Superintendent Discusses as Monomoy Attendance Declines

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CHATHAM – The Monomoy Regional School district, which includes Chatham and Harwich, and other schools in the area are gradually losing students, according to Monomoy Superintendent Scott Carpenter.

Carpenter made this announcement earlier in the fall, days after the state collected attendance records of each district.

Those initial tallies counted what Carpenter called “foundation enrollments,” which make record of all children in Harwich and Chatham, not just Monomoy Regional School district students.

But enrollment in Monomoy-only schools has also decreased. Carpenter said that the greatest loss is from students in 6^th grade, a demographic which sometimes migrates to Lighthouse Charter School.

There’s also a figurative hole in the 8^th to 9^th grade demographic: around 12 students each year go to a technical school rather than Monomoy High School, according to Carpenter.

“The important thing is to keep the schools strong, there are good indications that some things are positive, but others that we clearly have to work on,” he said.

As for the Monomoy-only enrollment count, there were 1,966 students enrolled in Monomoy District schools, but this year there were 1,896.

There is some positive news, though. The superintendent reported that the 8^th to 9^th grade demographic was at 25 students this year, which is actually an improvement from last year.