Palm Beach County schools to get more crowded

In a battle between traditional public schools and charter schools to attract students, traditional schools scored a win this year in Palm Beach County.

This year’s enrollment count, taken on Monday, shows that district-run schools added 2,904 students, while charter schools lost 939.

It’s the first time in recent years that enrollment for charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately run, has declined in the county. A few years ago, they were growing by several thousand a year, while district-run schools were losing students.

“Most of those students decided to enroll in traditional district schools,” said Jason Link, director of enrollment and demographics for the district. “Many schools have been able to add new programs to draw students back.”

The Broward County School District conducts its official enrollment count on Sept. 11. Preliminary data from the second day of school shows charter school enrollment fell 365 students, while enrollment in regular district schools climbed by about 2,000.

The Palm Beach County School Board has fought new charter schools opening, rejecting several for not being innovative enough. The Florida Department of Education and state judges have ruled against the district, which could make it easier for more charter schools to open in the future.

Unlike Broward, MiamiDade and most large school districts in Florida, students in traditional schools in Palm Beach County perform better than those in charter schools, a Sun Sentinel analysis found.

The school district has taken several strategies to compete, including replicating the K-8 model that’s common in charter schools.

This year’s enrollment decline for charter schools is partly the result of four charter schools closing because of financial or academic problems. Several others lost a large number of students.

Enrollment at Eagle Arts Academy charter school in Wellington fell from 777 to 431. It faced a turbulent year last year with administrator and teacher shakeups, although it’s letter grade improved from a D to a C.

Bright Futures Academy, a K-8 charter school in Palm Beach Gardens, is down from 435 students to 272. Many area parents have enrolled their students at the district-run Conservatory Arts Academy, a K-8 school in North Palm Beach, that has grown in popularity since opening in 2014.

Renaissance Charter School in Wellington lost 93 students and now enrolls 523 students. The school has been C-rated for the last few years while most district-run schools in Wellington are A-rated.

“Our whole philosophy for charter schools is that charters are an option for parents looking for something different,” said Ralph Arza, director of government relations for the Florida Charter School Alliance. “The most important thing is there continues to be enough choice so parents. There’s incredible competition for kids in Palm Beach County, and at the end of the day, who wins are the parents and students.”

Charter schools also have contributed to big enrollment drops at some traditional schools. Crestwood Middle in Royal Beach Beach is less than half-full after losing students for several years to nearby Western Academy Charter School.

Odyssey Middle, west of Boynton Beach, is scheduled to close at the end of this year as a result of declining enrollment. Odyssey will be taken over by South Tech Academy charter school. The middle school’s enrollment has dropped largely from competition from Somerset Academy Canyons Middle, district officials have said. The school is less than half full, with enrollment dropping another 46 students since last year.

“You have parents who realize the school is going to be closed and re-purposed and then went ahead and made other choices, especially if they were incoming sixth graders,” Link said.

The district has less competition from charter schools on the high school level. Only three of the district’s 23 high schools had enrollments well below their capacity. Boynton Beach High and Glades Central High in Belle Glade are two-thirds full, while Pahokee Middle-Senior High was less than half full.

A large growth in the district’s Hispanic population has caused enrollment spikes at several high schools.

Palm Beach Springs Middle grew by 115 students this year, 70 of whom were Hispanic.

Forest Hill High, where 70 percent of students are Hispanics, has a third more students than it was built to handle. A boundary change moved 182 students to other schools, but it still grew by another 12 students.

Boca Raton High grew by 149 students this year, about half of them Hispanic.

Total enrollment is now 3,558, just 33 fewer students than the county’s largest high school, John I. Leonard High in Greenacres.

Susie King, principal of Boca Raton High, said she’s looking into whether the school needs to add an extra serving line during lunch.

“It’s definitely more crowded compared to the end of last year,” she said. “There’s just a feel of more students.”