking on individual responsibility for treating symptoms as positive until proven negative.
