Anderson Community Schools has more students in 2024-25 than the previous academic year, possibly for the first time in more than three decades.
At the school board meeting Monday evening, Superintendent Joe Cronk reported that ACS has seen an average daily membership increase of 126 students compared to the last school year. That means an increase of more than $1 million in the per pupil funding allotment going to the school corporation from the state.
It's the largest enrollment increase in a single school year Cronk can recall in his 35 years with ACS.
“That is phenomenal,” Cronk said during his presentation. “I cannot tell you how great that is after so many years of losses. After 35 years of losing students, we are up 126.”
MORE BOARD NEWS
ACS has expanded its diversity and inclusion program, which was launched in 2023-24, to two additional schools.
The program began last year at Edgewood Elementary School. After receiving positive feedback from students, teachers and the principal, Treva Bostic, director of diversity, equity and inclusion at ACS, decided to expand the program to Eastside and Erskine elementary schools for the 2024-25 school year.
The program enables Bostic to go into the schools and teach students about diversity and inclusion through lessons in the Diversity and Inclusion Daily Practice Journal workbook. This program is voluntary, meaning teachers can request to have Bostic visit their classroom. The diversity and inclusion classes last 20 minutes daily.
“I just want to focus on equity and inclusion of all people here,” Bostic said in her presentation Monday. “We have students that come from all over the world here, and I just want to make sure that they all feel like they are a part of Anderson Community Schools.”
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin.