Norwich - Since the start of the current school year in late August, 502 new students have entered the city's public schools, and another 284 students have left the district, not including more than 100 students who moved from one city school to another, according to a new monthly enrollment report presented Tuesday to the Board of Education.

Superintendent Abby Dolliver has added transiency numbers to her usual monthly enrollment report to the Board of Education as part of school officials' effort to get a better handle on the growing issue of transiency in the public school district. Tuesday's report was the first detailed breakdown of the number of students coming to and leaving city schools.

The issue has become a factor when school officials plan district and school improvement plans using state Alliance District grants and the two Commissioner's Network grants for the John B. Stanton and Uncas elementary schools. School officials have learned quickly through the numbers that many of the students who start their education at one school are no longer there a few grade levels later, making it difficult to assess a student's academic progress.

Not including the city's two early learning centers - where 248 new preschool students dominate the numbers - the percent of "movement" within elementary school enrollment ranged from 19.7 percent at the Wequonnoc School in Taftville to 28.3 percent at the Veterans' Memorial School in the Thamesville area from August through Jan. 31.

At the end of January, Veterans' Memorial had a total enrollment of 315 students. Since the start of school in August, 75 new students entered the school, including 14 from other Norwich schools, and 64 students left the school, 15 of them to other city schools.

Dolliver said the high numbers at Veterans' Memorial in part reflect the district's own policy to place some students from other schools at Veterans' Memorial if they opt out of the city's two fledgling magnet elementary schools. But she said 75 new students still arrived at the school.

The presentation included a breakdown of where the 284 students who left city schools went. Most, 148, moved outside Norwich within Connecticut, while 79 moved out of state and 12 moved out of the country. Locally, 21 went to various magnet schools, 10 to charter schools and five to parochial schools. Another nine are now being home schooled, Dolliver said.

"We're very changeable and we know it," Dolliver said. "I thought (showing) the totals was helpful."

c.bessette@theday.com

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