Kristen Deadwyler City- Times Staff

District officials worry enrollment trends will affect the state’s ability to successfully meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Law.

Late May, Wisconsin received word that their application for a No Child Left Behind waiver was denied.  The No Child Left Behind law requires all students to achieve proficient math and reading scores by 2014.  Some states worry that the requirement was too difficult to obtain.  In response to concerns, President Obama announced the opportunity for states to avoid requirements if they develop their own accountability systems.

Wisconsin developed a proposal that would rate schools based on student performance, show improvement on state tests, and close the achievement gap of students for college and careers.

The US Education Department denied the proposal, stating that there were deficiencies, requesting more detail.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction released enrollment trends comparing the number of home-based private education students in comparison to public school students.  Summarizing the numbers from school years 2008-09 to 2010-2011, there was a 2.69% increase in home-based students, while there was only a .03% increase in public school students.

In a 2003 poll done by the DPI, reasons for home-based education practices ranged from concern about safety, drug use, and negative peer pressure to dissatisfaction with the academic instruction in a public school district.

Specifically, the Stevens Point School District had 205 home-based students in the 2010-11 school year.  These students accounted for 2.77% of student enrolled in the district.  With the district losing a net total of 50 students in the upcoming school year, some of which turning to home-based educational programs, the district is concerned the loss of students enrolled in the public school district could negatively affect the chances of successfully receiving aid, and a NCLB waiver.

Superintendent Weninger expressed his frustration at planning for each school year.  “Because now [the state] extended the time period in which parents can apply [for open enrollment], we don’t have a clue.”

With a continued trend of students enrolling in home-based education programs, district officials worry about how to obtain the national requirements.

Weninger encourages the district to push forward.  “Let’s bite off what we can chew, and chew well, so that when we come back at the end of this next year, we can say, ‘Here’s what we accomplished, here’s what we had challenges with.’”