District 742 Seeing Enrollment Surge

(KNSI) – It is shaping up to be a banner year at St. Cloud Area School District 742.

The Welcome Center at the District Administration Office, where families enroll new students, has seen a surge of activity in recent weeks. Executive Director of Community Education and Partnerships Shannon Avenson talks about just how crazy it has been. “We have had days and times where we’re enrolling 20 to 40 students in a day in person, and then in addition to that, we’ve got enrollment online. And so, we might leave for a weekend, all caught up on our enrollments, and then we come back on a Monday morning, and all of a sudden, we’ve got 30 more enrollments to process.”

She breaks down what it means for the district as a whole. “We are really excited. We projected around 9,000, 9,100 students, and we’re over that by about 450 students. So, right now, current enrollment is around 9,500 K-12, about 5% over projected.”

The boom applies to kindergarten through high school. Kindergarten is probably the largest deviation at 80 additional students. It furthers a trend seen in early learning grades locally.

Avenson admits the closing of Athlos Academy, a local charter school, helps explain some of the increase, but not all. Every building will see a bump, but Avenson expects South Junior High and Tech High School to benefit the most. Statewide enrollment is expected to be down, which makes the St. Cloud story even more impressive.

Avenson says they are properly staffed for the influx.

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