After several decades of remarkably stable student populations, numbers in the still-rural Putnam County Charter School System have been quietly growing the past two decades—with this month’s opening-day attendance topping 3,000 for the first time.
To be exact, the totals in the system’s four schools reached 3,061.
School administrators across the country closely monitor such enrollment numbers, census data, and other indicators to forecast, finance, and build for needs foreseen several years into the future. While Putnam’s increases have been relatively small, gradual, and manageable, such data tracking is especially crucial where much more rapid growth is taking place.
Think of the Atlanta metro area. Thirty or 40 years ago, the hubbub of rapid growth fell to counties like Cobb and Gwinnett. Today, it is the next outer ring— from Hall, Forsyth, and Cherokee in the north to Paulding, Henry, and Walton on the west, south, and east—that are brimming with new subdivisions and commercial nodes.
However, back in our local scene, the most obvious increase came at Putnam County High School, which saw about 115 additional students for the fall term, representing a 14-percent increase over last year’s enrollment and pushing the school’s overall enrollment to more than 900 students.
However, these figures came as no surprise to school administrators. Especially over the last five or six years there has been a typical increase of 50 to 75 students per year, scattered across the 12 traditional grades, plus kindergarten, pre-k, and Head Start.
But a second dynamic that administrators have been watching for several years is a three-year bubble—or “cohort” in academic speak—of somewhat larger classes as they work their ways through the system. Apparently, this year the bulk of the bubble kids have reached high school.
According to Putnam School Superintendent Eric Arena, virtually all other grades in the system have a typical 200 to 220 students each—but not this year’s 8th, 9th, and 10th grades, with 252, 309, and 255 students, respectively.
By comparison, the PCHS junior class has 203 students; the senior class, 205.
“We’ve had to adjust,” said Arena. “When they were in one building, we could move teachers around to various assignments. It’s when they (the bubble group) move from one building to another that it gets harder.”
The increases—and time itself—also impose side effects. And Putnam has both advantages and problems. In some ways, it’s “just a different world,” even from just 20 years ago, said Arena.
“There is mobility all the time. It’s amazing. They come, and they go,” Arena said.
In recruiting teachers, Putnam lies between Georgia College and State University 20 miles to the south, and the University of Georgia 50 miles to the north. One problem is there is little housing here that fits the needs of a 23-year-old beginning teacher, and many are forced to commute, which only adds to the frustrating “grind” side of teaching.
Another is that there are fewer young people choosing teaching as a profession. Math and science specialists have historically been hard to find, and the university schools of education are simply producing fewer of them.
In the last few years, though, Arena said he also has been surprised at the difficulty in finding elementary school teachers.
At one time, a teacher could officially retire, but come back to work on a part-time basis, too. Now, a teacher can do the same—or receive retirement pay and come back as a full-time educator with full pay.
“Around the state, we are in a crisis in teaching,” he said. “Even our legislators recognize it.”