RISD’s board of trustees received an update on the district’s enrollment, as well as ongoing strategies to combat enrollment declines, during its Nov. 20 meeting.
The big picture
RISD’s enrollment as of Oct. 27 is 36,969, down by more than 2,700 students since the district’s enrollment peaked in 2019.
Nearly 80% of the 652-student decrease in enrollment came from RISD’s emergent bilingual population, according to the presentation.
“We don't know specifically why, but ... we do know that many families have made decisions to return back to their home countries or to move closer to family to make sure that there are layers of support,” RISD Assistant Superintendent Matthew Gibbins said.
Diving in deeper
All RISD grade levels except for first, 11th and 12th grade saw a decrease in enrollment over the last year. The steepest declines of 168 and 105 students came at the second and ninth grade levels, respectively. RISD’s total enrollment was also 224 students less than demographer projections, which are used when creating district budgets.
Gibbins added that while RISD is seeing enrollment decline, it is “not to the degree” of surrounding districts. Dallas, Plano and Garland ISDs saw enrollment declines of 9.1%, 11.4% and 8.4%, respectively, from 2019-24—a time frame in which RISD enrollment declined by 6.9%.
Looking ahead
District staff are considering several initiatives to address declining enrollment, including enhancement of its open enrollment program, which was instituted earlier this year and allows out-of-district students to transfer into RISD.
The presentation also noted eliminating barriers in the transfer and enrollment process, upgrades to Magnet and Choice programs, developing a virtual school option and increased marketing as potential strategies.
“Our goal is to figure out what Richardson ISD needs to look like in the future to recover these students and get them back in Richardson ISD,” Superintendent Tabitha Branum said.
