ENROLLMENT AT FREEMAN PUBLIC SOARS

JEREMY WALTNER  – PUBLISHER

As expected, enrollment at Freeman Public is up again — bigtime.

While the official student count won’t be submitted to the state until the last Friday of September, a preliminary look shows that the number of students enrolled with the Freeman School District is up nearly 30 over the start of last school year — 402 compared to 374 this time last year. That growth is distributed throughout the classes, particularly at the junior-senior high school level.

This follows a blooming trend in recent years; since the start of the 2020-21, enrollment at Freeman Public is up by nearly 70 students, and by 100 going back to the start of the 2016-17 school year.

The last time enrollment at Freeman Public was over 400 was at the start of the 2003-04 school year (410).

Second-year superintendent Jake Tietje says the growth is a combination of students choosing to open-enroll at Freeman Public and families moving into the district. Freeman Public is an attractive school, he says, and the community an inviting place to live.

“This is the story of Freeman; a lot of good things happening,” said Tietje, who believes that the state’s response to Covid-19 “has put South Dakota on the map” and that Freeman is an attractive option for people looking to relocate.

“We’ve got a small-town feel, all the amenities, festivals and a public and private school system that draws people to town,” he says.

Plus, he says, strong fiberoptics allows for fluid use of the internet that allows people to work from home, “and that’s credit to the providers for recognizing that need.”

The increase in enrollment has created a few challenges for the district, like adding instructors at the elementary level to accommodate two split classes, “but those are good problems to have,” Tietje said.

Including Freeman Academy, total enrollment in Freeman stands at 468 — the highest it’s been in 15 years thanks to the growth at Freeman Public.

Freeman Academy, meanwhile, has seen a steady decline in recent years that is the reality again. According to numbers provided by the school, this year’s K-12 enrollment is 66 — the lowest it’s been since the grades 1-4 program was added in 2012.

The largest class size at Freeman Academy is the seniors with 12; all other classes are in single digits.

Fifteen years ago enrollment at the school was 89, which was grades 5-12.